Whilst Hollywood star’s might be known for having some of the most dramatic relationships, not all celebrities have turbulent love lives.
With news of break-ups, short-lived romances and affairs dominating headlines, there are many couples who have celebrated their pearl and ruby anniversaries and beyond.
From Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, who met on a film set back in 1983, to David Bowie and Iman, who were set up on a blind date in 1990 and stayed together until his death in 2016. Many have survived the crazy world of showbiz.
This week, Dolly Parton was left devastated by her husband Carl Dean’s death after 60 years together.
Although he was known for being reclusive while the country musician reached dizzying heights of fame, they successfully celebrated decades together.
Dolly once told how they relied on their shared sense of humour to avoid conflict and credited it for their happy marriage. So, what are the secrets to a long-lasting relationship in Hollywood?
Here, MailOnline takes a look at the couple’s who survived the test of time and got their fairytale ending and their secrets to a solid romance…
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have been together since 1983 after meeting on the set of the film Swing Shift (pictured this month)
Recently she revealed the secret to their successful longtime relationship that has spanned more than four decades is that ‘You have to have good sex’ (pictured in 1997)
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have been together since 1983 and have son Wyatt Russell along with daughter Kate Hudson and son Oliver Hudson from Goldie’s second marriage.
They began seeing each other in 1983 while they were working on the film Swing Shift and while they have been together over 40 years they have never married.
Recently she revealed the secret to their successful longtime relationship that has spanned more than four decades.
‘You have to have good sex,’ Goldie said at her Love-In Gala celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Goldie Hawn Foundation and MindUP, according to an article by E! News.
‘Because sex is something that connects you and creates more belonging. People who have healthy sexual relationships usually last a lot longer. But it’s not just because of the act, it’s because of the warmth and the intimacy that it creates,’ she continued.
Goldie jokingly added: ‘You have to be nice to each other upon occasion.’
She also brought up that couples don’t always agree and that should be welcomed.
‘You know you’re not the same person,’ she said. ‘You don’t think the same way oftentimes. And you have to accept that, but you have to measure are we having fun, or is this something we want to do? Do we have laughs together? Do we share certain things? You don’t have to share everything.’
Goldie also suggested that people should stay realistic about their expectations in a relationship.
‘We have a lot of expectation, I think, around relationships, but you have to like the person. That’s very important,’ Goldie said.
Kurt added: ‘Most people that have been together for a long time, I think, share one thing in common,’ Russell told E! at the gala in Beverly Hills, California.
‘And that is that after that many years together, you will have experienced just about everything there is to experience together and understand all the ups and downs and what it means.’
‘I just love the fact that we met and we still doing it. We still like being together,’ Kurt added.
Dolly Parton and her husband Carl Dean
When Dolly Parton was left devastated by her husband Carl Dean’s death this week aged 82, the secrets to their 60 years of marriage resurfaced
Dolly told how they relied on their shared sense of humour to avoid conflict and credited it for their decades-long happy marriage
When Dolly Parton was left devastated by her husband Carl Dean’s death this week aged 82, the secrets to their 60 years of marriage resurfaced.
Dolly met her husband Carl at a laundromat in Nashville in 1964, when she was just 18 years old, and through the dizzy heights of fame, Carl remained a constant and supportive figure for Dolly behind the scenes.
‘I’d never been in a laundromat before. I walked outside there was this good looking man that drove by the wishy-washy laundromat. And he pulled over to the side,’ she said of their first meeting.
‘So we started talking and we married two years later.’
They tied the knot in 1966 and remained as loved-up as ever over the years, even renewing their vows in a ceremony at their Nashville home in 2016.
Dolly told how they relied on their shared sense of humour to avoid conflict and credited it for their decades-long happy marriage.
Speaking fondly of her ‘hilarious’ husband, the singer once gushed: ‘He’s quiet and I’m loud, and we’re funny…we have a lot of fun.’
‘Anytime [there is] too much tension going on, either one of us can like, find a joke about it to really break the tension, where we don’t let it go so far. We never fought back and forth.’
Carl was known for being reclusive and the couple mainly kept their relationship out of the public eye despite Dolly’s global fame.
