Mandie Taketa’s Powerful Family Story: How Wayne Brady’s Ex-Wife Became His Closest Creative Partner

Many people know Mandie Taketa as Wayne Brady’s ex-wife, but there’s much more to her story. Years after their marriage ended, Taketa and Brady remain close friends, co-parents, and professional partners. Their relationship challenges common ideas about life after divorce.

The 2024 Freeform docuseries Wayne Brady: The Family Remix brought their family into the spotlight. The show featured Taketa, Brady, their daughter Maile Masako Brady, and Taketa’s longtime partner, Jason Michael Fordham. It showed how the adults built a family around teamwork rather than traditional roles. Hulu lists the series as having one season with eight episodes.

The show was not renewed for a second season. In February 2025, Brady confirmed there would be no Season 2 on Hulu, but he emphasized that the family and their creative work would continue. Taketa’s story goes beyond reality TV; her partnership with Brady has lasted for years, both personally and professionally.

Mandie Taketa is a producer, director, and former performer from Hawaii. She is known as Wayne Brady’s former wife, close friend, and business partner. They married in 1999, divorced in 2008, share a daughter named Maile Brady, and later co-founded A Wayne & Mandie Creative as they built a unique blended family.

Bio Summary

Fact	Verified Detail

Full name

Mandie Taketa

Public role

Producer, director, creative executive and former performer

Originally from

Kaneohe, Hawaii

Former husband

Wayne Brady

Marriage

April 1999

Divorce finalized

April 2008

Daughter with Brady

Maile Masako Brady

Longtime partner

Jason Michael Fordham

Son with Fordham

Sundance-Isamu

Production company

A Wayne & Mandie Creative

Major television project

Wayne Brady: The Family Remix

Series platform

Freeform; streaming on Hulu

The Marriage Ended, but Mandie Taketa and Wayne Brady Did Not Become Strangers

Taketa and Wayne Brady married in April 1999. Their daughter, Maile Masako Brady, was born in 2003. Court reporting from the period established that the couple officially separated in April 2006, and their divorce was finalized in April 2008.

What happened after their divorce is what sets their story apart from most celebrity breakups.

After the divorce, Brady continued to call Taketa his best friend and said they were raising Maile together as a team. Over time, their co-parenting grew into a close friendship and a business partnership, even though their romance had ended.

Their situation is not a reconciliation, and the family says it should not be seen as a polyamorous relationship between Brady, Taketa, and Fordham.

“It’s not a throuple.” — Wayne Brady, discussing the family structure in 2024.

Taketa also mentioned that people sometimes misunderstood their family. The unusual part was not a hidden romance, but the strong friendship and teamwork that continued after the divorce.

How Jason Fordham Became Part of the Same Family Unit

Jason Michael Fordham entered Taketa’s life after her separation from Brady. Freeform identifies Fordham as Taketa’s longtime partner and states that their relationship dates to 2009.

Fordham is involved in more than just Brady and Taketa’s entertainment projects. According to his official biography, he has experience in dance, filmmaking, editing, and multimedia production. He joined Wayne Brady’s Variety Show in 2009 and later worked behind the scenes on projects with both Brady and Taketa.

Taketa and Fordham are also parents to Sundance-Isamu, often called Sundance or Sunny. People reported that the couple adopted him in 2021 and that Brady holds an active extended-family role in his life.

This led to the family setup shown in The Family Remix: Brady and Taketa are former spouses and co-parents; Taketa and Fordham are partners; Maile is the daughter of Brady and Taketa; and Sundance is the son of Taketa and Fordham.

This family arrangement might seem unusual to some, but everyone involved says it’s about family, friendship, and co-parenting—not romantic confusion.

