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When Carey Mulligan hosted Saturday Night Live April 10, the Oscar-nominated actress for Promising Young Woman brought along a surprise guest. Her husband, musician Marcus Mumford, appeared in the monologue and offered himself as a musical guest, even though the episode already had Kid Cudi. While some viewers were surprised to find out the notoriously private actress was married to the Mumford and Sons member, the couple has been married since 2012, and they have two kids named Evelyn and Wilfred (so adorably English!). Here's what we know about Mumford and their marriage.
He's the lead singer and founding member of the band Mumford and Sons.
Mumford was born in Yorba Linda to English parents and moved back to England as a baby. He grew up in Wimbledon, in southwest London, and met his fellow band member Benn Lovett while attending King's College School in Wimbledon. After dropping out of the University of Edinburgh, he worked as a drummer for artists including his ex, Laura Marling, Noah and the Whale, and Adele (!).
After working as a drummer, Mumford began writing songs and formed the band Mumford and Sons around 2010. Their debut album, Sigh No More, went multi-platinum, and their sophomore album, Babel, won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2013.
He's worked with Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake.
Mumford became friends with Timberlake when they worked together on the soundtrack for the Coen Brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis. The film, about folk singers in New York City, starred Oscar Issac, Timberlake and Mulligan, who also featured on the soundtrack. Mumford sang the film's lead single, "Fare Thee Well (Dink's Song)," with Issac.
Mumford also worked with Swift, providing backup vocals for the song "Cowboy Like Me" off of her album Evermore. Swift hinted at the collaboration in a live chat for her music video "Willow," saying "There’s a really beautiful background vocal on ‘Cowboy Like Me’ sung by someone I’m a big fan of." Her investigative fans quickly realized that she had filmed an interview from Mumford's home studio. Mumford later posted a handwritten letter from Swift on his Instagram. According to The Sun, Swift and her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, are close with Mumford and Mulligan.
He and Mulligan were childhood pen pals.
Mulligan and Mumford first met as children through their churches. They both grew up in religious families; Mumford's father is a vicar and a leader in his evangelical church along with Mumford's mother. According to The Sun, Mulligan and Mumford went to the same Christian church camp, and kept in touch through writing letters before losing touch.
In a 2013 interview with The Telegraph, Mulligan said that she and Mumford still wrote love letters to each other after getting married. "I think they’re becoming a lost art form, which is very sad. To have a love letter from someone, to hold it in your hand and know that you can keep it for your whole life… well that’s an amazing thing." she said. Officially nominating them for most romantic love story.
They got engaged five months after they reconnected.
Years after their pen-pal friendship, Mulligan and Mumford reconnected in 2011 when she attended a Mumford and Sons secret show in Nashville with Jake Gyllenhaal. A source told US Weekly, "At the end of the night there were just the musicians, Jake, Carey, and the Mumford boys. We had some pizza, and just played music. Jake picked up a guitar and Carey joined in on 'Amazing Grace.' Marcus and Carey seemed really friendly." According to US Weekly, Mulligan and Mumford went to a secret Arcade Fire show and hit up a private club a few days later.
After five months of dating, Mumford proposed in 2011. The pair were married in April 2012 on a farm in Somerset, England, with Mumford's father officiating, according to British Vogue. Family and celebrity pals including Colin Firth, Sienna Miller and Gyllenhaal attended, and Adele performed at the reception.
The couple.
The two are very private about their personal lives; Mulligan doesn't have an Instagram, and Mumford's has very few photos and none of her. (He does have the Promising Young Woman poster up though!) In a 2015 interview with Vogue, Mulligan said, "Marcus is the only thing that’s mine that I can keep totally away, so I try to."
Their friend, actress Sienna Miller, spilled a lot more about the couple. She said, "they both come from very solid families and have a real sense of the life they want to live. They have chickens and a dog, and roasts and friends, jams by campfires. It’s sort of idyllic. Marcus can headline Glastonbury and Carey can be nominated for however many Oscars, and then they come back to their farm, and they’re in big woolly jumpers and funny hats, raising piglets. It’s an amazing balance they’ve managed to strike."
They're friends with Prince Harry (nbd).
During a 2018 appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Mulligan talked about attending the royal wedding, where they had a two-hour wait after arriving. "We got there early because we didn't think we should be later than Oprah Winfrey," she said. Mumford was also caught on camera yawning during the ceremony.
The couple at the royal wedding.
Later that year, while appearing on the Today show, Mulligan reacted to the royal baby news, saying, "Amazing! Very exciting, massively exciting."
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Quinci LeGardye is a Contributing Culture Editor who covers TV, movies, Korean entertainment, books, and pop culture. When she isn’t writing or checking Twitter, she’s probably watching the latest K-drama or giving a concert performance in her car.
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