Yet the country music icon did address their romance on occasion, notably when they were hit by claims they were in an ‘open’ relationship.
Dolly previously shed light on the truth about their marriage, quipping that they were in an ‘open’ relationship when it came to flirting, but not anything else.
‘He’s not jealous and I’m not jealous of him. He knows I flirt. He flirts too,’ she previously said as she set the record straight.
‘Yes, it’s an open relationship, but NOT sexually and I would kill him if I thought he was doing that. He would shoot me too. At the end of the day we love each other madly.’
Carl had a huge impact on Dolly’s music career as he was the little-known inspiration behind her 1973 smash hit Jolene.
‘She got this terrible crush on my husband. And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention,’ Dolly once shared.
‘It was kinda like a running joke between us — when I was saying, ‘Hell, you’re spending a lot of time at the bank. I don’t believe we’ve got that kind of money”.’
Dolly described the woman’s appearance and told how she couldn’t help but feel threatened by her.
‘She had everything I didn’t, like legs,’ she said. ‘You know, she was about 6 feet tall.
‘So no matter how beautiful a woman might be, you’re always threatened by certain… You’re always threatened by other women, period.’
Years later, she told a crowd at Glastonbury Festival: ‘I wrote that years ago when my husband… was spending a little more time with Jolene than I thought he should be. I put a stop to that. I got rid of that redhead woman in a hurry.’
Iman and David Bowie
Iman met David Bowie in 1990 when they were set up on a blind date by hairstylist Teddy Antolin, the couple married in 1992 up until his death in 2016 (pictured in 2009)
In an interview shortly before he passed away, Iman discussed how she and David – who she was married to for 24 years – left their celebrity alter egos at the door when they were together
Iman met David Bowie in 1990 when they were set up on a blind date by hairstylist Teddy Antolin, the couple married in 1992 up until his death in 2016.
In a poignant interview shortly before he passed away, Iman discussed how she and David – who she was married to for 24 years – left their celebrity alter egos at the door when they were together.
The Somalian model took part in OWN’s Oprah: Where Are They Now? series, where she insisted that the key to a strong relationship is ensuring that you are both in the right place to settle down.
‘We both understand the difference between the person and the persona. When we are home, we are just Iman and David. We’re not anybody else.’
‘I think the secret to a lasting marriage is timing, first of all,’ she said.
‘You have to be at the right time in your life that you’re ready for an everlasting relationship, that it becomes first, and a priority in life.
‘If your career is important to you, don’t get married and have children, because something will give.’
Iman added: ‘I know as women we want to be able to have it all, but we can’t have it all at the same time.
‘So make your priority of what you want at that time. And sometimes you don’t even have to get married. Why do you have to get married?’
Iman and David married in Lausanne, Switzerland on April 24, 1992 in a private ceremony. They held a second wedding in Florence that June.
The model and the late musician have a daughter Alexandria, 24, known as Lexi.
David previously fathered 44-year-old son Duncan Zowie during his marriage Angie Bowie from 1970 to 1980, while Iman has 37-year-old daughter Zulekha from her marriage to Spencer Haywood from 1977 to 19877.
Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford
Carey Mulligan met her future husband Marcus Mumford at a summer camp when they were both children
Carey Mulligan met her future husband Marcus Mumford at a summer camp when they were both children.
The Saltburn actress discussed the beginnings of her relationship with the Mumford & Sons singer during an appearance on Good Morning Britain last year.
She told hosts Richard Madeley and Kate Garraway about first meeting Marcus at a summer camp and subsequently becoming pen pals to stay in touch after leaving.
They then had a 10-year break with no contact before reconnecting when Carey was 24, they became engaged in 2011 after only dating for five months.
The couple tied the knot in an English countryside wedding in Somerset one year later in April 2012.
They now share three children Evelyn and Wilfred and a third child whose name hasn’t been revealed but was born in September 2023.
Speaking on GMB she said: ‘We ended up going to the same summer camp when we were kids so we became pen pals after and that’s how we kept in touch, we didn’t have phones!
