In the book “What Makes a Marriage Last: 40 Celebrated Couples Share with Us the Secrets to a Happy Life,” published in 2020, famous couple Marlo Thomas, 84, and Phil Donahue, 86, revealed the key to their 40-year marriage.
The pair discussed their successful marriage and exchanged relationship advice from other long-married couples. The couple, who are undoubtedly authorities on the issue, is extremely pleased of their collaborative endeavor, and with good reason.
For the book, the actress and the talk show host spent nine months speaking with other famous married couples to learn what made them successful.
They stated, “We began to question whether there is actually a formula for a happy marriage. That’s when we made the decision to collaborate on a project, breaking an unbreakable rule of our marriage for the first time ever.
The book offers tales and advice from enduring celebrity couples like Viola Davis and Julius Tennon, Chip and Joanna Gaines, and Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick.
Thomas and Donahue stated, “As diverse as these couples’ tales are, they share a common plotline: that of two individuals coming together and standing up to the most difficult, energizing, motivating, irksome, thrilling, terrible, delightful and heavenly work on earth – making a marriage last.”
The key to a successful relationship, according to Thomas and Donahue, is communication. There was also the straightforward notion that nothing could separate them.
According to Thomas, “Over the years you learn that everything is not that big of a deal, and this won’t break us up regardless of what,” so you get used to saying, “Ok, let’s just talk it out.”
Donahue said that having a sense of humor is essential for a happy marriage. The key to effective communication? He laughed, “Screaming works. “At least then you can tell if the person you’re yelling at is paying attention. After that, enter the opposite room and count to ten.
When Thomas appeared as a guest on Donahue’s talk program in 1977, the pair first met. Thomas really said to Donahue on the program that she thought he was “kind” and “giving,” adding, “Whoever is the woman in your life is extremely lucky.”
They both agreed that it was love at first sight, and in 1980 they got married. Donahue’s five children from his first marriage became his stepchildren after Thomas, who was 40 at the time, wed for the first time.
If there was a common thread throughout the interviews they conducted for the book, Donahue discovered it to be the need for a long-lasting marriage.
Thomas continued by saying that stable relationships also demonstrated their resilience in how they managed potential relationship breakers including the deaths of loved ones, adultery, and financial setbacks, among other things.
What you do when faced with the very important problems, she remarked, “makes a marriage last.”
The two also emphasized the importance of having your partner’s trust and support. Although it seems easy, doing it in reality is not straightforward.
And in a marriage, you need to be confident that your partner has your back. He will be everything to me and will serve as my life’s cushion, therefore this is the safest place I can be, stated Thomas.
It can be difficult to ensure long-lasting marital success, but Thomas and Donahue definitely succeeded. But it’s crucial to keep in mind that lasting unions demand plenty of effort and sacrifice.
Post Views:
123