Meet the power couple Marc Clarke and Allison Seymour. They have been married for more than 13 years and have 3 gorgeous daughters: 12-year-old Sydney, 11-year-old Skylar, and 8-year-old Spencer. Marc has hosted top-rated morning radio programs in many cities including St. Louis, Baltimore, and Washington DC. His lovely wife Allison is a morning television news anchor for Fox 5 DC. The power pair also appeared in Lamar & Ronnie Tyler’s first film, Happily Ever After: A Positive Image of Black Marriage.
Marc Clarke and Allison Seymour’s Love Story
BMWK: Let’s Start With Your Journey to Marriage. How Did You Two Meet?
Allison: I’m an East Coast girl, but I took a job in St. Louis. I met Marc on the first day of my job as a reporter for a television station there. We were covering the same event, and he just came over and introduced himself. I would see Marc around and felt that we liked each other. He asked me out, and like they say, the rest is history.
But, he asked me out, and then, we didn’t speak for a couple of months, until I had to call him and ask him—well I won’t tell you what I said—but I did say to him, ‘What happened, did you quit me?’ And he said, ‘I was just going to call you giirrrrl’. So, when we finally went on our date, we were really inseparable. Everything moved rather quickly once we got on the same page. We met in August 1998, engaged the following June, and then married in April of 2000.
Marc: I know it sounds a cliché, but I really was just getting ready to call Allison. I was trying to get my life together because she was serious. That line, ‘You quit me’ was really a clue as to why I not only love her so much but also like her so much. It was so funny and perfect. When she said that, I melted. So, after that, we started seeing each other and have been together ever since. We were at the right time in our lives.
BMWK: What Has Been Your Recipe For A Good Marriage?
Allison: When you get married, it’s important to ask yourself: ‘Can I grow with this person? Are we on the same page, so we can grow in the same direction?’ As Marc said, we were in the right place at the right time. We were at a good point in our careers. We had both done enough dating to know when we found the right person.
Often, we rush into relationships, and we’re not even sure of a good sense of self yet. For me, I really had to get to know myself and to understand what I really needed in a partner. You should see yourself going through the growing pains that you would experience even as an individual. Do you think this person is going to be able to ride with you when you go through these changes, or is it going to be a turnoff if you get sick, gain weight, or are not as cute as you once were? You want to make sure some of the core values are the same. The bottom line is you have to be two complete people before coming together and not looking for someone else to complete you. Someone can’t fulfill things for you that you haven’t even tried to fulfill for yourself first.
Marc: That 100% people piece is so true. Like Allison said, it’s really defining and understanding what marriage means to you? We both came to the conclusion that we were getting married and we plan on being together for the rest of our lives. So when you get into an argument, it’s never a thought of it being the last straw. When you get the kids in the mix, you have other lives at stake, so you can’t go into marriage lightly. There’s a certain kind of comfort to know that somebody’s always got your back.
BMWK: What Would You Say Are Some of Your “Non-negotiables” When It Comes to Your Marriage?
Allison: Because of what I do, I’m extremely protective of my private and family time. I’m at a place in my life that I’m not willing to work for 60 hours a week unless there’s a true emergency that keeps me away. My number one priority and my number one joy, truly, are being with Marc and the girls. We believe in our separate spare time as well, and that’s fine, but one thing I won’t budge on is I’m very protective of my family time. It’s very important for me to be an involved and active parent and wife.
When we argue, there’s never been a time where we’ve called each other names or spoken in terms that are so hurtful or hateful that we can’t take it back. There’s never been a moment when I’ve cursed at Marc or said something to belittle him. For me, that is completely off limits. You need to look deeply into your marriage if you call your spouse a name that you would call someone off the streets.
Marc: I think she’s absolutely right. That goes back to your core values. We don’t play that. We both have that same philosophy, so we do not say anything crazy. It sets a good tone for the kids too. A lot of time, parents talk a good game, but when the kids see how the parents interact, they start doing the same. Respect is very important to us. Like I said, we love and like each other. Being raised a certain way makes you have certain expectations, so you’re drawn to people who hold those same kinds of values.
BMWK: Speaking of Kids, What Are Your Parenting Philosophies? Does Good Cop/Bad Cop Exist in Your Household and Who Plays Which Role?
Allison: Marc often asks them who is sterner with them, and it really goes back and forth. One week it’s mommy, and another week it’s daddy, but mostly, it’s me. We try to stay on the same page as far as punishment and the tough lessons go. They are really good girls, so that’s a very rare occasion when we really need to sit down as a family and talk. We truly believe in presenting a united front.
