PHOTOSReal Love! The 17 Reality TV Marriages That Stand The Test Of Time
Jan. 7 2019, Updated 2:07 p.m. ET
Marriage is not an easy thing to maintain—especially in the spotlight. Happily, these 17 couples have managed to beat the odds becoming reality TV’s longest lasting marriages.
MORE: Tori Spelling & Dean McDermott are very much in love, despite divorce rumors.
There are many Real Housewives, a rockstar, and even the couple you love to hate from The Hills. This list is an eclectic bunch of stars who share one thing in common—devotion to each other while overcoming challenges thrown their way.
MORE: Chip and Joanna Gaines are returning to TV!
Some of these reality TV marriages might be surprising given the sensational headlines surrounding their marriage—such as Joe Giudice and Teresa Giudice, whose battles with the law must have put a strain on their relationship. The original Apprentice, Sister Wives, and even a few members of The Bachelorette universe have stood the test of time. Many of these couples have gotten married, had children, and are the embodiment of picture-perfect passion.
Prepare yourself for a list of lovers that will make your heart flutter. These marriage pros share their secrets of a successful partnership and why they possess membership to this exclusive club—reality TV’s longest marriages!
Who: Spencer and Heidi Pratt
When married? April 25, 2008
How many years? 10 years
Their key to lasting wedded bliss? Weathering the storms. Spencer Pratt and Heidi Pratt have seen both the blinding spotlight and the sudden absence of it as well. There was a time when Heidi and Spencer were on a million magazine covers and the paparazzi followed their every move. Now, it’s just the two of them in a Pasadena, California home and a little guy named Gunner. It's shocking that Speidi would still be together after that 2008 wedding on The Hills. They made the impossible possible—a celebrity marriage that works and has stood the test of time.
Who: Giuliana & Bill Rancic
When married? September 1, 2007
How many years? 11
Keys to lasting wedded bliss? Bill Rancic, the first winner of The Apprentice, and Giuliana Rancic, the E! News correspondent, shared everything on their show Giuliana and Bill, including their trials with infertility as well as her breast cancer fight. With that kind of candor, it is no surprise that these two have made their relationship work so well. It doesn’t hurt that Giuliana and Bill truly like each other as human beings. “I think for us, we’re married, but we are first and foremost, best friends. Even if we weren’t married, I feel like we’d be best friends,” Giuliana has said. Bill told The Hollywood Reporter that adversity should inherently make a couple’s bond stronger. “Throughout our marriage we've had some interesting challenges. For us, it brought us closer together. When you have major health scares and hurdles in your life, it turns the volume down on the things that aren't that important. It's made the small stuff kind of go away and fall by the wayside.”
Who: Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott
When married? May 7, 2006
How many years? 12
Key to lasting wedded bliss? Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott, the stars of Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Home, and several other reality shows, have had much to work through over the years. These include Dean’s infidelity and her health scares. Marriage counseling has certainly helped.
Who: Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich
When married? April 16, 2005
How many years? 13
Key to lasting wedded bliss? Rob Mariano (better known as “Boston Bob”) met his wife, Amber Brkich, on Survivor in the early 2000s. Since then, Rob and Amber have appeared on The Amazing Race and have settled into a nice life together away from reality competitions. The couple have three kids and reported that the secret to keeping a marriage going strong after the addition of a trio of children is to make time to connect with one another… even if it's brief.
Who: Trista Sutter and Ryan Sutter
When married? December 6, 2003
How many years? 15
Key to lasting wedded bliss? For starters, Ryan Sutter still has the original rose that Trista Sutter gave him on the first The Bachelorette. Is that adorable or what? Trista told Today that "it's just like your job. You have to put in the time and effort and energy that you do into everything else in your life. And I feel like Ryan and I do that. We've had our bumps in the road, just like anyone else. But it's really about staying focused on each other and dedicating time to each other.”
Who: Joe and Melissa Gorga
When married? August 20, 2004
How many years? 14
Key to lasting wedded bliss? For starters, Joe Gorga says, “I still get chills every time she kisses me.” That’s a spark firing on all cylinders. According to Melissa Gorga in her book Love Italian Style, “sex is the glue” to a successful marriage. Melissa told ET that “I always say marriage isn't easy. We argue all the time. But we both have the same end goal, and we both love our kids and love family life. We're the same. We're compatible.” The Real Housewives of New Jersey star added that having similar interests helps. “I think you have to marry someone who wants the same things you do. We just want to be with our kids, go on vacation with our kids, and we're partiers. So, we really are. We work hard, play hard. So, it works.”
Who: Chip and Joanna Gaines
When married? May 31, 2003
How many years? 15
Key to lasting wedded bliss? “There’s no secret. It’s hard work,” Chip Gaines stated to Success magazine of his marriage to Joanna Gaines. “Jo and I have struggles and fighting and arguments just like anybody else. This isn’t like we got lucky and hit the lottery and the two perfect people fell in love.” Chip added, “I believe we are built to have thriving personal lives. I think we’re built to have thriving professional lives. Where the error occurs is when one becomes secondary to the other. We will always choose our family. We will always choose our marriage, no matter what the opportunity, and the Fixer Upper conclusion is a decent example of that.”
