Is Paul de Gelder married? All about Shark attack survivor as he shares tips to survive an encounter

Paul de Gelder hosted a TV special on Tuesday, July 22, as part of Discovery Channel’s Shark Week 2025.

The LA-based Australian Navy veteran and motivational speaker intentionally provokes underwater predators and allows them to attack his prosthetic limbs, while being supervised by safety divers and crew. While demonstrating several life-threatening encounters on camera, the longtime Shark Week host and shark attack survivor shared life-saving tactics.

De Gelder is a former Navy diver who survived a near-fatal undersea attack. He became a shark conservation advocate after losing his right arm and leg in a bull shark encounter in 2009. The then-elite Navy clearance diver was on a counter-terrorism exercise in Sydney Harbor when he was attacked.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Rhiannon (@rhiannons_avatar)

On the personal front, Paul de Gelder is married to Rhiannon, an animal rights activist and content creator. The couple went Instagram official in December 2021 and have featured in many of each other’s posts ever since. They tied the knot on September 6, 2023, and Rhiannon shared multiple pictures of the ceremony later that month.

Paul de Gelder was once a rapper and a bartender before joining the Australian Army

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Paul de Gelder (@pauldegelder)

After surviving a shark attack, Paul de Gelder reinvented himself as a TV host while serving as a frequent presenter for Shark Week. At the same time, he also authored multiple books like Uncaged, ToughAF, and Shark, while advocating for a change in perception toward underwater predators. However, the motivational speaker had tried multiple careers before becoming a Navy diver.

According to Famous Birthdays, Paul de Gelder was an Army paratrooper in the Australian Defence Forces before he joined the Navy. Before his military career, he used to work as a bartender at a strip club and as a rapper. In a May 2024 Instagram post, De Gelder shared an old picture from his Army days and wrote,

“This was the start of my new life and I was terrified and excited and proud to wear the uniform of the Australian soldier and belong to something bigger than myself. Prior to this I worked behind a bar in a strip club and was a rapper. Prior to that I had to escape my home town because I was going to end up in jail or dead.”

He hailed his decision to choose the Australian Army,

“Joining the army was my attempt to do something of value with my life.I could never have imagined where it would lead me.”

However, after surviving a shark attack, Paul de Gelder has used his experience to educate others about the undersea predators. Ahead of the premiere of How To Survive A Shark Attack on Discovery Channel, the Shark Week host spoke with Inside Edition. When asked about being prepared in case of an encounter, De Gelder said,

“If you're concerned about a shark bite, shark attack, make sure you're swimming at a beach that's patrolled by the lifeguards.”

Paul also cautioned against wearing jewelry, asserting that it can attract predators. His Shark Week special recreates four such scenarios that provide insights into survival during shark attacks.