But as far as my philosophy goes, to be completely honest, we live in a very white area. The girls go to school in a very white environment, and I’ve tried to be steadfast in teaching them about their community as African American little women and their responsibilities in making sure they always represent. We try to connect them with children who are in very different environments than we are in. [Because] I want them to know that we are all brothers and sisters regardless of where we live and that they belong to a larger community [even] though they don’t see that when they look around at their friends sometimes. We try to introduce African American clubs, we go to an African American church, and we try to see a family when we can. It’s very important to me they know their history and where they come from.
Marc: Balance with real conversations about pop culture and about race is important. We’re all human beings at the end of the day, but it’s important to us that they have that balance. If you don’t honestly have a conversation about it, it becomes very challenging when you get blindsided by it. So, as parents, we are very much in play with whatever is going on in their lives. If you have a real relationship, you can pretty much sense if something is going on. If there’s space created, that’s when the danger happens. So, we always try to eliminate the space by checking in and talking to them often.
BMWK: What Advice Do You Have On Having Children Early in Your Marriage While Still Being Able to Sustain Demanding Careers and the Bond That You Have?
Allison: It really makes us stronger. We were both 33 years old when we got married, and I think that helped. We were a little bit more mature, so by the time the girls came around, we were ready. One of our strong bonds is laughter. We’re both pretty funny people. At the core of everything—even at the worst moment—there’s always room for a light moment.
When the kids came along, it was a bigger but more serious comedy act. We found joy and laughter. Things never got too hectic and crazy because we were learning this together. As long as you take time for yourself and truly like the person you’re married to, children should only serve to enhance the marriage. I would just tell people: don’t think the children will help to fill some empty spots in your relationship. It will only make those empty spots more glaring in my opinion. But, if your unit is tightly going in, then you should be able to look at the kids and see your love made manifest, and that’s extremely powerful.
Marc: You can tell we really do enjoy our family and each other, and that’s kind of our thing. Not everybody does it that way. Giving advice is tough because it’s really the individual and what’s important to them.
BMWK: Do You Get A Lot of Opportunities to Work Together With Events Such As the Create Your Own Sizzle Event You’ll Be Hosting Next Month?
Allison: It’s not too much, but we’re now at a place where we’re putting our names out there so that we can host more events together. We have done a lot of things over the years. But, for the greater part of his career in our area, Marc has been in Baltimore. People in Baltimore watch Baltimore TV, and the people in Washington listen to Washington radio. So, though we’re only half an hour apart, it’s really two distinct cities as you know. But, now that Marc is on this side of Maryland, I’m excited about it because people hear him on a local radio, and they see him on my morning show in Washington. So, now that he’s here, I think that’s going to pick up because we really enjoy doing that.
Marc: And, we actually are interested in hosting events across the country and around the world. We got involved with Create Your Own Sizzle after hearing about the vision for it, and we were happy to help in any way we could.
BMWK: Any Final Words of Advice or Encouragement?
Allison: I talk to a lot of women I work with, and the overriding feeling with them is they often feel invisible and overlooked. The men I talk to feel like there’s this fear factor attached to them. So, at the end of the day, for whatever reason, we still have a lot of feelings to get through. I truly believe by leaning on each other and really embracing marriage and finding some positive role models, we can start to heal. That comes from us. No one else can do that for us. So, I appreciate what Ronnie and Lamar are doing, which is extremely powerful, and we’re happy to be a part of it. With all these beautiful black people in the world, there is someone out there for you that shares your same values.
Marc: All I can say after that is ditto. As parents, we have to love our babies and give them everything they need. The challenge is there are a lot of broken people. And, you have to heal yourself first before you can add to yourself.
Here’s a quick interview of Marc Clarke and Allison Seymour at the 2014 Standard of Living Community Awards:
It is true that you’ll get the best advice from people who have grown from their experiences like Marc Clarke and Allison Seymour. The power couple may seem to have not made it at first, but with the right timing and individual growth, they were, after all, destined for each other. Like them, if you want to build a lifetime relationship with your partner, you only need to be patient for the right one and the right time.
A huge thank you to Marc and Allison for sharing their beautiful love story with us!
You can follow Marc on Facebook and Twitter, and Allison is also on Facebook and Twitter.
Are you inspired by the love story of Marc Clarke and Allison Seymour? Be sure to show them some love in the comments section!
Up Next: Should I Password Protect My Phone or Leave My Marriage?
Editor’s Note – This post was originally published on July 29, 2013, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
