Former Sister, Sister star Tia Mowry and her husband, actor-producer Cory
Hardrict , do marriage their way, which is probably why the two have stayed strong for
over a decade. But they've definitely weathered their share of challenges. From
fertility struggles to keeping the spark alive, here's the truth about Tia and Cory's marriage.
"It's good that we, stuck, y'know, to it."
Mowry and Hardrict met as actors while filming the indie thriller Hollywood Horror in 1999.
It was Mowry's first feature film following her starring role on the '90s sitcom Sister,
Sister, alongside her real life twin, Tamera .
"Dad? Mom? That girl has my face!"
Hardrict, on the other hand, was just beginning to build his resume. The two
became fast friends after their first day on set, with Hardrict later recalling to Global Grind,
"I was waiting at the bus stop. […] [Tamera and Tia] drove by,
they saw me waiting, and asked […] to give me a ride."
At the time, Mowry wasn't even interested in relationships or dating. She told People,
"I wasn't really focused on boys at the time, since I was in my early 20s,
juggling my career and going to school."
But that would all change when the two started dating a year later.
The couple started off solely as friends, even courting for
an entire year before officially calling it a date. Mowry once said, via OK magazine,
"We weren't physical, we didn't do anything for a while to make sure
this was something special and this was something real. […] We didn't
go on dates with just him and I, there were other people around."
"He was like wearing Birkenstocks, y'know, I was like oh my God what is this guy doing?"
Mowry ultimately decided to give her future hubby
a chance after talking it over with her mom. She shared with People,
"I remember my mom sitting me down and saying, 'Look Tia, this guy seems really
nice and you should give him a chance.' That's when we started hanging out."
It appears that Hardrict knew Mowry was "the one"
early on in their relationship. On her YouTube channel, Tia Mowry's Quick Fix,
Hardrict shared that his famous wife was down for their friendship-turned-romance,
even though he was still a struggling actor at the time. He explained,
"When I moved to Inglewood […] I had like two pairs of drawers to my name,
I was dirt poor, I didn't have anything,
and she appreciated everything for what it was and she loved me for me."
"I didn't have a lot of money, I'm gonna be honest. I don't remember even eating a lot."
Cory was determined that — once he was able to get on his feet — he would buy
Mowry a ring and make her his wife. And he did, finally popping the question in 2006. But while
Mowry had always been supportive, Hardrict also showed her a certain understanding,
according to Mowry, who had just gotten out of a bad relationship when they met. She said,
"My husband, he just had loads of patience with me. […] He was just right there
for me and held my hand. He never forced himself to kiss me or anything like that."
"And here we are! So that's when I knew she was the one for me."
"Don't make me cry." When he was finally ready to put a ring on it,
Hardrict made it a family affair. Mowry shared on her YouTube channel that not only did Hardrict
ask her parents for her hand, but he also included her entire family in the special moment.
It all went down on Christmas Day in 2006. At one point during dinner, Hardrict told Mowry
he wanted to give her something. He handed her a card and inside were instructions for her to ask
her brothers to play a song on the stereo; "Let's Get Married" by Jagged Edge. That's when Hardrict
got down on one knee with a sparkly diamond and asked Mowry to marry him. She remembered,
"I was so floored, so shocked, and everybody was just, you know,
happy, crying, screaming 'Congratulations.'"
"He proposed and he said, 'Will you marry me?' I was like…oh my gosh. [Laughs]"
During the special moment, Mowry happened to be wearing a leather
jacket — a Christmas present from Hardrict — which she says she's keeping forever.
The couple got married two years later in Santa Barbara — which also happened
to be their favorite weekend getaway destination. Mowry said on her channel,
"When we were dating and when we just wanted to escape from L.A. and, you know,
spend some quality time together, we would go to Santa Barbara."
The couple would always stay at the upscale Four Seasons,
which became the obvious choice for their wedding venue. Both Mowry and
Hardrict were involved in the wedding planning process, with Mowry explaining,
"That's one thing I love about Cory. It's always about this, you know, team effort that we have."
"I already knew that I wanted it to be colorful."
They collaborated with a wedding planner to create a storybook outdoor celebration
full of bright flowers, a pink and purple color scheme, and lots of butterflies featured on the
invitations and place cards. Mowry also incorporated flowers into her beautiful
custom Kevan Hall wedding dress and wore another of the designer's creations for
the reception. Mowry shared that one of her favorite moments was when she saw her hubby
shed a tear during the ceremony, and when she walked down the aisle with her dad by her side.
"I don't know, I'm about to cry. I love my dad."
These days Hardrick and Mowry are the proud parents of two adorable kids, but the road to
growing their family was a challenging one. As Mowry told Women's Health, she suffers
from endometriosis — a painful condition which can sometimes result in infertility.
"When I first heard that there was a possibility that I could not have children, mind blown."
Despite being warned of the potential difficulties in getting pregnant,
Mowry and Hardrict wanted nothing more than to be parents. Before conceiving her firstborn,
Mowry said she underwent two surgeries and began an anti-inflammation diet to
curb the flare-ups commonly associated with endometriosis. Her doctor even hinted that
her change in eating habits could have been the key to her success. She shared with the outlet,
"When I got pregnant with my son, I was overjoyed."
"I am not gonna sit here and lie and say everything has been peaches, ok. It's been hard!"
Mowry says she couldn't have gotten through
this tough chapter of her life without her hubby. She said,
"I think it's really important that someone is there encouraging you, rooting you on,
saying you're not alone, helping you feel stronger and more powerful."
