Such is Laura Brand’s commitment to her husband, during his rape trial she took to the witness stand to be questioned about his sex life.
Laura, who like her husband is a born-again Christian and budding wellness guru, said that the disgraced comedian was “very caring, totally at my pace. I was not experienced, I had only had one partner before Russell and I felt entirely cared for, and looked after by Russell.” However, when she was listening to victims and witnesses give their evidence, she was less amenable, with reporters noting her frequent eye-rolling and, on one occasion, mouthing: “For goodness sake.”
The 39-year-old stuck with Brand throughout the case, attending Southwark Crown Court every day. The star has now been found guilty of rape and sexual assault, and handed a 10-and-a-half year jail term; despite him now residing at Wandsworth prison, Laura seems set to continue standing by him.
When the sentence was read out, she reportedly slumped, broke down in tears and began shaking. Just before Brand was led down to the court’s holding cells, he told her: “We’ll be ok,” to which she mouthed back: “I love you, I’ll be ok.” She left court with her sunglasses on, despite gloomy clouds over London with friends flanking her.
But what will she do now? And who, or what, will support her? In 2024, the couple and their three children – now aged 10, eight and three – moved from their £3.3m home in Oxfordshire to Florida. They moved back to the UK for his trial, and it looks like Laura will stay.
This return will doubtless give her better access to supportive friends and family. If she stays in the Brands’ Henley-on-Thames cottage, she will be a manageable drive from her older sister, the presenter Kirsty Gallacher, who bought a home in Ascot in 2020.
Laura Brand with her sister, the presenter Kirsty Gallacher (Photo: David M Benett/Getty)Kirsty, introduced Russell Brand to her younger sister in 2006, has previously been supportive of him. After allegations of his sexual misconduct were first reported in the press in 2023, she shared on Instagram – then deleted – a video he had posted claiming he was the victim of a “co-ordinated media attack”. Kirsty presents Gold Radio’s drivetime programme every afternoon, but did not turn up for work on the day of Brand’s sentencing. Her absence was not explained by Gold Radio, but she did return to work the following day.
During the trial, Laura’s father Bernard, the former golfer and Ryder Cup winner, joined her and Brand, walking into court with the pair. He lives on the Wentworth Estate in Virginia Water, Surrey, which is not only close to the Brands’ home in Henley, but indicative of the family’s wealth. In 2008, Kirsty said “You don’t have to be connected to golf to live there, but you do need a ridiculous amount of money.”
As for friends, the couple’s 2017 wedding included guests such as Noel Gallagher, David Baddiel, Jonathan Ross and the presenter Fearne Cotton, who described Laura as “my best mate” in 2016. They worked together on Cotton’s Happy Place Festival. Cotton has not made any public statement about Brand’s trial or crimes.
One question many are asking is what will happen to Russell Brand’s reported $20m wealth, and how he and Laura might seek to protect their fortune or generate new income while he is in prison.
Gossip among London’s barristers is that Brand spent an estimated £1m on legal fees for the criminal trial. He will not be liable for his victims’ compensation, as this will come from the government-funded Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
However, he is facing two civil claims, one in the UK and one in the US, each from women alleging sexual assault, which he denies. Paul McGinn, partner in the abuse claims team at injury claims law firm Bolt Burdon Kemp, told The i Paper: “It is an unusual circumstance for there to be a high-profile, very wealthy individual sent to prison for rape”
And although Mr Justice Bennathan had told the court that Brand had on multiple occasions used his status to inflict harm, McGinn said this celebrity status could now come back to bite Brand: “Those criminal convictions and publicity would mean that Brand would have significant difficulty in evading any liability for civil claims. That includes claims from the US where awards are much higher than in the UK.”
In the months before the trial, Brand began shuffling his financial assets. Land Registry documents show he has applied to transfer ownership of the family property in Henley-on-Thames, possibly to his wife.
Russell Brand, right, accompanied by his wife Laura and her father Bernard Gallacher – the former professional golfer – arrive at the court in east London on Monday (Photo: Alberto Pezzali/AP)According to Companies House records, Laura was listed as a co-director of several of Brand’s companies until, last year, Stay Free Media and R&L Brand were dissolved.
This June, their Brand New Collective – a food, property and events company – was also dissolved. And in the past year, Brand has reportedly taken £8.7m out of his TV and stand-up company, called Pablo Diablo’s Legitimate Business Firm. While Laura is the joint owner of the company, he is the sole director.
McGinn says that moving these assets could have been done “for tax reasons or to water down the pot for civil claims. From Brand’s perspective, the more he can protect his assets for himself and his family, the better for him. But it’s certainly not a good look, and could just help the claimants.”
He adds that “in the UK, Laura Brand will not be personally liable for any civil damages that are awarded against Russell Brand. But claimants will be able to pursue any shared assets deliberately put beyond their reach.”
Despite the lurid details emerging from the trial, Brand has continued to grow his wealth. The i Paper reported this week that in the past few months, he made £7m through monetised online videos and content such as The Sunday Service, which Laura has co-presented with him. Experts said that Laura – a former illustrator and lifestyle blogger, who has also published a book called The Joy Journal – could be set to take the reins from her husband, and his channels could make even more money.
“I think she is the new face of Russell Brand’s business…” explained Sara McCorquodale, CEO and founder of marketing and influencer analytics firm CORQ. “She is more integrated into these channels, and being put forward as a face which is potentially very sympathetic to his audience. They might really respect her for standing by him, for believing him, for also being very religious.”
So while Russell Brand serves time, his wife could continue to earn handsomely from schemes ranging from promoting a gambling website, to his wellness shop Reborn, which sells unproven supplements and, more recently, a T-shirt reading “Free Russell” for $34.99 (£26).
She may be able to live a comfortable life until her husband’s return. Until then, it is likely she will be doing what she always does. Brand told an interviewer in 2019 that he never changed the nappies, and when it came to childcare: “Laura does all of it. It turns out that she is extremely well versed in the nuances and complexities of child-rearing”.
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