{"id":2043066,"date":"2025-09-23T07:19:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T07:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2043066"},"modified":"2025-09-23T07:19:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T07:19:17","slug":"royal-rebels-couple-defends-their-controversial-relationship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/royal-rebels-couple-defends-their-controversial-relationship\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Royal Rebels’ Couple Defends Their Controversial Relationship"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Princess M\u00e4rtha Louise of Norway and her husband, Durek Verrett, are defending their love story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

M\u00e4rtha Louise, fourth in line to the Norwegian throne, and Verrett, an American who labels himself a shaman, have been together since 2018 and married in the summer of 2024. <\/p>\n

They tracked the lead-up to their wedding in \u201cRebel Royals: An Unlikely Love Story,\u201d a documentary that premiered on Netflix on Sept. 19.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing married is amazing, especially when you\u2019re married to the love of your life,\u201d M\u00e4rtha Louise tells TODAY.com in a joint interview with Verrett. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing to be married to a man who loves me like you do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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M\u00e4rtha Louise and Shaman Durek Verrett in “Rebel Royals.”<\/span>Courtesy Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Rebel Royals” is a private and public-facing documentary, looking at how M\u00e4rtha Louise and Verrett met and their reception once they shared their relationship with the world.<\/p>\n

Verrett and M\u00e4rtha Louise courted controversy independently before they met, and especially after, for their business endeavors that mix commerce and spirituality. <\/p>\n

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Shaman Durek Verrett and M\u00e4rtha Louise in “Rebel Royals.”<\/span>Courtesy Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For example, Verrett made a claim in his 2019 book “Spirit Hacking” that childhood cancer is caused by unhappiness. Following the scandal, the Norwegian publisher attached to the project declined to publish the book in Norway<\/a>. (M\u00e4rtha Louise, on her end, wrote she was “so proud<\/a>” of Verrett’s book.)<\/p>\n

Then, in 2022, the mayor of Oslo criticized Verrett<\/a> for selling a $222 \u201cspirit optimizer\u201d on his website, which Verrett says can do things like \u201cenergize your food and drinks so they assimilate into your body more easily\u201d and \u201charmonize your space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, M\u00e4rtha Louise faced scrutiny for managing an alternative therapy center that taught clairvoyance and how to speak to angels, per Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Verrett says he and M\u00e4rtha Louise are \u201cvery spiritual people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe in God, we believe in spirit and we believe in the ancestors,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Speaking to TODAY.com, the couple guesses as to why their relationship has encountered criticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people criticize us about these things, I think it just shows their own limitations,\u201d M\u00e4rtha Louise says. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are not used to someone of her stature being with a shaman. There\u2019re a lot of things that people just can\u2019t wrap their minds around because they\u2019re stuck,\u201d Verrett adds.<\/p>\n

Following the criticism, M\u00e4rtha Louise ultimately made a decision to step back from her royal duties<\/a> in 2022. <\/p>\n

She tells TODAY.com this was an \u201cimportant choice to make to separate us from the rest of the family, so that we can live our lives and not everything is pulled into the rest of the family\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

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M\u00e4rtha Louise and Shaman Durek Verrett in “Rebel Royals.”<\/span>Courtesy Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The documentary also unpacks how race may play into Verrett\u2019s reception into Norwegian culture. In the film, Verrett shows racist comments he\u2019s received online.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe we\u2019re still even on that on the planet,\u201d he says about the messages.<\/p>\n

In 2022, M\u00e4rtha Louise\u2019s parents, King Harald V and Queen Sonja, condemned the “racist attitudes” that Verrett<\/a> faced part of the larger statement about M\u00e4rtha Louise stepping back from royal duties.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on that moment, Verrett started to get emotional. \u201cYou want to bring me to tears?\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo see them so courageously step forward and say something that has never been said in the history of any monarchy \u2014 I have to say that I have so much respect for her family, for how they are willing to look at things and talk them out and be able to come to a place where we can stay honorable as a family, but also at the same time, support and love one another,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The couple hopes their documentary shows “love conquers all.”<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that what we are demonstrating is to live unapologetically, live in the truth that we are authentically and to not let other people step into that space and dictate with their opinions against the love that you truly have because like my wife said, love does conquer all,\u201d Verrett says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd also being authentic and truthful to who you are,\u201d M\u00e4rtha Louise adds. \u201cLike, isn\u2019t that the reason why we\u2019re here on this planet? And if that\u2019s being rebellious or being authentic, then I\u2019m all for it.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n