Kimberly Williams-Paisley recently revealed the secret behind her 23-year marriage to country star Brad Paisley, and it’s very simple. “Don’t leave.”
“I heard Jamie Lee Curtis say this recently: The secret is to ‘never leave.’ I thought that was really, really great,” Williams-Paisley told Fox News Digital on the red carpet at the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood. “Well, just know that there will be ups and downs, and don’t give up. That was our secret.”
Although the actress and the “Whiskey Lullaby” singer are both busy with their careers, the 54-year-old said they are making the most of their time together.
“You have to be deliberate about finding time,” she explained. “I mean, we’ve been married for 23 years. And then sometimes we’re busy, sometimes we’re not. And right now I’m the busier one, but you know, he’s going to start touring this summer, so he’s going to be busy. But when we do have down time, we make the most of it.”
The “9-1-1: Nashville” star revealed that Paisley had a romantic surprise for her on their wedding anniversary this year.
“He wrote me a really sweet letter, which was a surprise, because he hadn’t written me a romantic letter in a long time, so it meant a lot to me,” she said.
Ms Williams-Paisley was recently diagnosed with partial vocal cord paralysis, leaving her unable to speak above a whisper for two years and experiencing health concerns.
After 18 months of mystery, the actress underwent multiple vocal cord surgeries and eventually received implants.
“Don’t give up, that’s the same advice,” Williams-Paisley said she plans to share with others struggling with health issues.
“I was really lucky to find answers to my symptoms, but during that time, searching for answers led me to make a lot of healthy choices that I wouldn’t have made before,” she explained. “I started meditating regularly, I started weight training seriously, I started eating better, I was trying to find answers for my vocal cords, and I ended up having surgery and all the other benefits that I had while trying to find answers. It changed my life.”
Williams-Paisley added that she now feels “more grounded, more centered, and able to understand myself better.”
She said that after her ordeal, she realized, “There is a blessing in every hardship. Look for it.”
“I don’t take it for granted,” she added of her health. “Yes, I really appreciate it.”
Williams-Paisley also talked about co-starring with Steve Martin and the late Diane Keaton in her breakout film, Father of the Bride, which premiered at the Classic Film Festival.
“It was unbelievable. I mean, I was 19 years old and I got shot in the cannon,” she laughed. “But they were so great. They were really supportive and showed me the ropes and, you know, explained things to me because I really didn’t know anything.”
She said she was very new to the industry and didn’t know about hitting goals, timing, and how to pace herself, “and they were both really great to work with.”
The main advice Martin gave her on set was “to find a good therapist. That was really good advice. And Diane was someone you could go to for anything. She was very down to earth and easy to talk to. It was a huge help because there was a lot to process.”
“They were so funny, especially seeing Steve Martin and Martin Short together,” she added. “They were so funny that it was hard not to laugh. It must have been hard not to laugh for them too. I’d love to see the outtakes from those movies.”
