Catherine Zeta-Jones loves being married to Michael Douglas, but she doesn’t want the pressure of their marriage to become a “relationship goals” hashtag. The 53-year-old actress is here to remind everyone that they have issues just like any other couple  — life is not always sunshine and roses. 

“I think it’s more about not thinking, for one, that we are on a pedestal in which people go, ‘Oh, that’s perfect,’ because nothing is perfect — ever, ever, ever, ever,” she explained in a new interview with InStyle. What works for their 22-year marriage, which includes daughter Carys, 19, and son Dylan, 22, is that they are “very respectful” of each other. Zeta-Jones continued, “We’re not consumed by each other’s careers, and we have interests and friends that are not solely in our business.”

Even with their 25-year age gap, they have common interests as “quiet and very private people.” After a night on the red carpet where they both know how to turn it on for the cameras, she revealed, “And then we go home and close our doors. And we have a very simple existence where we just hang a lot, and we have a lot of interests.” What many fans forget is that the couple separated in 2013 after they both endured health struggles — Douglas battled throat cancer and Zeta-Jones was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder. 

By April 2014, the couple had reconciled after working things out away from the prying eyes of the public. Zeta-Jones understands the ups and downs of marriage, so she has some solid advice for anyone else taking a marital journey. “Let it out when it needs to come out and shut up when you need to shut up,’ is what I say,” she said wisely. “It’s a long journey. Pick your battles.”

Before you go, click here to see the longest celebrity marriages.

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