Josh Duhamel Reveals He ‘Still Has’ Home in L.A. After Selling Bachelor Pad—but Admits He Plans To Quit California as Soon as His Son Is 18

Actor Josh Duhamel isn't ready to turn his back on Hollywood altogether—revealing that he will continue to split his time between Los Angeles, his primary residence in North Dakota, and his "prepper" cabin in Minnesota even after selling his longtime California bachelor pad.

Duhamel, 53, raised significant speculation that he was preparing to quit the Golden State for good when he listed his Encino, CA, home for $2.99 million on June 25. The rumors were further fueled when he sold the property for the higher price of $3.4 million just a few weeks later.

The "Ransom Canyon" star has now confirmed that he's not leaving California behind for good, despite admitting that he is ready to spend far less time there. He explained to Fox News that he will continue to maintain a home in the L.A. area for now—because the 12-year-old son he shares with ex Fergie is still attending school there.

"We still have a house in Los Angeles that we have because I have a 12-year-old son who goes to school there and will be there until he's done with school," he said, referring to his first-born child, Axl.

Still, Duhamel has slowly been untangling himself from the L.A. scene for several years now, laying down much more permanent roots in Fargo, ND, the hometown of his wife, Audra Mari. It is just across the border from the off-grid cabin he owns in Minnesota's Land of 10,000 Lakes.

He explained that he, his wife, and their two children—son Shepherd, 2, and newborn daughter Rocca—will continue to shuttle back and forth between North Dakota and L.A. until his eldest child has graduated.

As for the home he just sold, Duhamel revealed that it was more of a "transition" property for him, one that he purchased after his marriage to Fergie came to an end and before he started a family with Mari. Having spent several years renting it out, he decided to list it because he would "rather put that money in North Dakota."

During the early days of his relationship with Fergie, Duhamel purchased a sprawling property in Brentwood, CA, that had previously been listed for $5.3 million. While details of their 2019 divorce settlement have never been revealed, records indicate that Fergie took control of that property in their split.

Meanwhile, Duhamel retained ownership of his off-grid property in Minnesota—before later purchasing a family dwelling in Fargo, where his second wife is originally from.

Though he may not be able to leave California for good just yet, the actor has made clear his desire to invest more of his time and energy in those two properties.

During a recent appearance on "CBS Mornings," he explained how the time he has spent there helped to inspire his rancher role in "Ransom Canyon."

"I have a cabin just on the other side of the border from North Dakota, in Minnesota, which is very ranchlike," he told hosts Gayle King and Nate Burleson. "It's a cabin, it's a lot of property, a lot of land we have to take care of.

"So I kind of live this life anyway in a lot of ways."

He even hinted that the time he was spending at his cabin helped him decide to take the role, revealing that he was at the property when showrunner April Blair first contacted him about "Ransom Canyon."

"Actually when I talked to April Blair about this show three years ago, I was out there at my cabin and I was sort of in the mood to do something like this. She caught me at the perfect time," he said.

Duhamel conceded that there are some key contrasts between his at-home life and that of his on-screen character—largely the fact that he doesn't currently have any horses or livestock, which play a key role in the Netflix show.

"I don't have horses and cattle, but I do have tractors and all the equipment and stuff," he shared.

And it's not just his life at his off-grid haven that contributed to his portrayal of Kirkland. Duhamel noted that he grew up being exposed to the kind of very rural environment seen in the series, albeit in North Dakota rather than in Texas.

Remarkably, he confessed that he actually struggled with a fear of horses when he was younger, despite the hosts noting that he looks natural on horseback in the show.

"I grew up in North Dakota, which is in close proximity to a lot of horses, and I did ride a bit, but I was never a guy who was like, 'I can't wait to go ride a horse!' I was always a little bit skittish," he said.

"One of my friends got kicked in the head when I was young, and I was always like, 'I don't want to get kicked in the head or bucked off.'"

However, the horse that he is working with on the show, JW, helped him to get much more comfortable with riding and with being around the animals.

He now understands "why people love ... why they have such a relationship with their horses," he shared.

He stopped short of saying he plans to get his own horses at his cabin property, where he has been spending more time in recent years.

He first opened the doors to his cabin in an October 2023 video shoot with YouTube host Graham Bensinger, during which he described the property as a true "paradise," one that is equipped to help the actor and his family ride out whatever disaster may occur in the near future, natural or otherwise.

Duhamel shared that he bought the property around 18 years ago, thanks to his dad, who brought him out to see it for the first time.

"He knew I wanted a place that was away from everything, something remote," he said.

Duhamel began his off-grid spread with the purchase of a 12-acre parcel, which he has since expanded to around 50 acres after buying up additional plots.

Taking Bensinger on a tour of his Minnesota property, the self-described "doomsday prepper" revealed that he has installed multiple survival resources on his property, including three wells and "food plots," including several filled with clover and chicory to help lure in game to hunt.

While he noted that he had never hunted growing up, he explained it seemed like an essential skill to learn to ensure that he was fully prepared to provide for his family in dire circumstances.

"Part of being out here, I have a fear of having to move out here and live off the land," he explained. "I don't know if that's ever going to happen, but I feel it's a skill I need to learn."

Duhamel added that he was inspired by the "Patriots" survival guide and confessed that he worried about the delicate nature of a society so dependent on technology.

"We lose our cellphones, and we all lose our g--d--- minds," he said, imagining what the future might look like if the stock market were to crash, triggering a shortage of fuel and food. "I just want a place where I could just get away to until things get back to normal."

However, when Duhamel first purchased the property, he admitted that it was in a very rustic state, telling Country Living in April 2025 that the cabin didn't have plumbing for many years.

"We were basically homesteading the first 12 years. For the longest time, we didn’t have plumbing. We were using outhouses and washing dishes in the lake," he admitted.

Over the years, Duhamel has upgraded his cabin with a slew of amenities, including plumbing. However, it has maintained its rustic charm.

"I feel so connected to it. I didn’t just buy the place, I shaped this place," he explained. "While we’ve made a lot of improvements, you still feel like you’re roughing it, and I love that."

Despite those drawbacks, Duhamel has been open about his desire to spend more time at the property, revealing during a recent appearance on Dana Carvey and David Spade's "Fly on the Wall" podcast that he instantly feels all stress melting away when he's there.

"What I think I love the most about it is I just get out there and my heart rate drops about 25%," he said. "My priorities change, too. I feel like I have a purpose."

Duhamel explained that he also has a lot more to occupy his time when he's at the Minnesota dwelling—admitting that when he's in Los Angeles, he barely gets the opportunity to do basic yard work.

"I'm always working on something where I don't even mow my own lawn" in L.A., he said. "It's just absolute freedom out there."

He revealed to the podcast hosts that he has relished in the opportunity to build a true sanctuary for his family, steadily transforming the rural, rustic property into something he can be proud of.

"It's turned into, like, a whole passion of mine," he said. "I started moving dirt, and I started shaping it."