Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders ‘marries rapper girlfriend Amanda Blank in secret ceremony’ after three years of dating

Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders has married rapper girlfriend Amanda Blank in a secret wedding ceremony after three years of dating.

The couple – who started a relationship in 2020 – exchanged vows this weekend with 40-year-old Blank, referencing the news on social media alongside a photo of themselves and Helders sharing a kiss.

Blank — a Philadelphia-raised rapper, singer and member of the performance art band Sweatheart — captioned the image with an emoji of a ring: “I truly love you the most.”

Responding to the message, an ecstatic Helders replied: ‘Can you believe it? Trouble and strife!’

Reposting the photo, taken by close friend Bobby Whigham, the Sheffield-born musician, 37, added: “I’ve never been happier!!!”

The wedding comes just four years after Helders divorced his first wife, Californian model Breana McDow, in 2019 after a short-lived three-year marriage.

The former couple started dating in 2011 and confirmed their engagement in 2013. Three years later, they exchanged vows in Italy and share seven-year-old daughter Amelia Darling.

Helders, a founding member of Arctic Monkeys, met Breana when she featured in the accompanying music videos for their 2011 singles Suck It And See and Evil Twin.

The band, which also includes Alex Turner, Jamie Cook and Nick O’Malley, took to the stage at the Glastonbury Festival in June, but their performance provoked mixed reactions from fans.

Arctic Monkeys played the highly anticipated 90-minute headliner on Glastonbury’s Pyramid stage, but fans were left in awe of the show, with one person even seen gaping in the audience.

Singer Turner released a slew of hits, including Mardy Bum and RU Mine, but the crowd was left confused and wondering what the heck was going on with the band.

For many of the band’s major players, Turner – who had recently recovered from an acute strep throat infection – sang the songs at a much slower tempo than the upbeat originals, with fans complaining that it was difficult to sing along.

The rock band took to the stage hours after a surprise show from The Foo Fighters, who put on an incredible performance for the festival’s hour-long ‘secret’ finale, with several claiming they should have headlined Friday’s show.

Both festival-goers and fans watching the live BBC broadcast branded the headliner ‘boring’ and ‘mediocre’ and complained they were ‘disappointed’ by the performance.

On Twitter, one fan wrote: ‘I fell in love with the Arctic Monkeys because of the energy and excitement in the songs. That performance was too slow for me, but there were some bangers.’

Another said: ‘Too slow, not engaging for the audience…not great’, while a third complained: ‘Why slow down even your slowest song??? Sorry, I’ve always loved the Arctic Monkeys, but I can’t deal with that.’

A fourth tweeted: ‘Horrible performance, what the hell is wrong with them?! I’m glad I didn’t get tickets for their performances this time.’

A fifth said: ‘I’m very disappointed with Arctic Monkeys. It all seems very slow, the tension of the first album is gone. It’s like the Arctic Monkeys Jazz Lounge.’

‘It’s like they want people to hate them. Like a mediocre lounge band covering arctic monkeys, another groaned.

A seventh shared: ‘If they slow down Mardy Bum they’ll headline next year too,’ while an additional viewer claimed: ‘For the first time ever we might see an entire crowd fall asleep.’

While another added: ‘I would be furious if I went to Glastonbury for Arctic Monkeys to play that set. Very boring. I don’t understand why Foo Fighters played for them.’