In between those two red carpets, they separated publicly in 2017. They quietly found their way back to each other during the pandemic. And now, they’re posing in couture at the Met like nothing happened.
The internet is doing what the internet does. Calling it a fairytale. Calling it proof that real love wins. Posting the kissing photos with hearts in the caption.
I want to tell you something different about that decade. Because if you’ve been married a long time, or you want to be, the gap between those two red carpets is the part you actually need.
Here’s the lie the culture keeps telling you about long love. You find the right person, you crack the communication code, and then you coast.
You don’t. You really don’t.
You don’t get to a good relationship and then keep it for the rest of your life. You reach temporary moments of feeling safe and playful and confident with each other. Then you lose it. Then you do the grueling emotional labor to get back there again. Over and over.
When Ben and Christine met on the set of Heat Vision and Jack in 1999 and married a few months later, their sexy selves met each other. That’s how it works for everybody. The witty self, the charming self, the version of you that lights up.
