James Marsden is enjoying something of a renaissance of late. Formerly known for his role in rom-coms like 27 Dresses, the 45-year-old actor is swinging from heartthrob to Hollywood heavyweight in shows like Westworld and Dead To Me.
Thus, there’s also been a renewed interest in Marsden’s love life, especially since his split from Lisa Linde, his wife of 11 years, in 2011.
For the most part, Marsden has managed to keep his private life mostly out of the public eye, meaning very few people even know he’s a dad to three children: son Jack, 17, and daughter Mary James, 13, with ex-wife Linde, and a 6-year-old son, William Luca, with ex-girlfriend Rose Costa.
On top of that, few people know that Marsden has been dating Edei, a 30-year-old British musician, since September 2015, when they were first spotted out together in New York City.
Rumours of their romance were solidified in February 2016, when Marsden joined Edei on stage at one of her gigs to perform a duet of an Ed Sheeran song (who knew he could sing?).
With Marsden’s star perpetually on the rise, and Edei’s own talent and immaculate fashion sense, we decided to take a deep dive into their low-key relationship.
Here’s what you need to know about James Marsden’s chic, musically gifted girlfriend of almost four years.
Edei Is Her Stage Name
Edei’s real name is Emma Deigman, and she was born and raised in the United Kingdom.
Edei got her start in musical theatre and toured with UK pop group Girls Aloud as a support act in 2009 under her birth name.
Soon after, she switched to Edei, because she claimed people struggled to pronounce her surname.
“All I did was take the E from my first name and the DEI from my surname to make EDEI (pronounced like Edie Sedgwick),” she said in a 2010 interview with Pop Reviews Now.
She’s A Singer-Songwriter
Edei describes her music as “northern soul mid with British garage and a little bit of pop,” according to an interview with Teen Vogue.
She relocated to America in 2015 to pursue a music career and appears to now split her time between Los Angeles and London.
She And Marsden Have Their Birthdays One Day Apart
Edei recently celebrated her 30th birthday on September 19, 2019, while Marsden turned 45 on September 18, 2019.
The singer commemorated their joint birthdays with an emotional Instagram posting, writing of Marsden: “I love being able to celebrate our birthday together, it makes it more special than ever. I’m so grateful and lucky to have you in my life… You’ve changed it and me for the better. I love learning, laughing and exploring with you. But most of all just being with you.”
She’s A Fixture At Marsden’s Side For All his Red Carpet Premieres
The couple started walking red carpets together in 2017, and Edei has attended two Vanity Fair Oscars after-parties with Marsden.
Marsden Calls Her An “Angel”
While Marsden keeps his Instagram account primarily professional, he made a rare exception to post about Edei on Valentine’s Day.
Edei is also Instagram buddies with Marsden’s son, Jack, and has posted on Instagram about how much she appreciates Marsden’s three children.
“I don’t know what my life would be like without you and you’re [sic] beautiful family in it. It fills my heart to the brim,” she wrote.