The Timeline That Explains Their Unusual Bond

• 1996: Published biographical accounts place Brady and Taketa’s meeting during Brady’s entertainment work in Hawaii.
• April 1999: Mandie Taketa and Wayne Brady marry.
• 2003: Their daughter, Maile Masako Brady, is born.
• April 2006: Taketa and Brady officially separate.
• 2008: Their divorce is finalized.
• 2009: Jason Fordham begins working with the family professionally and starts a relationship with Taketa.
• 2021: Taketa and Fordham adopt Sundance-Isamu, according to People.
• 2024: Wayne Brady: The Family Remix premieres on Freeform on July 24 and streams the following day on Hulu.
• 2025: Brady confirms that Hulu will not move forward with a second season.

Therapy and Communication Were Part of the Work Behind the “Modern Family”

The friendliness between Taketa and Brady did not appear automatically when the divorce papers were signed.

Public interviews surrounding The Family Remix repeatedly emphasized therapy, communication, and emotional work. Brady has discussed therapy extensively when describing his personal development, while reporting about the family has noted that both former spouses worked intentionally toward a healthier relationship after their marriage ended.

This matters because the family’s social media posts can make their closeness seem effortless.

It was not.

They say their relationship was rebuilt after their separation. They found ways to stay connected while acknowledging their past. Parenting Maile was one reason to remain close, but friendship and working together also became important parts of their lives. A tightly connected family who live close enough to maintain frequent contact and shared parenting responsibilities.

Maile Brady Is Central to Understanding the Arrangement

Maile was not simply a background character when the family moved into unscripted television.

Her Freeform biography describes Brady and Taketa as divorced parents who are still best friends and business partners. Maile was also given her own perspective in The Family Remix, which Brady and Taketa felt was important to portray the family accurately.

Taketa told TheWrap that she wanted to protect her daughter while also trusting Maile’s emotional maturity. Brady argued that excluding Maile’s viewpoint would have created an incomplete account of their family.

This approach made the series less about a celebrity’s ex-wife and more about how each adult and child experiences the same family in their own way.

A Wayne & Mandie Creative Turned an Ex-Marriage Into a Business Partnership

A Wayne & Mandie Creative, the production company Taketa co-founded with Brady, shows that she has built her own professional identity. identifies Taketa as its co-founder and says its work has included stage productions, television and other entertainment projects. Her official biography credits her with involvement in Brady’s Australian Makin’ It Up project and his Las Vegas residency at The Venetian.

She also co-created and executive-produced Comedy IQ, which aired on BYUtv, and has worked on music videos and major televised performances.

Her credited production work includes:

• Wayne Brady’s Comedy IQ
• Wayne Brady: The Family Remix
• Brady’s Australian performance project
• Brady’s Las Vegas residency
• Music-video production and direction
• Work connected with the BET Honors
• A Little Richard tribute produced for the BET Awards
• Specialty material for Wayne Brady’s 2022 American Music Awards appearance

Freeform also notes that Taketa has worked on scripted projects with Jerry Bruckheimer Television, which shows her career goes beyond producing Brady’s work.

Why Wayne Brady: The Family Remix Changed Mandie Taketa’s Public Profile

Before 2024, most people learned about Mandie Taketa through Wayne Brady’s biography. Family Remix changed that framing.

TaketTaketa was credited as a co-creator, executive producer, and cast member, giving her a leading creative role in the project rather than simply being seen as the celebrity’s ex-wife. series premiered July 24, 2024, on Freeform. Disney’s current listing identifies Brady and Taketa as creators and shows eight first-season episodes. Hulu likewise lists one season.

The show looked at family relationships, Brady’s personal growth, mental health topics, and his public announcement that he is pansexual.

It also helped viewers see why Taketa, Brady, and Fordham spend so much time together.

Did The Family Remix Get a Second Season?

No.

In February 2025, Brady said Hulu would not make a second season. Still, he emphasized that the family would stay together and keep working on creative projects through their production company.

As of September 2026, Hulu and Disney+ continue to list the existing 2024 season rather than a second installment.

Mandie Taketa’s Financial Position Is Not Reliably Public

Celebrity-biography websites sometimes publish numerical wealth estimates for people associated with major entertainers, but there is no sufficiently authoritative public financial disclosure to establish Mandie Taketa’s personal wealth.

