CNN's Robin Meade: My Secrets To A Happy (& Hectic) Marriage
When the HLN cameras stop rolling, Robin Meade sings country music dedicated to her husband. Awe!
As the Morning Express anchor on HLN, Robin Meade is live weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. ET. Behind the cameras, she just released her second country album Count On Me. Yee-haw!
"There are a number of songs that go straight to the heart, for anyone who is a romantic," Robin tells YourTango. Now available on iTunes and in Target stores, the record includes 12 songs—7 of which Robin wrote herself.
In the exclusive interview below, Robin talks to YourTango about her husband, relationship role models, and her romantic wedding night surprise!
YourTango: What was the last thing you did to show your husband you love him?
Robin Meade: I wrote a few of the songs on Count On Me about my husband. While one of them is a frank look at the yin and yang of love, another song, There's You, is a melt-your-heart ballad. One viewer even tweeted me that she's considering playing that song at her upcoming wedding! What an honor.
YourTango: What couple do you most admire and why?
Robin Meade: I admire my in-laws. After all these years of marriage, they still make each other giggle. They prefer each others' company, and genuinely have compatible interests that keep them padding around together even now that they're retired. Most of all, I see a respect there for each other, after they raised three rough-and-tumble sons—each of whom has grown up to have great respect for women. The respect and honesty I get from my husband is thanks in large part to them! So, for that reason, I'm partial toward them as a couple I admire for their long-term commitment to each other.
YourTango: What's the best love advice you ever received?
Robin Meade: "Think about how much you'd miss that if he were gone tomorrow." This is my senior producer's advice in my ear during our news show if I'm grumbling about my hubby, whether about his habit of leaving dirty clothes around, or the way he goes into la la land while I'm talking with him, or that he wakes me up being loud overnight. How true! Heaven forbid, but if something ever happens to our loved ones, oh how we'd long for them to be back, and their little aggravating habits would be something cherished.
On the other hand the best love advice I've ever given is: Gals, don't marry someone for their looks. Sooner or later we all age and start to droop. Don't marry someone for their position and don't marry someone for money. Money comes and goes, and since when is that love? Marry someone because they make you laugh. Humor is always sexy. Besides, it's awfully hard to get mad at someone while they're making you laugh.
Your Tango: Finish this sentence: I'm a sucker for a man who _______________.
Robin Meade: ... is muscular and rugged yet pays attention to detail.
YourTango: How do you keep your relationship solid and happy?
Robin Meade: Our schedules keep it fresh! We don't see each other during the week. So when we finally bump into each other on Friday nights, it's like, "Look at you! You're cute! How was your week? Great to see you! Let's go out together!" While it's not easy, it does keep us yearning for each other!
YourTango: What's your most romantic memory?
Robin Meade: The day we got married, my husband arranged to have 100 red roses placed around our bed as a surprise. This was no easy feat: we got married in northern Ohio, and we were going to spend that night back at our condo approximately 100 miles away, before taking off the next morning for our honeymoon. I'm still not exactly sure who the magic floral person was who did this work earlier in the day while we were off saying our vows. But there the flowers were, lined up perfectly in the master bedroom when we unlocked the doors after a long but happy day!
YourTango: Do you believe in love at first sight?
Robin Meade: I have to believe in it because my hubby claims when he first saw me in college his heart quickened and he couldn't breathe well. He says it was like God was telling him "There she is!" How sweet is that?
YourTango: What's your tango?
Robin Meade: Creating really excites me! Whether it's brainstorming about a new way to present a news story, or writing and performing my music, I love that rush of adrenaline when you tap into something unseen and the entire room is in on it ... and aware that THIS IS GONNA BE GOOD!
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