Having waited until her mid-30s to start a family,
Mowry wanted to accomplish her professional goals before becoming a mom. She explained to People,
"When I was younger, I was focusing on my career with Sister, Sister, and I was in
college and I was focused on that. Once I had all my ducks in a row — not in a complete line,
at least the ducks were there — then I was like, 'Okay! I can do this.'"
"You can feel overwhelmed at times. Have I had a good cry out? Yes I have. [ Laughs]"
The couple welcomed their son, Cree, in 2011, and their daughter,
Cairo , in 2018. And Mowry hasn't been shy about documenting the highs and lows
of parenthood on social media. The actor is clearly loving mom life,
revealing that her favorite thing about it is watching her kids grow up. She told the outlet,
"They start out as a little tiny circle, then you hear their heartbeat, and now they've grown
into beautiful little human beings. It's so fascinating to see how they evolve."
"You guys, it is something that is so beautiful and wonderful to watch.
There's just so much love." Mowry and Hardrict march to the
beat of their own drum, brushing off the stereotypes when it comes to married life.
Mowry says she and her husband foster an equal partnership and don't believe in the old idea
of the wife staying home while the husband is the breadwinner. She told HuffPost Live,
"We don't put gender roles on our marriage and our relationship. If I'm working a lot and Cory's
home, he will put Cree to bed, and if dishes need to be washed, he will wash them. So it's not like,
'Oh, I'm going to wait until my wife gets home and she's going to be doing all that.'"
"I'm all hers at night and I'm usually the one struggling with her at night while
Tia's over there knocked out, but it's really fun."
This dynamic works for the couple, especially when one of them is busy
on location shooting a film or TV show. Mowry said that anytime her
hubby is away shooting a film, she's had to play both mom and dad. She said,
"I had to take on those responsibilities that a father would do. I was out in the backyard
teaching my son how to kick a ball. We don't put labels on each other."
Between working and parenting and everything else,
Mowry and Hardrict still manage to find time to date each other. The parents of two
discussed how they keep the spark alive in their marriage, with Mowry explaining on her channel,
"I think it's really important to go out on date nights."
"It's just him and I. Nobody else. No friends,
no Cree, no babies, no nothing. I think that's kinda how you keep the spark."
She and her hubby still spice it up for each other, despite being years into their marriage,
by dressing up and going someplace nice at least once a week, depending on their work schedules.
And it's certainly not date night if Mowry doesn't post a photo of
the adorable couple on Instagram. Anytime she goes out with her man,
Mowry rocks her best look — even sharing her date night beauty routine on her YouTube channel.
"Hi guys! Welcome to my house." When they're not hitting the red carpet,
Mowry and Hardrict love spending quality time with their kids at their Los Angeles pad.
While fans have gotten lots of glimpses of their home life on Instagram,
Mowry gave fans an official tour back in 2018. Explaining that she designed the
interior to fit both her and Hardrict's personalities, she said on her channel,
"I feel like Cory and I are like young […] and cool, right? That's kind of like
how I would describe our relationship, so I wanted our house to be an example of that."
She also wanted to create a sanctuary amid their busy lives and even took a few pointers from
feng shui design. We're guessing their bedroom is designed perfectly for those
rare alone times they get away from the kids. This couple prioritizes their Christian faith
in their marriage — something they're outspoken about, even in Hollywood. Hardrict explained,
"I mean we're not like super, super religious but
I just keep it simple and just believe words are powerful."
"You can speak things over people's lives and I speak positivity and just good things
over my family."
"Always."
Mowry affirmed her hubby's strong belief in God, saying his positive outlook is
what keeps her believing even through life's toughest chapters. She said,
"He taught me how to believe in myself more than I believe in myself. He is like
my biggest supporter and biggest fan. He'll put something on the board and he'll say,
'Tia, I know that that's going to come to pass,' and I'm like, 'this dude is crazy.'"
But, according to the couple, that positive outlook fosters the strong
mental game they always encourage in each other.
"I did not get here by myself. I definitely have a community that supports me and uplifts me."
Although it might seem like Mowry and Hardrict have the perfect marriage,
even they deal with their fair share of ups and downs. In a joint interview with OWN,
in 2017, Mowry confessed that the previous year had been tough on
their marriage. Without giving away any details, they stuck it out,
and were able to come out on the other side stronger — and even more in love. She said,
"We continued to be there for one another,
or had patience with one another and worked out whatever issues or difficulties that
we were having. […] And I fall more and more and more in love with him."
"It's the more of like, man, like, you really are my best friend."
Despite the challenges these two have faced — and whatever may come their way — the couple
has clearly built a strong foundation that looks like it will last a lifetime.
Wondering exactly what makes these two click so well? Mowry believes the secret to any marriage
is forgiveness. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the star acknowledged that no marriage is
flawless, and there are going to be times when you can't help but annoy each other. She said,
"I think a lot of people, they have this expectation going into a marriage
that everything is going to be perfect. There are going to be days where I say
something that I don't necessarily mean, if I'm annoyed or whatever. [You] forgive him,
you forgive yourself. So, I think that's the key."
Along with forgiveness, Mowry said it's also about appreciation,
adding that it's important to really express how much you love your partner. For his part,
Hardrict believes the secret lies in not going to bed angry at your wife
and always kissing her goodnight. Either way, it looks like these two are in it to win it!
"He was looking at my gray hairs and I was looking at his gray hairs, and that's all we
did. We just started laughing and I was like, wow, like, I'm getting old with the love of my life."
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