Marriage is hard. Romantic comedies don’t always share the difficulties and challenges that often comes after a happily ever after. And though us normal folk may have a hard time keeping the romance alive, celebrity marriages are even more difficult to make last. All celeb relationships start with the glamour and seemingly unattainable glow that comes with fame, but most relationships that play out in the public eye ultimately end with a messy break up or a multi-million dollar divorce. We’ve selected the very best pieces of marital advice from some of the world’s most famous faces.
Communication is Key
Communication is an undeniable part of any healthy relationship. Talking about your issues is a sure way to find compromise and resolution rather than building up resentment for your partner. “In our relationship, communication is super important,” Neil Patrick Harris shared with Entertainment Tonight while talking about his successful marriage to David Burtka. “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.”
Parenting is a Team Effort
Model Chrissy Teigen and husband John Legend have repeatedly proved themselves to be incredible partners and hands-on parents. “I think it’s really important to be complete partners in crime,” Chrissy shared in an interview. “I love the mentality of ‘us against the world.’ Even when you have kids, never forget your relationship as partners and lovers — that’s so important… When we have Luna going insane, it’s important to be able to look at each other and be like, ‘We created this thing and we’re going to solve it together.'”
Keep Surprising Each Other
It can be difficult to maintain a sense of allure and intrigue in a relationship that spans years. Try to keep each other guessing. Alicia Keys shared some insight into her relationship with her husband, rapper Swizz Beatz, “One of us plans [a date] and the other has no idea where we are going. We’ve found some undiscovered gems and moments to take hikes or walks or just discover new things about life and each other. Those are my favorite times.”
Share in Each Other’s Victories
Supporting one another in times of joy and despair is essential to maintaining a long-lasting relationship. “We support each other in everything we do,” actress Salma Hayek said when talking about her husband, Francois-Henri Pinault. “We want the other one to strive. And you know what, we don’t have a very strong social life, because we really like to spend time together. So we do spend a lot of quality time together.”
