Famous couple Marlo Thomas, 84, and Phil Donahue, 86, shared the key to their 40-year marriage in the book “What Makes a Marriage Last: 40 Celebrated Couples Share with Us the Secrets to a Happy Life,” which will be published in 2020.

The couple talked about their happy marriage and exchanged marital advice from other long-married couples. The couple, who are unquestionably experts on the subject, is overjoyed with their united effort, and with good reason.

For the book, the actress and talk show host interviewed other famous married couples for nine months to see what made them successful.

“We began to wonder whether there is actually a formula for a happy marriage,” they said. That’s when we decided to work together on a project, violating an unbreakable rule in our marriage for the first time.

The book includes stories and advice from famous couples such as Viola Davis and Julius Tennon, Chip and Joanna Gaines, and Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick.

Thomas and Donahue went on to say, “As diverse as these couples’ tales are, they share a common plotline: that of two individuals coming together and standing up to the most difficult, energizing, motivating, irksome, thrilling, terrible, delightful and heavenly work on earth – making a marriage last.”

Communication, according to Thomas and Donahue, is the key to a good partnership. There was also the simple belief that nothing could separate them.

“Over the years, you learn that nothing is that big of a deal, and this won’t break us up regardless of what,” Thomas says, so you grow used to saying, “Ok, let’s just talk it out.”

According to Donahue, having a sense of humor is vital for a happy marriage. What is the secret to effective communication? He laughed and said, “Screaming works.”At the very least, you’ll be able to see if the person you’re ranting at is paying attention. Then go into the opposite room and count to ten.

The couple first met when Thomas appeared as a guest on Donahue’s talk show in 1977. On the show, Thomas really told Donahue that she believed he was “kind” and “giving,” adding, “Whoever is the woman in your life is extremely lucky.”

They both agreed that it was love at first sight, and they married in 1980. After Thomas, who was 40 at the time, married for the first time, Donahue’s five children from his first marriage became his stepchildren.

Donahue observed that the need for a long-lasting marriage was a constant thread throughout the interviews they conducted for the book.

Thomas continued by saying that stable relationships also demonstrated their resilience in how they managed potential relationship breakers including the deaths of loved ones, adultery, and financial setbacks, among other things.

What you do when faced with the very important problems, she remarked, “makes a marriage last.”

The two also emphasized the importance of having your partner’s trust and support. Although it seems easy, doing it in reality is not straightforward.

And in a marriage, you need to be confident that your partner has your back. He will be everything to me and will serve as my life’s cushion, therefore this is the safest place I can be, stated Thomas.

It can be difficult to ensure long-lasting marital success, but Thomas and Donahue definitely succeeded. But it’s crucial to keep in mind that lasting unions demand plenty of effort and sacrifice.