‘We used to fax a bit when fax machines were cool! We need to get kids back doing the pen pal thing again. It’s a good thing.
‘Then there was about 10 years when we lost touch and then we reconnected.’
Speaking on the Smartless podcast, she hilariously explained: ‘I wrote in my diary that he was the nicest, the kindest person I’d ever met and I gave him 9 1/2 out of 10.’
‘I also wrote in my diary that he definitely wasn’t boyfriend material. I mean not that I’d ever had a boyfriend at that time. But I decided that he was not it,’ she added.
Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster
Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster married in 2007 and share two sons, they met back in 1999 when she performed as part of his band and he was still married to his second wife (pictured in February 2024)
Speaking to HELLO! , Rod explained: ‘We listen to each other and try to resolve all our disagreements – the dirty laundry, as Penny says – right away, and before we go to bed’
Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster married in 2007 and share two sons, they met back in 1999 when she performed as part of his band and he was still married to his second wife Rachel Hunter.
Rachel and Rod separated that year and divorced in 2006, with the singer going on to marry Penny in 2007.
Penny and Rod discussed the secrets to their loving and successful marriage in a joint interview last summer.
The couple gave an insight into their family life with the singer’s eight children and revealed how they are bringing up their brood to remain humble.
Rod shares eight children with five mothers. He is a father to four daughters Sarah, 60, Kimberly, 44, Ruby, 36, and Renee, 32 and four sons Sean, 43, Liam, 29, and Alastair Wallace, 18, and Aiden Patrick, 13, whom he shares with wife Penny.
Reflecting on their home life in a candid interview, the duo detailed how they ensure their relationship stays ‘special’ and recalled how Penny navigated the unique problems of living in a ‘blended family.’
Speaking to HELLO!, Rod explained: ‘We listen to each other and try to resolve all our disagreements – the dirty laundry, as Penny says – right away, and before we go to bed.’
Many credit Penny with keeping all the plates of his complicated family spinning happily.
As she once said in an interview: ‘Two kids are the perfect number for me, although I always think of us having eight children because all Rod’s kids are so much a part of our lives, like one big extended family.’
Speaking to the Mail On Sunday in 2018, she added: ‘Rod is a very hands-on dad. He changed the boys’ nappies, he does the school run after a year of coming with me so he knew what to do. The boys love it because he will pick them up in a Lamborghini or a Ferrari.’
Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick
Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick have one of Hollywood’s longest-lasting marriages, having tied the knot in 1997 and remained strong ever since (pictured in 2003)
Sarah and Matthew welcomed their first child, son James Wilke Broderick, on October 28, 2002. In 2009, the couple welcomed their two twin daughters, Marion Loretta Elwell Broderick and Tabitha Hodge Broderick, via surrogate on June 22 (the family pictured in 2017)
Sarah revealed the couple have never spent a night apart with the exception of work and a family emergency (pictured last month)
Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick have one of Hollywood’s longest-lasting marriages, having tied the knot in 1997 and remained strong ever since.
The couple first met in November 1991, where they starred together on stage in Sarah’s brothers Toby and Pippin’s theatre company Naked Angels Theatre Company production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying on Broadway.
Their meeting came four years after Matthew killed a mother and daughter while driving with then-girlfriend Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey in Northern Ireland.
His relationship with Jennifer did not survive the tragedy however did lead him to Sarah.
Five years after tying the knot, Sarah and Matthew welcomed their first child, son James Wilke Broderick, on October 28, 2002.
In 2009, the couple welcomed their two twin daughters, Marion Loretta Elwell Broderick and Tabitha Hodge Broderick, via surrogate on June 22.
The couple married at New York’s Angel Orensanz Synagogue on May 19, 1997, with 100 of their nearest and dearest filling the venue.
After 20 years as a couple, Sarah spoke about her relationship with Matthew, detailing how they work together after so long.
She said: ‘We’ve been together for 20 years and you have good days, you have decent days, and you have bad days. That’s a marriage. That’s a relationship. That’s a friendship even. Relationships outside of marriage run the same course…
‘If you’re in it for the long haul and you want meaningful relationships, you are going to go through lots of different periods.’
