Iconic American comedian Eddie Murphy has had some well-publicised romantic relationships (think Spice Girl Mel B), but one thing about his current fiancée Paige Butcher isn’t as well-known: she’s an Aussie, from Perth.
Butcher, 40, has been with the 58-year-old Coming to America star since 2012. They have two children together; Max, who was born in November last year, and three-year-old daughter Izzy.
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Here’s what else we know about the Australian woman who would become a successful model, and the mum of Murphy’s ninth and 10th children.
Butcher’s Australian background.
We only know some basic things about Butcher’s childhood in Australia: she was born in Attadale, a suburb of the city of Perth, she attended Santa Maria College, and her father is former Aussie model, Robert Butcher.
Butcher’s career after Perth.
When she was just 14, Butcher won the Cover Girl Cosmetics Supermodel Search, which secured her an IMG modelling contract, and took her to New York.
Butcher’s father Robert told The West Australian in 2012 that her modelling career became so successful that she only managed to come home to Perth once a year after that.
“She’s done a lot of work in New York with disabled children, taking aged people shopping, working in pet refuges and helping build houses for the needy,” he added.
Butcher modelled for Maxim, and was contracted with the big agencies such as LA Models and the Ford Modelling Agency.
In 2006, she played a small part in Big Momma’s House 2, where she met Murphy.
Butcher’s relationship with Murphy.
Before she met Murphy, Butcher was linked to actor Tyson Beckford, and business magnate Russell Simmons.
Murphy – who currently has an episode on Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, streaming on Netflix – and Butcher, became engaged in September 2018.
The couple has been notoriously private about their relationship.
Butcher explained to Vanity Fair, that Murphy is one reason she shuns social media.
“I’m in a relationship with a celebrity, so I felt like there’s already enough of me out there,” she said.
“I felt like I was giving out too much information. I was giving people too much access. I like to keep as much private as possible now.”
The other reason she doesn’t like social media? She thinks she’s “boring”.
Butcher is handy with the tools.
The former model explained to Vanity Fair in 2013 that she’s “an outdoors kind of person”, as she enjoys gardening, building, and furniture restoration.
“I started doing Habitat for Humanity. I took what I learned from them and started doing stuff for myself,” she said, adding that she has various building skills.
“I’ve laid electrical, I’ve made brick paving paths and walls, laid drywall, hung doors… I really enjoy it.”
Butcher’s exercise routine.
As a former swimwear model, exercise has been a huge part of Butcher’s life, but her routine is not what you may expect.
“I’m not a gym rat. I’m not a gym person,” she told Vanity Fair, explaining that she’s “blessed” with her natural frame.
She added that what she does instead is incidental exercise, such as lunges while she’s “waiting for the kettle to boil”.
Butcher claims she doesn’t do sit ups, but discovered that long days on shoots, flexing her abs for hours at a time, was exercise enough.
Butcher in the extended Murphy family.
Butcher seems to be a firm figure in Murphy’s extended family.
Murphy’s oldest daughter, Bria, shared a rare family photo last December. In it, Murphy holds his youngest daughter, Izzy, and was surrounded by some of his other children, whilst in the middle, Butcher holds newborn Max.
Murphy has Eric, 30, with Paulette McNeely, daughters Bella Zahra, 17, Zola Ivy, 19, Shayne Audra, 24, Bria, 29, and Miles Mitchell, 26, with ex-wife Nicole Mitchell Murphy.
There is also Christian, 28, with Tamara Hood, and Angel Iris, 12, with former Spice Girl Mel B.
Going by her Instagram, Bria seems to have a loving relationship with Butcher’s daughter, Izzy, as she posted the below photo with the caption, “Twinning with my sister and my world".
Murphy is reportedly in talks with Netflix about a personal special; if that happens, we’ll hopefully get a larger glimpse into Butcher’s very private life.
Top Comments
If someone has kept their private life notoriously private maybe respect that.
I dunno'. The more privacy requested is clearly because the more they have to hide ;o)
It's like bees to honey 'round these here parts. Anyone who wants privacy is focused in and spotlighted.
Stuff em, we need to uncover their secrets and what the second cousin did.
Why would we want a “larger glimpse into Butcher’s very private life”? No offence to her as I’m sure she’s a perfectly nice woman. What is this obsession you have with the ‘notoriously private’ relatives of celebrities? It was Mary-Kate and Ashley’s ‘notoriously private’ brother a couple of days ago. These people are keeping their lives to themselves for a reason, if they wanted attention they could probably get it. Why not leave them alone and focus on the ones who *do* want the fame? God knows there are plenty of wannabes out there, why not give them what they want and leave the ones who don’t out of it?