It’s normal to wonder what your girlfriend’s father thinks of you. Well, imagine dating a young woman whose father is none other than Academy award-nominee and fitness guru Mark Wahlberg! Mark Wahlberg’s 18 year-old daughter, Ella Rae, has been dating her boyfriend, James, for the past year. The actor opened up about what it was like to get to know the boyfriends, also sharing details of their bonding time together.
The Departed star made a guest appearance on The Ellen Show and revealed to the audience just what exactly he thinks of James. Luckily for Ella Rae, Mark Wahlberg has given the young couple the stamp of approval! The actor revealed that as long as his daughter is with a nice guy who treats her well, that is all he could want in his daughter’s boyfriend. In fact, he admitted that James may be more afraid of Ella Rae than he is of him.
I think he’s more scared of my daughter than he is of me. I pray more for him than I pray for her in that relationship. But they’re perfect for each other, and he couldn’t be any sweeter. I realized early on that it’s inevitable [that she’ll be dating]. And as long as it’s somebody who’s nice and treats her well, and somebody that I can trust and respect. We have a great relationship. He’s fantastic. I hope she can keep him.
This would not be the first time that a man would be seeking approval from the daughter of a big-time celebrity. Family Feud’s Steve Harvey had a rather vague and nervous response about whether he would approve of Michael B. Jordan marrying his daughter. I guess there just comes a time even for a celebrity when you have to let your daughter having a dating life, though.
This Ted star also revealed on The Ellen Show that he’s been working out with his daughter’s boyfriend to acquire some male bonding. Mark Wahlberg shared that because he got COVID over Christmas, James ended up being the man of the house as his whole family went on vacation without him. But there’s no hard feelings there because when everyone returned, James and Wahlberg worked out together and did other stuff to strengthen the male bond.
He went on the holiday. So now, he’s like the man of the house. I’m stuck, and I’m like, ‘Wait a second.’ This guy slid right in, and I’m out. But he actually came back after we all flew back after the holiday. And he stayed for like another week, and we worked out, we did lots of stuff together. He’s a very good influence on her. … He’s such a sweet guy, and he just wanted to work out. He has lots of interests that we have in common. So I’m just trying to help him where I can.
Other than being a not-so-threatening father and fitness mentor for James, Wahlberg had a recent reunion with his former co-star Lucacris, leading to speculation about a Max Payne followup. Mark Wahlberg has also been pushing for the superhero movie The Six Billion Dollar Man to come to fruition. Whether Mark Wahlberg is hitting the gym or a theater/streaming service near you, we have not seen the last of him and he has not seen the last of his daughter’s boyfriend either!
In the meantime, check out Mark Wahlberg’s upcoming movies to get an idea of when you’ll see him in theaters or your streaming services.