10 Of The Longest Marriages In Hollywood & How They Make It Work
In honor of National Marriage Week, we're profiling the long-lasting unions in Celebland!
Getty Marriages are always hard work. But, try adding dozens of paparazzi cameras trailing your every move, total strangers making judgments about your relationship and printing them in magazines, and a spouse whose jobs requires frequently making out with some of the most attractive actors today, and keeping a marriage alive becomes even harder.
Hollywood marriages can be quite difficult to handle, but there are a few couples who have lasted amidst the choas and calamity. Here are a 10 partnerships that have worked, and how they keep it together!
1. Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick: married in 1997, 14 years
This couple is one of the most private in Hollywood, so we'll go ahead and speculate that this is how they keep their realtionship healthy. No need to let prying eyes and cameras into it. In a rare mention of her personal life, SJP told Marie Claire last fall that she and Matthew "don't talk about our marriage a lot, which is probably wise. There are so many other things in our lives that take precedence over the splitting of the atom of our marriage." Seems likes they don't pry into their marriage too much themselves either!
2. Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas: married in 1996, 15 years
These two were both married to other people when they met, but just because their first marriages didn't last, doesn't mean theirs won't. They've sure had a taste of struggle: Melanie recently overcame a long addition to alcohol and drugs. She told People in 2009, "My husband and family supported me so much through this journey and continue to do so."
How else do they make their marriage work? Antonio once said to CrankyCritic.com: "To be married in our profession is not an easy thing, as there are too many beautiful people around, very interesting people. It's just a matter of really being patient and probably having the capacity and the faith of falling in love with your own wife again, which happened to me. It's almost like a fire that you just feed with little pieces of wood, little by little, and then if you cross a certain line around the sixth, seventh, eighth year, everything becomes easier." Cute! [Editor's note: As of June 2014, Melanie Griffith has filed for divorce.]
3. Annette Benning and Warren Beatty: married in 1992, 19 years
Warren Beatty was always known as the ultimate ladies' man (some even say Carol King's song "You're So Vain" is about Beatty), so it's quite a shock that he's settled down for so long. But four children later, this couple is still going strong. These two seem to make it last by the confidence they have in their love for one another. In 2007, Beatty told the Irish Independent: "I was never divided on the subject (of marriage) with Annette. I was never divided on the subject of having a child. And I was never divided on the subject of her integrity or intelligence or capacity to love."
It seems they also never forget to take the time to be together, just the two of them. Annette told Good Housekeeping in 2004: "We also really try to make time for ourselves. And I think (our children) are pretty understanding about that. I think in some ways it is comforting to hear their parents say 'No, we're going to do something on our own. We want to be alone together.' But we also involve them in a lot of stuff."
4. David Bowie and Iman: married in 1992, 19 years
For these two, it seems showing more than telling is key. Iman told New York magazine last year that her hubby's actions always spoke louder than his words. "We were dating for two weeks and I was coming from Paris and I got to L.A. at the airport and the doors open to the plane and I come out and I see all these people taking a picture of somebody. And he was standing there, flowers in hand, no security. That was when I knew he was a keeper. He didn't care if anyone saw." Seriously adorable.
5. Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates: married in 1989, 22 years
Cates is 15 years younger than Kline, so everyone probably assumed these two were doomed from the start. Boy, were they wrong! Their secret? Sticking close. Kline told Entertainment Weekly in 2002: ''We're both sensible, and we don't separate for long periods of time. We take care of the marriage.''
6. Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon: married in 1988, 23 years
Perhaps all it takes to make a happy union is two partners who are equally matched in acting talent. These two are some of the best actors with consistently successful careers. Kyra told Redbook that part of making their marriage last has been accepting a little co-dependency: "I think the trust gets deeper and the dependency gets deeper, which is scary. I think, because my father and mother split up when I was very young, there was a part of me at the beginning of our marriage that thought, I'm cool alone. I love him, but I'm strong enough to handle life without him. But now he is the person I count on to live and walk through life with. It's a dependency that is there and large and real and profound." (Fun fact: Kyra also recently got a tattoo that contains all her families initials.)
7. Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks: married in 1988, 23 years
These two are one of Hollywood's staple couples. We feel like if anyone else on the list (apart from Iman and Bowie) fell apart tomorrow, everyone would be like, "Eh, well that's Hollywood for you." Rita and Tom always seemed to defy that sentiment—they seem more down to earth and incapable of existing without the other. They make it work because they're soulmates (we don't necessarily believe in soulmates, generally speaking, but these two certainly seem to be!) Tom has said about Rita: "The woman I share my life with has taught me and demonstrates to me every day just what love is." And Rita has said about Tom: "My husand and I would marry each other knowing what we know now."
8. Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan: married in 1988, 23 years
These two met in 1985 as costars on the set of Family Ties. They were married only two years before Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's (when he was merely 30!), so this couple has had more than their fair share of hardship. Nevertheless, they stuck by each other. Tracy told O, The Oprah Magazine in 2002 that one of the reasons their marriage works so well is because "Michael and I had great role models. Though his father has passed away, his parents had an amazingly strong marriage, as do mine. Both weathered really tough times. For us it has been normal to stay together through difficulties. We grew up witnessing that firsthand."
9. Denzel and Pauletta Washington: married in 1983, 28 years
So far, the only couple on our list that shares a last name! We don't know much about this couple, but their 28 years of marriage speaks pretty loudly. Oprah once asked Pauletta if she ever feels jealous of her husband's devoted female fans. She replied, "No, because, you know why? He's coming home."
10. Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn: romantically involved since 1983, 28 years:
OK, so we know that technically these two are not married, but we think that's even more reason to celebrate this couple! What is marriage but devotion and love for one another? These two certainly embody that, and they don't have the pain of all that messy divorce stuff threatening them if they ever decide to split. But, as easy as it would be to walk away at any time in the last 28 years, these two have stayed together, which we think is amazing.
Last year on The View, Goldie said: "We're not gonna get married. I mean, we're happy. I still like the idea that I'm his girlfriend... I was married twice. I think that there's a sense of idealism really about wanting to be married and have a family… My feeling is our journey is our journey, and there isn't any way we're gonna put a stop or should (put a stop to it) because it's all a learning process." Amen!
Surely, we left some other great Hollywood couples out – who would you have added to the list? Do you think all these couples will still be together next year?