Sarah revealed the couple have never spent a night apart with the exception of work and a family emergency.
She said: ‘We’ve never spent a night apart since then, with the exception of work on location. Or, his mother was ill for a bit so he went to take care of her. But from that first night, we’ve never been apart.’
Sarah previously revealed the secret to their marriage is not discussing their union. She said: ‘I’ve always said one of the reasons we’ve had success is because we don’t talk about our marriage…
‘I’m not flattering myself that anyone’s discussing my marriage, but we’re certainly not going to add to it by saying, ‘Well, this is why it works.’ Next thing you know, there’ll be a very public divorce. So we just try to respect each other.’
Matthew meanwhile confessed he does not know why their relationship works, but finds things ‘amazing’ in their love.
He said: ‘I don’t know the secret at all, but I, you know, I’m very grateful and I love her. It’s amazing. I mean, I can’t believe that it’s been that long. It doesn’t feel like it.’
Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas
She added in an interview with The Telegraph that despite their rollercoaster relationship, she and Michael are ‘just very good with one another, we respect each other’
Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas met in 1996 at the Deauville Film Festival and were introduced by a mutual friend (pictured in 2000)
Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas met in 1996 at the Deauville Film Festival and were introduced by a mutual friend.
Although they briefly separated in 2013 following his tongue cancer battle and her bipolar disorder diagnosis. They reconciled in 2014.
‘I had been told Michael Douglas wanted to meet me. I was a little nervous because I didn’t quite know what he wanted to meet me about,’ Catherine told Larry King of their first meeting.
Douglas was promoting A Perfect Murder and Zeta-Jones was promoting The Mask of Zorro.
Their friends Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith – who used to be married – introduced the actors at a private dinner and Michael asked Catherine if he could sit next to her.
He famously told her he was going to be the father of her children which shocked her, she has said, and he sent her flowers soon after to apologise.
‘Nine months later, I’m still having long conversations with him on the phone, having great dinner dates, constantly wondering, “Why are we not together?”‘ she told King.
‘We looked at each other one day and said, “We’re having a lot of fun together,”‘ she said.
Douglas proposed to Zeta-Jones, who is 25 years his junior, at his Aspen home on New Year’s Eve in 1999 with a $1 million diamond ring.
‘Both of us were sick as dogs because we had [the] flu,’ he told ITV’s Ross King in 2016.
She added in an interview with The Telegraph that despite their rollercoaster relationship, she and Michael are ‘just very good with one another, we respect each other, and I never really feel that he’s 25 years older than me.’
‘I remember people saying, “When you’re 50, he’s going to be 75.” Well, that’s just maths.’
Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon
Kyra Sedgwick has been married to Kevin Bacon for 37 years after meeting on the set of 1988’s Lemon Sky. The film was based on the 1968 play by the same name (pictured in March 2023)
Kyra has spoken about what kept them close, stating: ‘A sense of humour is crucial. He is very freaking funny’ (seen in 1987)
Kyra Sedgwick has been married to Kevin Bacon for 37 years after meeting on the set of 1988’s Lemon Sky. The film was based on the 1968 play by the same name.
After nine month engagement, the couple tied the knot on September 4, 1988. The couple share two children, daughter Sosie, 33, and son Travis, 35.
The couple opened up about their relationship during an interview with People and shared what they think makes their marriage special.
Kyra spoke about what kept them close, stating: ‘A sense of humour is crucial. He is very freaking funny.’
The actress then discussed how she and Kevin had gone out of their way to make each other feel confident about their work in the entertainment industry.
The performer remarked: ‘We’ve always been each other’s biggest support and fans.’
Kevin concluded by discussing how he had learned to value spending time with his wife above all else.
‘To me, walking down the street together just shooting the s*** in the middle of the night still feels like a nice place to be,’ he said.
Kyra told Page Six in a recent interview: ‘We’re really lucky. We got lucky really young.’
However, she stressed that marriage does take work. ‘[But] you know it’s work, it’s always going to be work.’
‘A partnership for that long demands a lot of you… I feel like a very lucky woman,’ Kyra added.
