I remember the blur of the 1980s like a turning page in my life. I was coming out of a difficult chapter, learning to steady myself after years in the public eye, when I met Michael. He wasn’t a headline or a role; he was a person who listened, who offered steadiness when I needed it most. We met in the 1980s, and his calm presence helped me find my footing again.
We fell into a partnership that felt quietly right, and in 1985 we married—a choice that would shape the rest of my life. Over the years we built a home, welcomed our daughter, and learned how to be a team. By 2025 we had been together for four decades, and looking back I see how the small, everyday decisions mattered more than any grand gesture.
What has kept us together is simple and stubborn: faith, honesty, and a sense of humor. We learned to forgive quickly, to celebrate differences instead of letting them divide us, and to laugh at the things that could have become resentments. Michael often says you can’t take things too seriously; that lightness has been a lifeline for us.
There were hard seasons—times when I struggled with my own demons and when life felt heavier than I could carry alone. He stayed. He didn’t fix everything, but he showed up, and that steady presence taught me what partnership really looks like. I learned to lean on faith when I couldn’t stand on my own, and to return that support when he needed it.
Our marriage isn’t a fairy tale. It’s a collection of ordinary mornings, shared chores, and conversations that lasted until midnight. It’s the way we choose each other again after a disagreement, the way we make room for growth, and the way we protect the life we’ve made together. Those choices added up into something that feels like home.
If there’s one thing I’d tell anyone hoping for a long marriage, it’s this: choose kindness, keep your sense of humor, and be honest even when it’s hard. Love isn’t only the big moments; it’s the daily practice of showing up. For me, Michael became the person I could come home to, and that has been the greatest gift of all.
