Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this weekend, and to mark the day, they got by with a little help from their friends. By “a little,” we definitely mean a lot — and their friends include a bevy of Hollywood A-listers.
More:Tom Hanks & Bryan Cranston’s Bromance Is What Dreams Are Made Of
The star power was on point for the Saturday night soiree, including guests like Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, Conan O’Brien, Martin Short and Jimmy Kimmel and his wife, Molly McNearney. Also helping Hanks and Wilson toast the major marital milestone were Oprah and the Obamas, according to TMZ. The night certainly didn’t lack for celebrity revelers.
But, hey, Hanks and Wilson’s anniversary does merit congratulatory applaud. It’s heartwarming anytime two people find their counterpoint in another; it’s truly special when their love stands the test of time. This seems especially true in Tinsel Town, where divorces play out so publicly (and with what feels like increasing frequency).
More:Tom Hanks, Literal Hero, Is Keeping Journalists Woke
The enduring couple first met way back in the early ’80s. She appeared in an episode of his then-sitcom Bosom Buddies before they shared the screen in the 1985 John Candy flick Volunteers. Their relationship started with a bit of controversy, given that he was still married to college sweetheart Samantha Lewes when he and Wilson initially sparked. “I asked Rita if it was the real thing for her, and it just couldn’t be denied,” Hanks told GQ years later.
However, Hanks has said his first marriage was already in trouble before he ever laid eyes on Wilson, whom he didn’t begin dating until after his divorce. It’s worth mentioning here that Hanks was only 23 with a 2-year-old son (Colin Hanks) when he and Wilson met. “I was looking for something I had not found as a kid,” he told the U.K.’s Express in 2013. “And a broken marriage meant I was sentencing my own kids to the sort of feelings I had at their age. I was just too young and insecure for marriage.”
As the saying goes, though, all’s well that ends well. Hanks and Wilson got hitched on April 30, 1988, and have been living their best life together ever since.
More:Rita Wilson Has an Important Message for All Women
“The success of our relationship was a matter of timing, maturity and our willingness to have an intimate connection,” Hanks told Oprah in 2001. “When I married Rita, I thought, ‘This is going to require some change on my part.’ I won’t deny that providence was part of us finding each other, but our relationship isn’t magic — the way it’s shown in movies. In real life, our connection is as concrete as me sitting here. Not that marriage doesn’t come close to being hell in a handbasket sometimes. But we both know that no matter what, we’ll be with each other — and we’ll get through it.”
If ever one quote was a master class in marriage, that’s it. Happy anniversary to this perfectly imperfect pair!
Leave a Comment