When you see a house that’s been standing for ages, you start to wonder how strong its foundations are. Similarly, when you see a marriage that’s lasted for decades, you start to wonder what the secret was.

Well, maybe we can find an answer by looking at one of the sweetest celebrity marriages.

Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas have been married for 40 years. So they shared their secrets.

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A post shared by Marlo Thomas (@marlothomas)

An experienced show-host, Donahue was a TV presenter for well over 20 years. He met and spoke with countless people in that time.

One of those people would one day become the love of his life, Marlo Thomas.

“Love at first sight” definitely happened for these two. You can even see it for yourself.

Marlo Thomas was a guest on his show once. Donahue was divorced at the time and likely didn’t expect to hit it off with a guest on his show.

Thomas was not discrete in the slightest. She gave him one compliment after another.

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In particular, she told him “Whoever is the woman in your life is very lucky.”

You can’t say she doesn’t know how to be straightforward.

This may have been awkward if it weren’t for the fact that Phil was just as into her. Like I said, love at first sight.

They’ve since married and spent most of their lives together.

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And that’s just the thing everyone wants to know about. How did they do it? Well, if you’ve got money, you can buy their book “What Makes a Marriage Last: 40 Celebrated Couples Share with Us the Secrets to a Happy Life”.

The book featured other famous couples whose marriages have endured for about as long as theirs. Needless to say, they’ve got lots of life experience to share with their readers.

Some of those secrets could be some meaningful advice for many younger couples. So what are some examples of their advice?

One bit of advice they gave is to be the kind of person you’d want by your side.

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You may have heard the saying “Be the change you want to see in the world” and that applies just as well to love and marriage.

Be prepared to give back just as much effort as you receive from your partner. Find someone who’ll help you get through things you wouldn’t get through by yourself.

Love and trust go hand in hand. The key to a successful life with your partner is to trust each other.

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Sounds pretty obvious, but it’s easy to forget. How many times have you had friends end relationships because of trust issues? Or worse, because their partner cheated?

Donahue had 5 children before marring Thomas. He has custody over 4 of them. Thomas spoke about the anxiety of “marring into” a family. But it all worked out pretty well in the end.

Take a quick look at their photos together and you’ll see just how happy they are.

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A post shared by Marlo Thomas (@marlothomas)

They dance together, go to games, and are all smiles as long as they’re with each other.

Don’t you just want what they have? I bet most of us do.

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How about you hear them talk about it themselves in the video below? Please give this article a share too!

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Source: CBS Sunday Morning on YouTube, Marlo Thomas on Instagram