Making It Work: Celebrity Marriage Wisdom From Donny Osmond and, Yes, Gene Simmons
A peek inside Hollywood relationships that are built to last.
Feb. 3, 2012— -- quicklist: 1title: Donny and Debbie Osmondurl: text: It may not be a reliable road to wedded bliss. But against the odds, Hollywood Boulevard is paved with more than a few stars who found enduring love.
But celebrities are surrounded by opportunities to stray. Even Donny Osmond.
"I work in Las Vegas," said Osmond, in an interview with ABC News' Deborah Roberts. "The temptations there are great."
Donny Osmond was a teen idol when he met and married Debbie, a former high-school cheerleader in Provo, Utah. They're going strong after 34 years.
One of their secrets is living far from those temptations. They've managed to raise five sons in small-town Utah with almost zero exposure to Hollywood's glare.
"Our relationship and our home life is not an open book," Donny Osmond said. "My career is. But what happens in our home and how we raise our children, and how we treat each other, is pretty sacred. It belongs to us and that's all."
Another secret is to fight temptation with focus.
"You have a menu," Donny Osmond said. "There's a lot of things on the menu. She's the only one on the menu for me. And you stay focused on that."
"That is nice," Debbie Osmond said. "I think that's part of the reason why our marriage is really strong – because I really trust him. It is difficult. I mean, we've spent a lot of time apart and – I don't know – maybe that's been a good thing! ... I'm like, 'Well, it's Tuesday -- aren't you going to Vegas yet?" she added, laughing.
And it helps that Debbie Osmond has never worked in show business. Relationships involving the leading ladies of Hollywood are notoriously prone to break-ups, according to Bradley Jacobs, senior editor of US Weekly.
"You just need to look at the last ten people who have won ... the Best Actress Oscar," Jacobs said. "Their relationships tend to dissolve in the year or two after they win the award. It's called the Best Actress Curse."
Jacobs cited Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Hilary Swank, Halle Berry and Charlize Theron.
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quicklist: 2title: Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweedurl: text: If there were an Oscar for patience, Shannon Tweed would win it, hands down. For 28 years the actress and former Playboy centerfold has been living and putting up with Gene Simmons, the larger-than-life, long-tongued rocker from the band KISS.
Simmons' prolific music career included a parade of women both before and during his relationship with Tweed.
"Twenty-eight years," Simmons told Roberts. "I don't know why she stood by me. Raised two children. ... I have a lot of baggage on me. I've been a bad guy for decades."
According to their reality show, "Gene Simmons Family Jewels," Tweed almost left Simmons last year over his cheating. Simmons, after almost 30 years together, proposed marriage and promised to be faithful. They got married in October.
What keeps them together?
"I think basically you stay together for love," Tweed said. "And then if there's enough love, you work on whatever it is that's tearing you apart."
The couple's Beverly Hills mansion holds another secret. Simmons' "office" seems to be where he literally compartmentalizes and contains his wild side.
"We have everything from KISS condoms to KISS caskets," said Simmons. "We'll get you coming, and we'll get you going."
The room holds trappings of Simmons' four decades of decadent success -- and reminders of Tweed's pain.
"Last night we were in bed together, trying to get me to open up," Simmons said. "It's difficult for me to verbalize stuff and to be emotional and just sort of say what's in my heart. And she's the only one that I've ever cried about or felt any connection to. I barely have any friends at all. If she left I'd lose my lover, my best friend. I'd be lost."
"He's very romantic," Tweed said. "And no one sees that side. They're like, 'Why are you with this guy? He's cheating on you all the time.' And I go, No, there's more to him than that."
"This is the only marriage I will ever have," said Simmons. "I'm not leaving."
Tweed added: "It'll be because we worked hard at it, and we deserve it … and we're in love."
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quicklist: 3title: Alison Sweeney and Dave Sanovurl: text: Brad and Angelina, Jay-Z and Beyonce -- nothing gets the flashbulbs popping more than celebrity couples.
If you look past the flashing lights, you might find a guy like Dave Sanov.
"I do not enjoy that attention," said Sanov. "I hold the purse and everything else behind the cameras."
Sanov is married to Alison Sweeney, longtime soap-opera star and host of "The Biggest Loser." The key to her marriage's success, Sweeney said, has been marrying the guy who knew her way back when.
"I was kind of geeky and dorky," Sweeney said, "and I had a total crush on him when I was little."
The two have known each other since Alison was a toddler. Sweeney's mother and Sanov's father were good friends, having met when both played violin on movie scores and pop albums. Sanov even babysat Sweeney.
"That you've known somebody your whole life really helps lay that foundation," said Sweeney. "I go to work, and there's so much drama and tears and outrageousness, and it's fun, but very different, and it's really nice to come home and I can put that all aside."
The couple has been married 11 years and have two children. Sweeney just released her second book, The Mommy Diet. Dave, meanwhile, is one of California Highway Patrol's top interrogators.
Sweeney said her career would be impossible without Sanov's support.
"[I feel] supported and loved," Sweeney said. "I can be myself and be silly and casual and geeky and not all glammed out all the time. ... I know Dave really loves me. And that's just so comforting."
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quicklist: 4title: Tom Hanks and Rita Wilsonurl: text: Finally, it seems like every week another collision of two stars flames out into rumors, rancor, then break-up. Even factoring in that dramatic conflict gets more attention than harmony, happy Hollywood couples seem like an endangered species.
The prime specimens are Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, John Travolta and Kelly Preston, and especially Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. All of these couples are members of the 20-year club.
"I would say Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are probably the gold standard of Hollywood marriages," said US Magazine Senior Editor Bradley Jacobs.
"They seem to really work well together. They love to go out. They always seem happy," Jacobs said.
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