If you ask Donnie Wahlberg, his marriage to Jenny McCarthy is all about their love for each other, not their fame.
The Blue Bloods actor and his The Masked Singer judge wife may be well-known in Hollywood, but Donnie says they don’t consider themselves a “Hollywood couple.”
During a recent chat with Fox News Digital, the NKOTB crooner admitted that he and his bride of nearly ten years are “very much in love,” and that’s the main focus of their marriage.
“We’re proud of the fact that we’re a successful couple,” the 54-year-old father of two shared.
But the thought of being considered a “Hollywood couple” is somewhat revolting to the lovebirds.
“We kind of shudder at the term Hollywood couple,” Donnie continued. “Like, when we got together, and people were like, ‘New Hollywood couple, they’ll last two years.’”
Donnie Wahlberg says Hollywood ‘has nothing to do’ with his marriage to Jenny McCarthy
In Donnie and Jenny’s eyes, they’re in it for the long haul and intend to defy the typically short-lived Hollywood marriages, most of which end in divorce.
“We’re like, first of all, we’re going to last more than two years. Second of all, we’re not a Hollywood couple. We’re a couple. Hollywood has nothing to do with our relationship, and frankly, we have very little to do with Hollywood.”
Demographically speaking, Donnie and Jenny’s upbringings and current hometown play a part in how they view their union.
“We live in Illinois. She’s from Chicago, I’m from Boston, and our relationship is not about Hollywood,” added the Massachusetts native. “It’s about home and family and love.”
Jenny and Donnie adhere to these two rules to keep their marriage afloat
Having been married for almost a decade, Donnie and Jenny value two important aspects of their relationship that keep their marriage strong: putting their relationship first despite their busy schedules and, as Donnie puts it, “putting in the work.”
Donnie and Jenny have each been married before – Donnie was married to Kimberly Fey from 1999 until 2010, and Jenny was married to John Asher from 1999 until 2014 – so they’ve also learned from their past mistakes.
“If you care about something, you work hard at it,” Donnie told the outlet. “So many times people don’t want to put that work into their relationship, and they think of work in a relationship as problems, but it’s actually problem prevention and problem-solving if you put it in the work.”
Regular date nights are part of the “work” that Donnie and Jenny incorporate into their marriage.
“You have to make the choice to give each other that time,” Donnie said of his and Jenny’s nights out together.
Donnie emphasized that couples should never stop pursuing each other like they do when they’re dating.
“Let’s continue to make the effort to have that fun now,” he said.
It seems that Donnie and Jenny’s techniques for keeping a marriage afloat have been successful thus far.
The couple — who renew their vows every year — will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary this August.