5 Celebrity Couples That Have Improved Their Relationships with Marriage Counseling. Learning to get through life’s challenges together.
Whether you’re getting ready to marry your partner or you’re just starting out in your relationship, there’s never a “right time” to go to therapy. In fact, by the time it feels right to most people is really when things are at their worst. However, take the advice of these five celebrities that have strengthened their relationships with the help of couples counseling.
1. Gabrielle Union & Dwyane Wade
Gabrielle Union and Dwayne Wade have been giving off #CouplesGoals vibes since they were wed in 2014. However, Union told Complex that there’s been constant work and adjustment to get to this point in their relationship. “We’ve kind of figured it out now, but I guess maybe we should tweet live from couples’ therapy. And when you ask us, we’re gonna tell you, there’s a process to happy.”
According to Union, when she and her husband hear people call them ‘goals’ their first reaction is “like ‘WTF’?” It can be easy to see happy celebrity couples and believe they have their love life all figured out. But it’s important to remember that there’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes. For Union, going to therapy with Wayne is another part of the process of being happy.
2. Pink & Carey Hart
Being together since 2001, Pink and Carey Hart have had plenty of ups and downs throughout their relationship. At one point in 2008, they even split for nearly a year. However, according to Pink, therapy is a big part of what’s kept them together and functioning for the last twenty years.
Pink recently told People magazine, “I am a huge proponent of counseling in general. We both have therapy, individually, and we do couples counseling.” She added that you “end up fixing yourself” because you can’t control the other person’s mental health and development. Being from a broken family, she stated that she never wants to break hers up and that therapy has not only helped the couple work on their relationship but themselves as individuals.
3. Patrick Dempsey and Jillian Fink
Although Patrick Dempsey and Jillian Fink broke off their marriage in 2015, the separation didn’t last very long. Instead, the couple decided to give it another try with the help of a marriage counselor. Dempsey told People magazine, “Our marriage was not something I was prepared to let go of.”
While he and Fink were able to find a nearby counselor to visit, online mental health resources like BetterHelp have become just as effective in providing the necessary support needed in similar situations.
One of their biggest goals was to be positive role models for their three children. “Jill and I decided it was time to work on our issues and improve,” Dempsey said. They wanted to show their kids that it was not only possible to work through disagreements but that you could improve yourself based on having effective communication.
4. Ali Wong and Justin Hakuta
It’s important to remember: a couple that goes to therapy together doesn’t necessarily have something wrong going on in the relationship. Ali Wong and Justin Hakuta regularly go to counseling ‘for all kinds of transitions.’ Wong told Vanity Fair, “[I]t’s like, something is wrong in every relationship. So if you’re not willing to admit that something is wrong, then something is wrong with you.”
When it comes to transitioning into a “full-time” relationship – whether that’s marriage, living together, or even just taking the step into exclusivity – the transition can be rocky and unfamiliar. Especially when kids were introduced into the relationship, Wong says she couldn’t see how therapy wasn’t an option.
5. Paula Patton and Robin Thicke
For a shocking twist, Paula Patton and Robin Thicke attend couples counseling with Thicke’s current fiance, April Love Geary. Patton and Thicke finalized their divorced in 2015; Geary became engaged to Thicke in 2018. While Geary and Thicke share two children, Patton is still involved amicably in their lives. Patton and Thicke share a son and are determined to work together by co-parenting.
Thicke recently opened up to US Weekly about how the counseling “definitely opens barriers” and helps his relationship with both women. While the singer acknowledged that weekly therapy sessions may not be for everyone, he said it can significantly help those that have hit a roadblock in their life. “A great way to knock that wall down is to have a third party or another person help you,” Thicke said.