Who: Ice-T and Coco Austin
When married? December 31, 2001
How many years? 17
Key to lasting wedded bliss? This seems to be a common sentiment with Coco Austin saying that it is all about “communication” with Ice-T. “You think there’s some magical word here, but the thing is, you constantly grow no matter what age you are and if you’re not communicating every day, you’re going to grow away from each other,” Coco told WeTV. “But, if you’re communicating every single day, and you’re on the same page, you’re going to grow as one.”
Who: Joe and Teresa Giudice
When married? October 23, 1999
How many years? 19
Key to lasting wedded bliss? Staying out of prison… kidding! In reality, it appears that the couple who have dodged cheating rumors and other challenges in their well-documented marriage on The Real Housewives of New Jersey are, in fact, closer than ever after each has done time in prison. When Joe Giudice completes his incarceration, Teresa Giudice is ready to pounce on her hotter than ever man. “He was 245 when he went in to prison, and now he weighs 185,” she told Us. “He looks so hot. I just can’t wait for him to come home.” More challenges await when he gets home as Joe has been ordered to be deported!
Who: Terry and Heather Dubrow
When married? June 5, 1999
How many years? 19
Key to lasting wedded bliss? The former The Real Housewives of Orange County star, Heather Dubrow, and Botched doctor, Terry Dubrow, carve out time from their busy work schedules to work together. The duo penned a book, and Heather thought it was a priceless opportunity to come together as a couple working toward a common goal. "We don't work together full-time,” she said to ET. “So, when we get to do something like writing our book together—that’s a labor of love for us. It's really fun that we get to be creative and passionate about something together. Terry takes it even further. “I think that's the secret of a relationship where two people are very busy," Terry added in the EW interview. "Find a way to work together if you can, even if it's just a hobby—something… cooking, or exercising, or working in many projects like we do. This will keep you happy. This will keep you together, and this will keep you excited and interested.”
Who: Gregg and NeNe Leakes
When married? The Leakes’ first wedding was in 1997. They split in 2011 and then remarried on June, 22, 2013.
How many years? Total, 19
Key to lasting wedded bliss? Nene Leakes and Gregg Leakes may have been married, divorced, and then re-married, but that doesn’t impact this head-over-heels-in-love couple from The Real Housewives of Atlanta. The former star of Glee put it this way. "We’ve been through everything. A lot of people ask me, 'Oh my gosh, how did you get married and get divorced and get married again?’ I was like, sometimes you have to divorce your man every now and then, girl, to put them in line,” she said to Live with Kelly and Ryan. No one ever accused Leakes of not having a sense of humor!
Who: Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin
When married? March 29, 1997
How many years? 21
Key to lasting wedded bliss? The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star and Dancing with the Stars alum (both also have quite the resume of non-reality show acting credits) cites a wise idiom. “I'm the third wife. Three times is a charm, maybe," Lisa Rinna joked to Live with Kelly and Ryan. She and Harry Hamlin are a perfect example of a couple who make it work despite having different interests. "We're so opposite. We have nothing in common, and I truly mean that, like zero," Lisa added. "He's like an astronaut. Like, he is into rockets and astrophysics. I'm into shopping."
Who: Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky
When married? January 20, 1996
How many years? 22
Key to lasting wedded bliss? According to Kyle Richards, it is actually quite simple. “We’re a really good match,” Richards told People. “We get along really well, actually better than you see on television!” Mauricio Umansky concurred. “We’re best friends. We actually enjoy each other. She’s funny, she makes me laugh. I don’t have big guys nights out; Kyle is the person I want to spend most of my time with.”
Who: Kody Brown, Christine Brown, Janelle Brown
When married? Kody Brown married Christine Brown on March 25, 1994. Kody married Janelle Brown on January 20, 1993.
How many years? Christine, 24 years, and Janelle, 25
Key to lasting wedded bliss? Well… for the stars of Sister Wives, this is a complicated question. Given what can be discerned from the show, communication, openness, and honesty are the keys to keeping everyone happy and involved in this unique situation.
Who: Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar
When married? July 21, 1984
How many years? 34
Key to lasting wedded bliss? The 19 Kids and Counting stars certainly know the magical touch to making it work over a period of decades. Michelle Duggar has said that being available is important in making a marriage work. She says to always be there for the other, regardless of what else is demanding your time—except those 19 kids, of course! Her other piece of advice is that she insists disagreements with Jim Bob Duggar should always be in private. Lastly, she recommends seeking help via counseling or religious leaders in the community to improve a marriage that is hitting bumps in the road.
Who: Sharon Osbourne and Ozzy Osbourne
When married? July 4, 1982
How many years? 36
Key to lasting wedded bliss? Sharon Osbourne started off her marriage with fireworks on the Fourth of July. Ozzy Osbourne, the former lead singer of Black Sabbath, has said that although the spotlight is quite nice, there is something in life he takes much more pleasure in. “I'm about caring. I'm about entertaining people. I'm a family man. A husband. A father. I've been a lot of other things over the years, which we don't really want to talk about. It's a rock & roll thing - you rock and you roll. You take the good with the bad.”
Who: Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd
When married? August 28, 1982
How many years? 36
Key to lasting wedded bliss? Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd got engaged after only dating six weeks. They were married within three months. The term “soulmate” comes to mind when talking about Lisa and Ken. These two knew it was happily ever after from the moment they met. The key to longevity is being able to compromise. It seems stereotypical, but hey… it’s working! "You know the greatest gift Ken Todd ever gave me? He was 16 years older than me and he met me halfway on everything. He never put me down. He never belittled me," she told Bravo, home of her The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
