Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are celebrating a momentous 35 years of marriage!
The pair – who wed in 1988 and share two children together – first met on the set of the ABC sitcom Bosom Buddies in 1981, though did not begin a romantic relationship as Hanks was married with two kids to his college sweetheart at the time.
Five years later, however, Hanks’ relationship had broken down and he was eventually divorced in 1987, before walking down the aisle for a second (and evidently final) time in 1988.
In the 35 years since their wedding, Wilson, 66, has become stepmother to 66-year-old Hanks’ two children – Colin and Elizabeth – and gave birth to two boys, Chester “Chet” and Truman.
On Sunday (April 30), the Hollywood couple celebrated their anniversary, having been married for three and a half decades. Taking to Instagram, Wilson shared a snap of them seated together, with Hanks holding up a delicious-looking cream-colored cake decorated with purple writing that read: “Happy Anniversary”.
Sharing the sweet moment, Wilson wrote: “35 years of marriage. April 30, 1988. Love is everything.”
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Wilson and Hanks have been very vocal about their love for one another over the years, with Wilson telling talk show host Kelly Clarkson in 2020 that she was drawn to her husband after they connected during their first meeting.
“One of the things, when we met, was that we just got along instantly. First of all, I love a good storyteller. So anybody who could tell a good story, I’m down with that. … I love that. He makes me laugh all the time. He’s a great storyteller,” she said, via People.
Wilson also recounted to Piers Morgan a sweet moment she had with Hanks early on in their relationship, revealing: “I’ll never forget, we were standing on the corner of 57th and 5th in New York, or 58th and 5th. We were holding hands, and we were waiting for the traffic light to change. And he looked at me and he said, ‘You know, I just want you to know, that you never have to change anything about who you are in order to be with me.’
“Literally, a wave of – if love is a feeling, or a cellular thing that happens to your body, it went through me, and that’s pretty much who he is, and how he’s been,” she said.
In 2001, Hanks spoke of his relationship with Wilson to Oprah Winfrey, telling the TV personality: “I view my wife as my lover, and we have a bond that goes beyond words like wife or girlfriend or mother. For example, I was able to construct a number of things in Philadelphia because of my relationship with Rita.
“The way my character felt about his lover is the way I feel about mine. The same was true when I played Forrest Gump, who loved Jenny. Without my connection with Rita, I don’t know how I would’ve been able to connect with what Forrest was going through,” he continued.
This couple needs to stop – it’s getting too cute!
