Exclusive: Princess Martha Louise of Norway and Durek Verrett open up about their first meeting and kiss
Princess Martha Louise of Norway and Durek Verrett are tying the knot in a spectacular three-day celebration culminating in a wedding ceremony, which will take place on Saturday.
Princess Martha Louise will marry Durek, the charismatic Californian spiritual healer she first encountered in unusual circumstances six years ago, against a breathtaking backdrop of mountains, fjords and waterfalls.
In a world exclusive, HELLO! and HOLA! will be there to cover this unique occasion as members of the Norwegian royal family and their 350 guests gather in Geiranger on the west coast of Norway, to witness the special union.
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Their first encounter
The couple met after their mutual friend, Hollywood health and wellness guru Millana Snow, played spiritual cupid in 2018.
"After giving me a healing session she told me that the only time she'd felt such intense levels of energy was with Shaman Durek," recalled Martha. "'You two have to meet,' she said. But it was a few months before Durek reached out to arrange it."
Explaining why, he told us: "When Millana told me that Martha was a Princess, I was scared. I'd been in relationships where people had made me responsible for their happiness, and because of that I decided to put my focus on God. I wanted my life to be about helping people through my work.
"But then a friend told me, 'What if she’s the person you've been waiting for?' So I invited Martha to lunch at my home in the Hollywood Hills. My assistant said I should wear a suit, but that's not me - I'm a ripped jeans, rock and roll t-shirts, kimonos, and cowboy boots kind of guy, so that's what I wore."
Martha remembered: "The moment he opened the door, I felt like I was greeting an old friend. 'I know you already,' I said, to which he replied: 'Yes, we were destined to meet before we were born.'
"I internally rolled my eyes, thinking he was another LA dude. But when he did an energy reading for a close friend, he was spot-on and I knew then he was the real deal."
Long-distance friendship
A long-distance friendship ensued, with the couple exchanging poems and meeting up during their travels to New York and London, where they would go shopping and for walks down the Thames.
"I wanted a platonic friendship at first," Durek told HELLO!. "I'm very animated and grew up in a family where we talk about everything, whereas she was from a different world, a royal family. I wanted to make sure that if we were going to be together it was for the right reasons, that her being a princess had nothing to do with it, and we built the foundations properly."
As our relationship developed, Martha told me she was falling in love with me," he continued. "And I was falling in love with her, too. If other gentlemen were around, I felt jealous. I did a lot of soul-searching before our friendship turned into a relationship."
The early days
Six months after they met, the couple shared their first kiss. "We were sitting at my place in LA, staring at each other," Durek recalled. "Then we both leaned forward and it was really beautiful – then we kissed again."
Martha's parents, King Harald and Queen Sonja, were warm and welcoming to Durek from the start, and he has been treated as a much-loved member of the family.
Proposal
They had been together for three years when, in June 2022, he asked her to marry him – but not before seeking her parents' blessing first.
"I have old school views on courtship, and asking for Martha's hand in marriage was about respect," explained Durek. "The King and Queen asked me questions about myself and the future, and went quiet for a bit. I was sweating as I waited for their response - and then they turned to me and said they'd love to have me as part of the family."
With a smile, Martha said: "At my age, I could choose for myself! But my parents had to wait nine years before they could wed and always told me they wanted me to marry whoever I wanted."
Norway's royal wedding will be exclusively covered by HELLO! magazine. Check back on the website and pick up the most recent issues of HELLO! for all the latest news and photos.
To read the full exclusive interview with Martha Louise and Durek, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
