Mark Wahlberg and Rhea Durham

Mark Wahlberg and Rhea Durham

Mark Wahlberg admits going to jail was a "wake-up call".

The 42-year-old actor was sentenced to two years imprisonment - of which he served 45 days - after he pleaded guilty to assault for attacking a Vietnamese man when he was just 16, and he says the harsh punishment forced him to turn his life around.

He said: "When I went to jail, that was a wake-up call. Over my lifetime I've known a lot of unsavoury characters. I made a lot of mistakes in my own life, too, but thankfully I was able to learn from them. That was quite some time ago.

Although Wahlberg made the decision to change his life after leaving prison, the 'Pain and Gain' star - who was using cocaine and other illegal substances from the age of 13 - credits his wife Rhea Durham and their four children, Ella, nine, Michael, seven, Brendan, four, and Grace, three, for helping him to stay out of trouble and be a good man.

In an interview with Nuts magazine, he explained: "Certainly now that I have a beautiful family, I've got all the more reason to stay on the right path."


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