Who Is Laura Brand, Russell Brand’s Wife and Trial Witness?

Born Laura Gallacher, she is the daughter of Scottish golfer Bernard Gallacher and dietitian Lesley Gallacher, and the younger sister of television and radio presenter Kirsty Gallacher. Reports say she grew up on the Wentworth Estate in England. She studied art at university and worked in restaurants and nightclubs before moving into publishing and illustration.

Laura’s books include The Joy Journal for Magical Everyday Play, published in 2020 and later a Sunday Times bestseller, followed in 2022 by The Joy Journal for Grown-ups and Slow Down and Be Here Now. She has also worked as a visual artist and illustrator, sharing craft tutorials, recipes and mindful prompts on Instagram. She deleted her account after sexual assault allegations against Russell emerged in 2023.

The couple first met at the Edinburgh Festival in 2006, when Laura was 19 and Russell was 31. Their brief relationship ended after a few months. Laura told the BBC she did not want a relationship if he was sleeping with other people. They reconnected in 2015, three years after Russell’s divorce from singer Katy Perry. Their first daughter was born in 2016, and they married in Oxfordshire in August 2017. They had a second daughter in 2018 and a son in 2023.

At Russell’s trial, Laura said he was “caring” and “kind,” and called him an attentive husband and a wonderful father. She acknowledged his earlier difficulty with monogamy, but said their marriage “has always been honest,” according to Grazia Daily. Russell was convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. After the verdict, he turned to Laura and said, “Laura, I love you.”