Russell Brand‘s wife, Laura, has given evidence in his ongoing rape and sexual assault trial, telling the court: “I feel very seen by him.”
Brand himself took the stand at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday and said he had persuaded no one to agree to testify on his behalf. But on Thursday morning, Laura Brand, whom he married in 2017 and shares three children with, stepped up to the witness box.
As a reminder, the presenter and comedian, also widely known for roles in St. Trinian’s and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, is accused of three counts of rape, three charges of sexual assault and one allegation of attempted indecent assault, with six women alleging offenses dating from 1999 to 2009. He denies the allegations vehemently.
Brand’s wife, the sister of British TV presenter Kirsty Gallacher, explained that she first dated the star in 2006, but they broke up in 2007. She was 19 when they met and he was 31. It developed into “a full sexual relationship,” she told the court. But it “developed at my own pace” and she felt “entirely cared for and looked after.” According to Sky News coverage, Brand said she felt “inexperienced,” especially having had only one sexual partner previously.
“When I met him I was aware that he liked women, and I was aware towards the latter half of that year that he was engaging with other women,” she continued. “I was not interested in having a relationship with him if he was sleeping with other people. I was invested; we both had told each other we loved each other, but it was clear it was difficult for him to be monogamous.” When they split in 2007, she said she was “a little heartbroken.” They “stayed close,” however —though she said she did not see Brand during his marriage to pop superstar Katy Perry —and reconnected in 2015.
Ian Winter, Brand’s defense lawyer, asked his client’s spouse about Brand’s character. She described him as “caring and kind, a wonderful father to our children, and an amazing, attentive husband,” with an “eye for detail I have never known before.”
“I feel very seen by him,” something that she’s never experienced from anyone else, added Laura Brand. “We have a very honest, frank and clear relationship and marriage. […] Our relationship has always been [about] honesty… I love him very much.”
The lead prosecutor, Riel Karmy-Jones, cross-examined Brand’s partner and said she appeared on a podcast, Made By Mammas, in 2020, in which she claimed she’d “not seen [Brand] for years” when they met up in 2014. The prosecution put it to her that they had not “hung out lots” between 2007 and 2015, as Laura Brand had suggested. She replied to Karmy-Jones: “I have to say you’re wrong.”
There was a slight kerfuffle and Brand’s wife was escorted out around halfway through the defense’s questioning. Winter had asked, “What is your view as to the truth of the allegations?” and Justice Bennathan had to jump in: “No, no, no. She is not an expert witness.” Sky says his tone was “forceful.” When Winter attempted to alter his question and asked, “What is your view as to his character?” Karmy-Jones said, “That is wholly unacceptable.” The jury and Laura Brand were briefly sent out.
The defendant reportedly chuckled at one moment as his wife spoke about having “many friends, and there are colleagues, and we are grateful for those people.” She concurred that Brand was baptised in April 2024, after the rape and sexual assault allegations against him were published. She said his book, How To Become A Christian In Seven Days —with the subtitle: “May take 50 years of sin and serious fuck-ups to get started” —was published this year.
Among the claims Brand faces is a woman who says he raped her in a Bournemouth hotel room in 1999 following one of his comedy gigs. Another says he grabbed her breasts and pushed her into a toilet in a bar in Soho, where he orally raped her in 2004. A separate woman alleges Brand anally raped her at his home in Hampstead in 2009, after consensual vaginal sex. Brand denies any criminal wrongdoing. You can take a look at The Hollywood Reporter‘s trial coverage here.
The trial continues.