Staying married is tough enough for ordinary people. But in the midst of all the temptations of Hollywood, it’s sometimes impossible. That’s why we’re all the more impressed with these couples who have made a life together. Here's how they did it:Martin Sheen and Janet Templeton: Weather the Tough Times Together
Sheen, 71, and his wife are approaching their 50th anniversary this year. Although Sheen’s struggled with alcoholism, and the couple’s son Charlie has had a few notorious blowups, they’ve remained together through the hard times. And he values her as much as life itself. Though he’s famously liberal, Sheen is pro-life because Templeton was conceived as the result of a rape, and he once told an interviewer that if abortion had been available at the time, she would never have been born.
Kirk Douglas and Anne Buydens: Choose Carefully
Douglas, 94, and his wife have the longest-lasting marriage in Hollywood – 57 years. Douglas credits that to his steadfast, supportive wife – “You can tell a lot about a guy by the woman he marries.”
Alan Alda and Arlene Weiss (Getty Images)
Alda, 75, is probably just as famous for his liberal, even feminist, views as he is for his acting. But he knows the importance of humor in marriage and elsewhere: “When people are laughing, they're generally not killing one another.” That formula must work; he and his wife, photographer Arlene Weiss, have been married for 54 years.
Sissy Spacek and Jack Fisk: Stay Home If It's Right for You
The quirky character actress, 61, who's been married to director Jack Fisk for 37 years, did something that’s almost unheard of in Hollywood. She left the business for a while to raise the couple's daughters Schuyler and Madison. “I had a dozen years to act before starting a family and then found that motherhood dwarfed everything else. Once or or twice a year, I take a project that appeals to me for its redeeming social value.”
Ron Howard and Cheryl Alley: Be Thankful for What You've Got
Would you expect good-guy director Ron Howard to marry anyone other than his high-school sweetheart? Well, he did, and he’s married to her still, 36 years later. Howard, 57, and Cheryl Alley have four children, and Howard regards that as a big accomplishment. Asked about his greatest achievement, Howard said, “Forty-eight years of consecutive employment…while preserving a rich family life.”
Jeff Bridges and Susan Geston: Go for the Comfort Factor
Bridges, 61, felt instantly compatible with Geston when he met her on the set of his movie "Rancho Deluxe." “I had a feeling of being at home, a soothing feeling of being where I belonged. In marriage, no one can ask for more than that.” Bridges must still feel that way; the marriage has lasted 34 years.
Meryl Streep and Don Gummer: Understand Each Other's Priorities
Streep, 62, is probably the most celebrated actress of her generation, but Gummer, a sculptor, is well-known in the world of fine art. And that, she says, has helped them throughout their 33-year union: "My husband understands the compulsion to create things. With somebody who had a regular job, I think it might have been harder... I think you have to have somebody as a partner who shares what you value."
Dustin Hoffman and Lisa Gottsegen: Be Empathetic
Hoffman brings the same intensity and empathy to marriage as to acting. “I feel cheated never being able to know what it's like to get pregnant, carry a child and breast feed. “ We’re sure his wife, who gave birth to the couple’s four children, would have been happy to switch places.
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson (Getty Images/Kevork Djansezia
Even Hanks, 55, Hollywood’s Mr. Nice Guy, has to work at his 23-year marriage to actress Rita Wilson. “It’s just as hard staying happily married,” he once said, “as it is to make movies.”
