Josh Duhamel surprises Fergie! (Sipa USA)
Fergie was so surprised that she teared up when husband Josh Duhamel showed up on stage to present her with the amfAR Award of Inspiration at the foundation's Inspiration Gala in Sao Paolo, Brazil, last Friday night, but the story of how the surprise came about is epic in its sweetness.
The pop star had been in Brazil all of the proceeding week leading up to the event. After Fergie was done with a day of visiting with school children in the favelas (shanty towns) of Rio de Janeiro, Duhamel texted Fergie's agent Sean Patterson (who was with her at the time) and said, "What do you think about me coming and surprising my wife?"
So, Patterson (who was also Vice Chairman of the amFAR Gala) worked with event organizers so that Duhamel could serve as the surprise guest at the Gala on Friday night, but the only flight from Los Angeles was connecting through Miami. Elsewhere, Fergie was hanging out at the Hotel Fasano in Rio with Kate Moss and Dita Von Teese at an amfAR pre-party, while her hubby was about to encounter quite the travel snafu.
While Sitting on the tarmac for an unusually long time in L.A., Duhamel realized that his flight was going to be so delayed that he wouldn't make his connecting flight in Miami.
So, on his own hunch, Duhamel got off the plane and rebooked himself on the only other way he could possibly get to Sao Paolo, which was to fly from L.A. to San Francisco … San Francisco to Lima, Peru … and Lima to Sao Paolo, getting him in just in time on Friday evening. And it worked!
Duhamel ended up landing in Sao Paulo where a separate hotel was arranged, as he arrived in town mid-evening the night of the event.
"Once people would have seen him, word would have gotten out, or paparazzi photos would have gotten online and/or on television" Patterson explained exclusively to omg!. "So, it was a combination of us keeping her away from the television, and Josh sneaking around through the garage of his separate hotel, and then into the event. He sat in his car at the backstage door of the event for almost an hour, before coming on stage, so that no one would see him backstage and blow the surprise."
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While Fergie was under the impression that Patterson was going to give a speech to introduce her, Patterson informed the "Big Girls Don't Cry" songstress that Dean and Dan Caten from Dsquared had flown in from Milan, and that they were in town to surprise her. (She's good friends with the fashion designer duo)
So, Patterson begins his speech, but then changes tone and says, "Direct from 22 hours of flying, here to spend just one night with his beautiful wife, ladies and gentlemen, Josh Duhamel," which then brought the tears to her eyes.
The amfAR (Foundation for AIDS Research) Gala was quite the star-studded event. Other attendees included longtime amfAR Ambassador Sharon Stone, the aforementioned Moss and Von Teese, model Karolina Kurkova, and several others. Fergie's co-honoree for the evening was Brazilian soccer legend Pele.
The rest of the night was a huge success, and $2 million was raised for the charity. The burlesque performance by Von Teese was a hit, and when she began performing, Moss grabbed Fergie by the hand and pulled her to the front of the house to watch. The enormous property where the gala took place actually featured a yard with a small zoo, featuring animals including a monkey and an ocelot. Josh and Fergie were seen playing with the monkey at one point.
Later in the evening, Sharon Stone auctioned off a kiss with Kate Moss, and a guy ended up paying $50,000 for it. Moss disappeared for 30 seconds to apply her lipstick, and when she returned, she full on made out with the winning bidder for at least a two minutes. Witnesses say jaws were on the ground over how into the smooch session she was.
Josh and Fergie pose with fans in Sao Paulo (Instagram)The
next day, Fergie and Josh had lunch at the famous Sao Paolo restaurant
Figueira Rubaiyat, which features a huge fig tree in the center. When
they walked back to their hotel, over 200 fans were waiting for Josh and Fergie, who both graciously stopped to pose for photos, later posting a couple to Instagram. They even received a baby Brazilian soccer player outfit from one person in the group.
The past couple of weeks have been pretty packed for the pregnant singer. As mentioned earlier, last Wednesday in Rio, she toured an inner city school for underprivileged children where she made a private donation to help fund improvements at the school. Later that night, she was on hand to host a Hugo Boss store opening in the Shopping Leblon mall in Rio. A celebration in her honor continued afterwards at a house overlooking the entire city.
This coming Saturday, Fergie will be collecting the Always Next, Forever Now Award at Logo's NewNowNext Awards in Hollywood. Her good friend Chelsea Handler will be presenting her with the honor. Past recipients include Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, and Lady Gaga.
"Fergie embodies what the Always Next, Forever Now Award is all about in everything that she does," said Lisa Sherman, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Logo. "She continuously pushes boundaries, stunning us with her creative vision and ability to make a tremendous impact on pop culture."
