This is a book that Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas wrote about life together. It’s called “What Makes a Marriage Last: 40 Famous Couples Tell Us Their Plans.” It has details about their own marriage and secrets from other couples.
Marlo and Phil have been married for more than 40 years, but she says she didn’t really want to get married when she was younger.
Marlo Thomas writes in her book that she used to think that marriage was like a vacuum cleaner that took away all of your drive and energy. Living with her was like having to please a prison guard.
What happened was different when she met Phil Donahue. They have been together for a long time and have a strong bond because Phil’s first marriage ended.
Phil Donahue became well-known for his TV show, “The Phil Donahue Show,” which turned into “Donahue” over time. People could join in on the show for the first time, and it ran for 29 years. Speaking with Marlo Thomas on his show changed Phil’s life.
In 1977, they met for the first time in Chicago. Five kids lived with Phil Donahue. Four boys lived with him, and his daughter lived with his ex-wife and her mother in another place.
Phil and Marlo dated for three years before they got married in 1980 in front of 35 people.
Given how she felt about marriage in the past, Marlo’s friends and family were shocked when she decided to get married. In the book, there’s a funny story about how Marlo’s friends put up lines from her past that showed how she felt about marriage.
Marlo’s mom was shocked at their wedding, the book says, and kept asking Phil, “How did you get her to do this?” Women on their honeymoon flight to Greece, who were not even Marlo’s friends or family, were shocked and upset when she chose to get married. Marlo was known for being independent.
In the book, Marlo says that this made her think twice about her decisions. Since she had been against marriage for so long, she wondered if she was being dishonest. She was afraid of letting down people who saw her as a strong woman.
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Even though there are problems, Phil and Marlo’s marriage works. They write in the book about the ups and downs and say that the hard times made their relationship stronger.
Phil was taping his show in Chicago in the early days of their marriage, and Marlo was traveling for her acting job. Aunt Marlo showed Marlo that marriage can mean different things to different people, even though they didn’t always live together.
Marlo and Phil made their marriage work, even though they lived far apart. Additionally, it is important to remember that Marlo not only got married, but she also had children.
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In an AARP interview in 2012, Marlo Thomas talked about how she helped Phil raise his kids. They already had a proper mother, so she didn’t try to be that person. She grew closer to Phil’s kids, more like a friend, like her own mother did with her.
It’s even better between Marlo and Phil’s kids now than it was when she first married Phil, she says. Phil writes in the book that Marlo talked to and tried to understand his kids a lot.
They think that the fact that they trust each other is what has kept their marriage going for so long. “Trust grows when you know this person has your back always,” says Marlo.
They think there are still more memories to make together even though they’ve been married for more than 40 years.
Phil believes that both partners must sincerely desire the union to last. When she thinks about it now, Marlo agrees and says she wouldn’t have had it any other way than being married to Phil. They talk about how he has helped her in every way.
When two people really want to be together, marriage is a great bond. People like this couple really inspire us and show us how to live our lives. We should all want our relationships to go as well as theirs did!