Brooke Shields and Chris Henchy are not only one of Hollywood's longest-standing couples,
but they are also one of Tinseltown's most private.
What makes their relationship so strong?
And what happened when they hit a rough patch?
Brooke Shields was previously married to tennis star Andre Agassi before she met Chris Henchy.
Her relationship with Agassi officially dissolved in 1999.
According to an excerpt from Shields' book, "Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum
Depression," she met Henchy later that same year, thanks to her American bulldog, Darla.
The young pup wandered off on the Warner Bros. lot where she was shooting "Suddenly Susan,"
only for Henchy — who was also writing for a show there — to bring her back.
Henchy made a strong impression on Shields instantly.
Over the next few weeks, they further connected as friends through a show she was hosting
in Washington, D.C. that Henchy wrote.
Shields appreciated how thoughtful and funny he was.
While she wasn't in a place to date — given that she was recently divorced — she noted
in her book,
"[T]here was something between us that I could no longer ignore."
Brooke Shields and Chris Henchy dated for two years before getting engaged in Mexico,
where he popped the question with an antique, cushion-cut diamond ring.
The details around their wedding have been pretty mysterious.
Initially, reports said the two got hitched on the beach at Catalina Island in April 2001
surrounded by a small group of friends and family.
But it was eventually revealed that the Catalina Island reports were actually false and part
of a ruse to throw off paparazzi and Shields' long-time stalker.
The couple reportedly married a month later when they had a Roman Catholic ceremony at
a luxurious Palm Beach estate.
According to Brooke Shields' book, the couple learned that surgery she had on her cervix
to remove precancerous cells a few years prior resulted in scarring that affected her ability
to conceive.
After trying artificial insemination, the couple moved on to IVF treatments.
While Shields admitted that the process was incredibly difficult, it ended in a success
story.
According to an interview with Fertility Today, the couple's last IVF cycle was the one that
worked, and their first daughter, Rowan Francis, was born on May 15, 2003, in New York.
The baby's middle name, Francis, was chosen in honor of Shields' father, who passed away
from prostate cancer three weeks before her birth.
Three years later, the couple welcomed their second daughter, Grier Hammond, in Los Angeles
on April 18, 2006.
Grier was conceived naturally, which was a happy surprise for the family.
After Rowan's birth, Brooke Shields suffered from severe postpartum depression that affected
her marriage with Chris Henchy.
Shields told Oprah Winfrey,
"[Depression] gripped my heart to such an extent that I didn't even have the desire
to try to overcome it.
I mean, I was flattened by it.
I was devastated by it."
She shared in the interview that Henchy was confused and hurt by her behavior, saying,
"[He] burst into tears.
[...] He said, 'What is wrong with you?
You don't sing to the baby.
You don't even look at the baby.'"
After speaking with her doctor, she was soon prescribed antidepressants.
Shields told Winfrey she was hesitant and embarrassed about taking them but Henchy convinced
her to try the medication.
In her memoir, Shields says her husband was supportive in dealing with her depression,
but admitted,
"My husband, if I have a bad day, he looks at me, thinking, 'Oh God, it's going to come
back again.'
There's a lack of trust that was there at one time and I think that that's damaging,
and that's damage to our relationship."
Despite the fame and wealth that Brooke Shields and Chris Henchy have, they were determined
to raise their two daughters as normally as possible.
Shields told the New York Post,
"I think they need to really have as much of a conventional upbringing as you can in
New York City, with kids their own age, and not be thrown into something with all the
pressure."
"As uh, as a mom, you want them to be happy, but you also … I know that the thing that
fortified me more than anything was an education."
In the same interview, Shields said that while her youngest daughter, Grier, was hinting
about following in her mom's modeling footsteps, she wouldn't be pushing them into it.
Instead, the couple prioritizes family time — including summers at their home in the
Hamptons — and instills them with a sense of care and respect for the environment.
The star told Net-A-Porter,
"I make my kids go on garbage pickups along the beach, and we don't use plastic straws
in our house."
Their daughters also started their first summer jobs in 2020.
Shields shared with Us Weekly,
"They realized how hard it was to get that check, that piece of paper."
After being married for almost two decades, Brooke Shields and Chris Henchy know that
marriage takes work.
Shields revealed that she and Henchy have date nights to keep their union strong, telling
NBC,
"I was like, 'Please, let's just go have coffee out on the porch.'
He got the paper, and we went and sat out, and he had his glasses.
I said, 'Look at us, Grandpa!'
It maybe lasted 45 minutes before life came back at us."
It's clear that Shields and Henchy love being around each other, as the actress gushed to
Good Housekeeping,
"He's extremely patient and ridiculously funny, [...] And he has the ability to approach situations
head-on and not let things fester [...] I'm lucky I have an amazing husband."
In 2021, Brooke Shields and Chris Henchy dropped off their oldest daughter Rowan at college
for the first time, as she's attending West Lake University.
Of the occasion, Shields wrote on Instagram,
"My unique and extraordinary baby girl spreading her wings.
I love you so.
We are so proud of you."
"If you've done it right, they don't look back."
Now, Shields and Henchy are spending more time on the East Coast.
However, their teenage daughter Grier is still at home, and she doesn't mind stealing from
her mom's closet.
As Shields told People,
"If I want to know where anything good that I have is, and I can't find it in my closet,
I know exactly where to find it."
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text
Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI
(6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.