Mark Wahlberg Jokes Daughter's Boyfriend Took His Place on Family's Vacation After His COVID Diagnosis

The actor talks about his 18-year-old daughter, Ella Rae's, boyfriend of one year.

Mark Wahlberg's family got a little savage when it came to their holiday vacation. The 50-year-old Uncharted actor opens up on Thursday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show about contracting COVID-19 over the holidays, and how his wife, Rhea Durham, and four kids reacted. 

"We always go on holiday at Christmas, and I'm down in the basement a couple days before Christmas. I don't get to open gifts with anybody or anything," he shares. "The next thing you know, they're still going on holiday. I hear the car getting ready to go, doors are shutting. And I'm like, 'Are you not going to come to the stairs and say goodbye?' But they did come to the stairs and stayed not six feet apart, but like 36 feet apart."

The Wahlberg family were quick to replace Mark with another man -- his 18-year-old daughter Ella Rae's boyfriend of a year. 

"He went on the holiday! So now he's like the man of the house," Mark quips. "I'm stuck. And I'm like, 'Wait a second!' This guy slid right in and I'm out." 

Mark jokes that he tried to reunite with the family on vacation, but his presence wasn't exactly welcome. 

"And I was able to go down a few days later when I got two negative tests and I was able to see them. They were like, 'What are you doing here? Are you sure it's OK?'" he says. "I still had a little bit of a cough and stuff like that, so they didn't really want me there." 

Despite being traded in, Mark has nothing but kind things to say about his daughter's boyfriend of one year. 

"I think he's more scared of my daughter than he is of me," Mark quips. "I pray for him more than I pray for her in that relationship. They're perfect for each other. He couldn't be any sweeter. I realized earlier on it's inevitable and as long as it's someone who's nice and treats her well and it's somebody who I can trust and respect -- we have a great relationship. He's fantastic. I hope she can keep him." 

RELATED CONTENT: