People look up to Hollywood celebrities for many reasons, but one thing they should aspire to is to have long-lasting relationships like Ron Howard, Denzel Washington, and more. These stars have kept their marriages going for more than four decades!

Most people know the rumor that Hollywood marriages are doomed from the start to end in divorce within a few years, but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes, celebrities find the perfect partner and can commit to them long-term.

These are marriages where the couple has been happily married for more than four decades. This article looks at five Hollywood couples who’ve broken the alleged stereotype, starting with Ron and Cheryl Howard.

Ron and Cheryl Howard’s Love Story
In 2022, Ron Howard and his wife, Cheryl, celebrated their 47th anniversary, but their love story dates back to when they were at Burrough High School in Burbank, California. According to his biography, “Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon…and Beyond”, written by Beverly Gray, when Ron started junior high school, he already had a car, a Volkswagen Beetle, but the actor was too shy to start dating.

That changed when Cheryl, a redheaded girl, sat before him in an English class. Beverly wrote that Cheryl was so socially awkward that she described herself as “crippled by her shyness.” She also did not know that Ron was an actor because her father did not allow her to watch TV.

Even though Cheryl’s father’s job was renting apartments for actors, he gave his daughter the impression that acting was not the best career. Beverly wrote that Ron and Cheryl spoke about her dog for an hour before the actor dared to ask her out.

To the shy girl’s surprise, their first date went pretty well because the couple have been inseparable ever since. According to Beverly’s biography, friends of the couple also thought they were made for each other from their first meeting.

However, as their romance grew, Cheryl’s parents tried to stop the teenagers from moving too fast and told Howard he was not allowed to take Cheryl out more than twice a week. Ron could not stay long without seeing his girlfriend, so he found a way to bypass her parents’ request by joining his Burroughs High School cross-country team.

Beverly revealed that the actor would jog every morning and end up at Cheryl’s house. He would then ask her out for breakfast or ask if they wanted “to fool around” before her father returned. Nonetheless, the couple enjoyed their secret walks, and Cheryl would drop him off a few blocks away from her house so her father wouldn’t see them while Ron sprinted back home.

The romance between the pair never died. They married in 1975, and when the couple celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary, the director told People:
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Cheryl and Ron welcomed four children together. They had their first child, a daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard, followed by twins Paige Howard and Jocelyn Howard and a son, Reed Howard. Award-winning director Ron confessed that he was surprised that his relationship with his wife of over four decades lasted beyond their high school romance.

In an interview, Ron said he knew the likelihood of a high school relationship lasting was slim, but somehow he and Cheryl made it. The actor shared:

“It’s crazy — we were teenagers; it shouldn’t have worked. We got married young; that shouldn’t have worked either, and yet it really and truly has.”

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But Cheryl has been more than just a wife to him. She has been his support system since the start of his career, and the director even revealed why he appreciates his wife so much with him saying:

“[Cheryl] has made so many good things possible and so many difficult things manageable. I’m forever grateful.”

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Gary wrote that when Ron and Cheryl were in high school, he featured her in his short film “The Deed of Daring-Do” for his submission to the Kodak teenage filmmaker contest, and from that day, his wife became a trademark in his movies. The next star, who has had a long relationship, is also an actor.

Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson Courted for Years before Marrying
Samuel L. Jackson met LaTanya Richardson in the 1960s. At the time, he was a student at Morehouse College studying Marine Biology, and she was enrolled at Spelman College, both based in Atlanta. After joining a theater club for extra credit, he fell in love with the stage and switched his major to drama.

Jackson often went to Spelman to act in plays; this was how he met Richardson, majoring in theater. The pair connected while starring in a drama program and started dating afterward. Atlanta, at the time, served as the city where most African Americans demanded racial justice, and Jackson was one of those who took part.

The future star graduated in 1972, and the duo courted for a long time and even dated other people during that period. In 1976, the pair moved to New York to pursue acting careers. Eventually, when Richardson had to choose who to marry, a rich boy or an intelligent boy, she decided on Jackson, with her noting:

“I married the smart boy.”
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After the birth of their first child, daughter Zoe, the actress stopped working regularly because she and her husband had vowed to be an intact revolutionary family. However, it was a tough time for Jackson. During the early stages of their marriage, Jackson became addicted to illegal substances and was not emotionally present for his family.

However, he overcame his struggles with the help of his wife, who insisted he check into a rehab facility. Although Richardson could have left, she chose to stay and help her husband recover. The actress revealed she could not leave him because God had told her not to go but instead help her husband recover.

She said she spoke to God about her concerns and realized her husband needed her. Richardson confirmed that she would have left if she had given him the help he needed and still wanted to go. The actor, who has been in recovery for more than 30 years, lauded his wife for being his backbone and the person who helped change his life for the better, with him disclosing:

“She gave me the chance to be the man I was supposed to be.”
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Once he left rehab, Jackson was cast to star in Spike Lee’s “Jungle Fever” in 1991, and his career has gone from strength to strength ever since. The couple has stayed together through the good and bad times to weather the storms. Jackson also credits his family’s love as aiding him in becoming the man he was meant to be. The next celebrity couple we’ll examine is Sam Elliott and his wife.

Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross’ Marriage Remains Strong
Katharine Ross was married and divorced four times before tying the knot with Sam Elliott. The couple first saw one another physically on the set of the 1969 Western drama “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” However, the former told AARP The Magazine in 2015 that he had not even attempted to talk to his future wife. In his words:

“I didn’t dare try to talk to her then. She was the leading lady. I was a shadow on the wall, a glorified extra in a bar scene.”

Irrespective of his thoughts, the actress intrigued Elliott, and he spent his time on set in a dark corner watching Ross and her co-stars perform. Ten years later, Elliott and Ross finally had their first interaction when they worked together again on the horror film “The Legacy.”

They played a couple of guests terrorized at a creepy English estate. Ross and Elliot saw more of each other while filming. It was only a matter of time before the pair became romantically involved.

During an interview, Ross confessed that what attracted her to Elliott was his baritone voice, mustache, and rugged good looks. She also added:

“Probably all that and more. We were working together, and one thing led to another. And here we are.”

The lovebirds eventually tied the knot in 1984, and while it was Ross’s fifth marriage, it was Elliott’s first. The couple’s only daughter, Cleo Rose, was born in the same year the couple tied the knot. In April 2022, Elliott and Ross married for 37 years and are one of Hollywood’s most enduring couples. When asked what their secret to a long marriage is, Elliott said:

“We have a common sensibility, but we also work at being together. You work past the [expletive]; you don’t walk away from it. That’s how relationships last.”