Her work in production, directing, development projects, and as a co-owner of A Wayne & Mandie Creative suggests she has several sources of income in entertainment. However, details about the company’s revenue, Taketa’s share, salary, investments, and personal assets have not been made public, so her exact wealth is unknown.

Any specific claim about Mandie Taketa’s wealth should be seen as an estimate, not a confirmed fact.

The Partnership That Outlasted the Marriage

Mandie Taketa is significant for more than just being Wayne Brady’s ex-wife. What really stands out is what happened after their marriage ended.

Their divorce led to co-parenting, which became a friendship. That friendship turned into a business partnership. Jason Fordham joined the family, but Brady remained involved. Maile and Sundance became part of a close household that challenges common ideas about divorced families. Family Remix only lasted one season, but it showed something that had been true for years. Taketa, Brady, and Fordham had already created their own idea of family before the show ever started.

For Taketa, being in the spotlight showed that she is more than just part of Wayne Brady’s past. She has worked with him for years as a producer, co-creator, and business partner, and her achievements are now recognized in their own right.

FAQs

Who is Mandie Taketa?

Mandie Taketa is an American producer, director, and former performer from Kaneohe, Hawaii. She is also the former wife of entertainer Wayne Brady and the co-founder of their production company, A Wayne & Mandie Creative. She co-created and executive-produced Wayne Brady: The Family Remix.

Is Mandie Taketa still married to Wayne Brady?

No. Mandie Taketa and Wayne Brady are divorced. They married in April 1999, officially separated in 2006, and finalized their divorce in April 2008. They nevertheless remained close friends, co-parents and later professional partners.

Who is Mandie Taketa’s partner?

Mandie Taketa’s longtime partner is Jason Michael Fordham, a dancer, cinematographer and multimedia creative. Freeform’s official biography states that Taketa and Fordham have been together since 2009. They have a son, Sundance-Isamu.

Are Wayne Brady, Mandie Taketa and Jason Fordham a throuple?

No. The three have explicitly rejected that description. Brady told UPI that their relationship is not a throuple, while Taketa also said people had incorrectly interpreted their closeness. Their publicly described arrangement is a blended-family, friendship and co-parenting relationship.

How many children does Mandie Taketa have?

Taketa is the mother of Maile Masako Brady, her daughter with Wayne Brady, and Sundance-Isamu, her son with Jason Fordham. Maile was born in 2003, while Sundance joined Taketa and Fordham’s family through adoption.

What does Mandie Taketa do professionally?

Mandie Taketa is primarily known professionally as a producer and creative executive. She co-founded A Wayne & Mandie Creative, executive-produced and co-created Wayne Brady: The Family Remix and Comedy IQ, and has worked on music videos, live entertainment, and televised performance projects.

The Partnership That Outlasted the Marriage

Mandie Taketa’s public significance is not just that she once married Wayne Brady. The more interesting story is what happened after their marriage ended.

A divorce led to co-parenting. Co-parenting grew into friendship. Friendship expanded into a working partnership. Jason Fordham joined the family without taking away Brady’s role. Meanwhile, Maile and Sundance became part of a close household that challenges assumptions about what divorced families should look like.

Wayne Brady: The Family Remix lasted only one season, but it captured something that had already existed for years: Taketa, Brady, and Fordham had created their own definition of family long before the cameras showed up.

For Taketa, that visibility also made clear something often missed in celebrity stories. She is not just part of Wayne Brady’s private history. She has spent years working with him as a producer, co-creator, and business partner, and now those credits are recognized on their own.

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Editorial Disclaimer

This profile distinguishes documented information from unsupported celebrity claims. Private financial details, undisclosed contractual arrangements, and other information not confirmed through credible public records or direct reporting have not been presented as fact. Relationship descriptions reflect how Mandie Taketa, Wayne Brady, Jason Fordham and official program materials have publicly characterized their family structure.