BMWK: We recently wrote an article about the fact that happy marriages still exist. What are some reasons you both have been able to maintain a happy marriage for as long as you have?
Jill: I think that we get along very well. We definitely got to know each other as friends, even though Paul had plans from the start. But I think we were genuinely friends when we first started out, and over the years we’ve learned how to really communicate and respect one other and effectively problem solve. What do you think?
Paul: As matchmakers, what’s interesting in what we do, is that we have this formula we always preach about: one part values, another part personality/compliment, the meeting of non-starters (needs versus wants), and another part being physical attraction. So many dating websites make this real complicated around how to find your best match, and ultimately, people in long successful marriages say the same thing. They want someone living by the same values as they do, they want someone who is able to communicate and as Jill said, problem-solving. They want someone that doesn’t present red flags (non-starters), and they want someone they want to be physically intimate with (the physical attraction). I believe we have those things and had them when we got together. We didn’t go seeking each other based on those things, but it turned out that we did. It just happened.
BMWK: How do you make the most of your time? How do you reconnect and keep the flame burning?
Jill: I think we have a lot of the same interests and having a three-year-old, a lot of our interests revolve around his interests. When we have time to ourselves, we’ll go to the movies, play little games, and have fun. Simple, little things we normally don’t have time for. We have favorite games we like to play together.
BMWK: What’s your idea of a fun date night?
Jill: Oh I’m easy. I go with the flow. I can have fun with most anything. Paul?
Paul: Boggle and bear. Keep it real simple. That’s really what it is. If we can drink beer and play Boggle, that would be really hot.
BMWK: [laughs] Boggle and Bear. I love the simplicity.
Candace says
Awesome interview!
Tanika says
Great interview! Congratulations on your upcoming new addition!
LaShaundra Taylor says
Congrats, that’s real love!
Tiya says
This is such a great interview! What a beautiful love story! Well done Christine!
Christine St. Vil says
Isn’t their story awesome?! 🙂 Thank you so much Tiya!
Alvin Pelt, MD says
Great article on healthy relationships. Glad to see more evidence that brother’s and sister’s can have it going on…