When we think of celebrity marriages, we don’t necessarily think of stability and longevity. There are many reasons why we tend to regard celebrity marriages as brief affairs – among them, that the press loves to report on the slightest apparent problem in a relationship, but also due to what some regard as the shallowness that comes with a celebrity lifestyle.
Much less noted than the frequent divorces however, are the marriages that endure over the years. Many celebrity marriages have lasted for decades – enough to convince the most cynical of us that the rich and famous can marry for love as well as status. We’ve collected together just seven of them to prove our point.
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson
This couple married 26 years ago and are still going strong. Hanks told Piers Morgan in an interview, ‘Every day is a blast with Rita Wilson. When I met Rita, I thought, “oh, this is what it’s supposed to be like when you are married to someone. It’s supposed to be this carefree and easy.”‘
Meryl Streep and Don Gummer
For over 35 years, actress Meryl Streep and her artist husband Don Gummer have lived in marital bliss. When Streep won her Academy Award for The Iron Lady in 2012, she thanked her husband first: ‘First, I’m going to thank Don, because when you thank your husband at the end of the speech, they play him out with the music and I want him to know that everything I value most in our lives, you’ve given me.’
Christopher Lee and Birgit Krøncke
British actor Christopher Lee married the Danish model Birgit Krøncke back in 1961. They have one daughter together.
John Travolta and Kelly Preston
The acting couple met on the set of the movie The Experts in 1989 and have been happily married since 1991.
Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones
Though their relationship has not always been smooth sailing – they separated briefly last year – this couple has been married since 2000.
David and Iman Bowie
David Bowie has this to say about his 22-year marriage: ‘You would think that a rockstar being married to a supermodel would be one of the greatest things in the world. It is,’
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne
One of Britain’s best known showbiz couples have been dating since 1979. The ups and downs of their home life have been well documented for years, but the pair’s relationship seems as strong as ever.