Wedding bells are ringing for Eddie Murphy. The comedian has wed Australian model Paige Butcher in a private ceremony, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
According to People magazine, which also shared exclusive photos from the event, Murphy and Butcher were married on Tuesday, July 9, in Anguilla. The ceremony was small and private, attended by family and close friends.
The couple, who began dating in 2012, got engaged in September 2018. They have two children together, an 8-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son. Their first child was born in 2016, and they welcomed their second child in 2018 after getting engaged.
Murphy is a father of 10 children. While accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2023 Golden Globe Awards, he briefly thanked Butcher and his children, saying, “I want to say thank you to Paige and all of my amazing children for your love and support and inspiration.”
This is Murphy’s second marriage and Butcher’s first.
Murphy’s wedding coincides with his return to his iconic Beverly Hills Cop role as Axel Foley. Decades after the original 1984 movie, he stars in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, which premiered on Netflix on July 3. In the fourth installment, Murphy’s character returns to Beverly Hills after his daughter’s life is threatened. He teams up with new partner Detective Bobby Abbott (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and old friends John Taggart (John Ashton) and Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) to unravel a conspiracy.
During an appearance on the Today show, Murphy joked about reprising the role, saying, “It felt like old man. I did Beverly Hills Cop when I was 21, and I’m 63 now.” He added, “Beverly Hills Cop was my first movie where I was the lead. If I travel overseas they call me Axel Foley. Axel is an every man. He’s not a superhero or a super-cop, he’s the every man that rises to the occasion. I think that’s why people like it. And more than anything, he’s funny.”