Top 10 Lasting Celebrity Couples and Their Relationship Success

Relationships are not easy, be it marriage, romantic or even with friends. It happens, people change, times change, we grow with time and sometimes time just makes us grow apart. Marriage takes a lot of work, those of you who have been married know exactly what I mean, now imagine having to do all that work whilst you're a well known celebrity?

I believe that a strong marriage is that in which the couple is able to change together and grow together. That's not an easy task, it takes work, communication and compromise. Some celebrities have managed to do this and more whilst living under our watchful eye, gossip, paparazzi and the pressure of the business.

Here's a list of the top 10 celebrity couples and their secrets to their successful relationships:

1. John Travolta & Kelly Preston: John and Kelly have been married now for 29 years. Believe it or not, lists are John and Kelly's secret to marital bliss. The couple uses lists to make sure they make enough time for each other, and for sex, among other things. According to John "We make lists of what we need and want from each other and check them regularly, we list everything, from how much sex to what kind of food we want". This may seem like a chore but according to them, it helps them find out what the other person needs and reminds them that they are going the right direction. Sounds a little un-romantic but hey, if it works!

2. Denzel Washington & Pauletta Washington: Denzel and his wife Pauletta have been married for 27 years. According to Denzel, the secret to his successful relationship has been to never argue with his wife, according to him "I just do what she tells me!". His secret words are "Yes dear", "Ok honey" and "I'll get it". Because of his demanding filming schedules Denzel also tries to negotiate weekends off, family is key to them and he does his best to spend quality time with his wife and their four children.

3. Kurt Russell & Goldie Hawn: Goldie and Kurt have been together for 25 years yet they have not married. They believe that they have done just perfect without marrying and as long as they are in a state of devotion, honesty, caring and love, then they are fine that way. Their secret? According to Goldie the secret is to know when to depend on somebody and when not to. She believes that it is important that you are able to hold up your side of the house. She also believes that you must stay as sexy as you can and make sure you focus on all of those aspects of a healthy relationship.

4. Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson: "My secret to a happy marriage is just being married to the right woman" is Tom's secret to a 22 year marriage with wife Rita Wilson. Tom believes he got lucky with Rita and feels like the luckiest man alive. Hank and Rita have two children and they make family a priority, they believe it's one of the things that has kept their marriage going strong for so many years. They support each other in every way and even work together whenever they have the chance to.

5. Michael J Fox & Tracy Pollan: Michael and Tracy have been married for 22 years. As a couple they try to focus more on the comedy and less on the drama, this according to them has been one of the secrets to their successful marriage. They have 3 kids together and they just just like to chill out at home, go up to the country or have a night of popcorn and movies in bed with the kids. Family success according to Michael is to be very affectionate and also laugh a lot. "Keep the fights clean and the sexy dirty"… as Michael himself says.

6. Warren Beatty and Annette Bening: Warren Beatty used to be a known playboy in tinseltown but somehow has seemed to have figured it all out together with Annette Bening. Married for 18 years, Warren says that Annette has a great capacity to be happy and that alone has been a great gift to him and their children. Annette believes that the one secret to keeping the spark is getting away, just the two and without kids. She also believes that spending time alone is important too, "you need to cultivate your own sense of self and nurture as well". Seems like Annette had the perfect recipe to change Beatty's naughty ways for good!

7. Sting & Trudie Styler: Sting and Trudie have been together for almost 30 years and have been married for 16. According to Sting "Tawdry sex" is the secret to their still-sizzling love affair. "Relationships aren't easy, and I don't think they're particularly natural, but we're lucky because we actually like each other" says Sting. "We love each other - that's a given - but Trudie lights my world up when she comes into a room. I don't take her for granted.". The couple believes that communication is the key to stay on track, having frank discussions about what the other wants.

8. Faith Hill & Tim McGraw: Faith calls Tim her soul mate and Tim credits Faith for saving his life, they have been married for more than 14 years. According to Tim, the secret is to always let love win out over their fame. "We talked about it from the beginning: this is not something we'll quit" Faith adds, "Marriage takes work, but it's a labor of love". Faith believes that you just can't sit back in a marriage, her and Tim have made the choice that their marriage is the most important thing to them. They respect what they have and they understand how they need to feed it to make it work.

9. Will Smith & Jada Pinkett: Will Smith has found the perfect way to keep his 13 year marriage on track - rule out divorce! Divorce can't be an option, Will has explained, if you have the option, one day that person's going make you want to divorce. According to Jada, "My husband and I always make time for sex! Always! No matter how busy we are. And if I told you the places, you would not even believe, it's crazy the risks that we take but that's what keeps it so much fun"… I guess there's not much more to say there!

10. Antonio Banderas & Melanie Griffith: Nobody ever thought that Antonio and Melanie would make it as a married couple and they have been together for 12 years now. According to them, it was love at first sight and ever since then, they've had nothing to hide from each other. According to Antonio, "There's no specific secret, but I guess it's about paying attention to the little things. The details. Like getting up in the morning and embracing seeing her without makeup by saying, 'This is part of the relationship'. That type of really small thing. In constantly rediscovering your partner, knowing there's a way out of any crisis."

We are all different in our own ways, our personalities, our moods, our needs. It seems there is no one secret to a successful marriage, it's all about discovering what works for you as a couple. Sounds like these couples have discovered their own way of staying together and they have stuck to what works… some very valuable lessons worth trying if you ask me!

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