10 Celebrity Power Couples Share Their Secrets for a Happy Marriage
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Valentine's Day is, by its very nature a rather intimate affair, but 2021 will be even more cosy as lovers from all corners of the country make the most of the home comforts and each other.
While we might not get the opportunity to roll out the red carpet at a fancy restaurant or a deliciously decadent hotel this year, we can still look to the stars.
The star-studded lives of celebs might seem worlds apart from our own, especially in the current circumstances, but love is universal. So, come with me through the tunnel of love and learn the sweet nothings which 25 celebrity power couples credit with keeping their marriage peachy.
1. Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds opened up to Vanity Fair about the key to wife Blake Lively’s successful approach to their marriage: lead with empathy:
“She always responds with empathy. She meets anger with empathy. She meets hate with empathy. She’ll take the time to imagine what happened to a person when they were five or six years old. And she’s made me a more empathetic person.”
2. Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness
Hugh Jackman is not only the dream hubby because of his rippling pecs and swoon-worthy jawline; he’s also just the sweetest, most dedicated partner a gal could wish for. What he told People magazine about his wife is surely what any sweetheart would want to hear:
"Even at the Oscars, I walk out, I put my hand on my heart and I always look to Deb in the audience. Straight afterward, I will not see anybody in my dressing room until Deb's been in. Because that is my foundation, that is the rock, that is the foundation of our family, and therefore my life.”
3. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s marriage has provided the press with numerous column inches of drama, but the couple always new things weren’t going to be easy. Will Smith explained to Entertainment Tonight that:
You can't expect it to be easy. It's like our marriage was the most difficult, gruelling, excruciating thing that we have ever taken on in our lives. And you know, we're just not quitters. If there is a secret, I would say it's that we never went into working in our relationship. We only ever worked on ourselves individually, and then presented ourselves to one another better than we were previously... Really, at the end of the day, it's just not quitting.
4. Freddie Prinze Jr and Sarah Michelle Gellar
Freddie Prinze Jr says that a lengthy starter of friendship before tucking into a relationship has been the secret to his marriage to Sarah Michelle Gellar. The actor told E! News:
‘We were just friends. That’s one of the reasons I think our relationship has always been so good, we were just friends for a good two years before we ever went on a date. She knew what kind of guy I was. She knew what my morals were, what my priorities were and visa versa. We already kind of knew all the faults in the other person. We ended up being the perfect balance. But it didn’t happen until years after and there was a solid foundation built, and that’s probably the main reason why we’ve always been cool and groovy."
5. Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka
It’s an oldie but a goodie, but for beloved actor Neil Patrick Harris, it’s communication that keeps a relationship on the right track, telling Entertainment Tonight:
“In our relationship, communication is super important. Good friends of ours said, 'You need to talk it out,' and if that means raising your voice, you need to raise your voice. Know what you're talking about. Know where you're standing as opposed to letting stuff build up, I guess.”
6. Sting and Trudie Styler
Sometimes those old sayings stick around for a reason, and “marry your best friend” is one we’ve all heard before. However, with 27 years of marriage to back up that old adage, musical megastar Sting can make us all believe, telling People magazine in 2020:
“I know something about marriage. I’ve been married to Trudie for 27 years now. People say to me, ‘How has it lasted this long?’ I say, ‘Well, it’s kind of a miracle, but we don’t take it for granted.’ We’re friends, too. We love each other, but we actually like each other — and that’s an important distinction there. Love is passion and all of that stuff, but actually liking somebody and enjoying someone’s company is something slightly different, and it lasts longer. So you can have both, and I think that’s important. Be married to your best friend.”
7. Chrissy Teigen and John Legend
OK, so they’re such a gorgeous and talented couple that us mere mortals may not feel we have much in common with them, but Chrissy Teigen gives some pretty relatable advice. The key to a rewarding relly, she tells E! News, is not get in each other’s pockets all the time:
"We're not together 365 [days a year]. It's nice to be able to really be like, ‘Oh my gosh, I miss you. I miss you so much.' That works for both of us."
8. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson
The truth shall set ye (and ye spouse!) free, says actor and all-around nice guy Tom Hanks, who told Sooo Many White Guys podcast:
We learned the secret of happiness with each other a long time ago and that's always telling the truth. I will say that right from the get-go, I thought there was something crazy great about her. I met her and I thought 'Oh lord ... there's something cookin' here’. She makes me laugh harder now than she did in 1986.”
9. Beyonce and Jay-Z
A bit of a controversial inclusion given Jay-Z’s rather public infidelity (and Beyonce’s subsequent musical ode to revenge, Lemonade) but many couples work through a partner’s indiscretions and find happiness on the other side. For those with a creative side, Jay-Z advocates using that expression to better a relationship, telling NYT:
“We were using our art almost like a therapy session... And it was uncomfortable. And we had a lot of conversations. You know. [I was] really proud of the music she made, and she was really proud of the art I released. And, you know, at the end of the day we really have a healthy respect for one another's craft. I think she's amazing.
The multi-award-winning rapper also sings the praises of taking some good old-fashioned responsibility for your own actions; owning up to mistakes and facing the music in order to push forward:
You know, most people walk away, and like divorce rate is like 50 percent or something ’cause most people can’t see themselves. The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone’s face that you caused, and then have to deal with yourself.
10. Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell
Is there a more lovable, bubbly celeb than Goldie Hawn? She seems like a dream to be married to, quite honestly, which makes her advice all the more charming and down-to-earth. The stunning actress gives a boisterous picture of a marriage with her wise words:
“Love, gratitude, compassion, because sometimes every man or every woman will drive their partner crazy. Family. Fun. Laughs. Sex. If you don’t nurture that, and remember, you’re done.”