A happy marriage in Hollywood is hard to come by, let alone one that's been rock solid for
34 years.
But that's exactly what Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson have managed to pull off.
We’ve seen Tom in countless love stories on screen, but off-screen, his love story
with Rita is even better.
This Hollywood couple has been through plenty of ups and downs, but their relationship has
only gotten stronger with time.
From supporting one another through health scares to raising a modern blended family,
this love story is one for the ages.
In the early '70s, Rita Wilson made her acting debut as cheerleader Pat Conway on the family
sitcom, The Brady Bunch.
Apparently, her pom-pom skills caught the eye of then-16-year-old Tom Hanks.
"I was actually at a friend of mine’s house when it aired and I remember thinking 'that
girl’s cute,” he said.
It wasn’t until 1981 that he would finally meet the cute girl from TV.
The pair met on the set of the sitcom Bosom Buddies and quickly hit it off.
“We just got along instantly.
First of all, I love a good storyteller.
So, anybody who can tell a good story, I’m down with that,” the actress said.
But their connection would have to remain strictly platonic because Tom was married
to his childhood sweetheart, Samantha Lewes, at the time.
The actor and Samantha tied the knot in 1978 when he was just 21 years old, and they had
2 children together.
In 1984, Hanks and Wilson reunited as co-stars in Volunteers.
And this time the connection was too strong to ignore.
“Rita and I just looked at each other and — ka-boing — that was that.
I asked Rita if it was the real thing for her, and it just couldn’t be denied,”
he said.
At the time, Samantha and the Forrest Gump actor were drifting apart, and their marriage
was on the rocks.
This left room for Rita and Tom to start building their relationship, although both completely
deny that there was ever an affair.
And in 1986, the actor and his first wife announced their plans to separate.
"I was looking for something I had not found as a kid.
And a broken marriage meant I was sentencing my own kids to the sort of feelings I had
at their age.
I was just too young and insecure for marriage.
I was 23.
I wasn’t ready to take on those responsibilities,” he said.
It was only months after the separation that Rita and Tom went public with their relationship.
Their whirlwind romance didn’t slow down from there.
Just one year after Hanks’ 1987 divorce was finalized, he and Wilson tied the knot.
And they haven’t looked back since!
From the moment the Brady Bunch actress walked down the aisle, Tom was committed to compromising
for the sake of the relationship.
"When I married Rita, I thought, 'This is going to require some change on my part.
Honestly, I married into a classic old-world family structure in which people like to spend
time with each other and construct their lives so they can.
There's such an advantage to being involved in the day-to-day details of each other's
lives.
It's a marvelous fabric to exist in.
I think the end result is that we got married for all the right reasons,” he said.
While the marriage may seem rushed, Tom believes the success of their relationship is a matter
of timing, maturity, and their willingness to have an intimate connection.
And then his career skyrocketed…
but their love stayed strong.
1988 was a massive year for the actor.
Apart from marrying Rita, it also marked the release of the comedy film Big which sent
his career soaring.
The next few years of his career were filled with blockbuster films.
Wilson’s career was also taking off.
While it's easy to imagine how the fame and pressure would put a strain on any relationship,
he has said that their relationship made him a better actor.
He credited their romance for his ability to portray great love stories such as the
one in Forrest Gump.
“The way my character felt about his lover is the way I feel about mine.
Without my connection with Rita, I don’t know how I would’ve been able to connect
with what Forrest was going through.
I have a woman who teaches me what love is every day,” he said.
How romantic!
Tom also makes sure the whole world knows just how grateful he is for his wife when
he makes acceptance speeches for awards.
In 1994, Hanks won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in Philadelphia . In his speech,
he thanked his wife for her support, saying, “Here’s what I know.
I could not be standing here without that undying love.
I have that in a lover that is so close to fine we should all be able to experience:
heaven right here on earth.”
He won his second Oscar a year later for Forrest Gump and he once again gushed about his wife.
“I am standing here because the woman I share my life with has taught me and demonstrates
for me every day just what love is,” he said.
How sweet is that?
Tom did the same thing for Rita and their kids when he was accepting his Cecil B. DeMille
award years later.
Oh, did we forget to tell you?
Other than his 2 children from his first marriage, the actor went on to have two more children
with the actress.
Let's set the scene.
Hanks was called to the stage to accept the award, given to people for outstanding contributions
to the world of entertainment.
Not long after starting his speech, he had to stop.
He was tearing up at the very idea of thanking his wife and children.
He managed to make it through the speech.
"These are the people I am most blessed by in this life.
I can't tell you how much your love means to me," Tom said.
Can it get any more loving?
The answer is yes!
The support goes both ways.
Wilson was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame just four positions away from Hanks’.
Of course, he was there to share some words about her.
“She has a highlight reel any of us would envy, and her instincts are wicked sharp.
We all know how warranted it is that Rita Wilson be immortalized here with a star on
the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The lesson here is she knows what she’s doing," he said.
This is what real love looks like!
Rita spoke about the nature of her love for her hubby, describing the moment she knew
he was her forever.
“I’ll never forget, we were standing on the corner of 57th and 5th in New York, or
58th and 5th.
We were holding hands, and we were waiting for the traffic light to change.
And he looked at me and he said, ‘I just want you to know, that you never have to change
anything about who you are to be with me.’
Literally, a wave of love —if love is a feeling or a cellular thing that happens to
your body, it went through me,” she said.
Are you gushing?
Because we are!
But it isn’t always smooth sailing for this couple.
In 2015, Wilson was diagnosed with breast cancer.
She underwent a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction after her diagnosis.
Thankfully, Rita made a full recovery.
She continues to reflect on how important her husband’s support was during that difficult
time.
“You never know how your spouse is going to react in a situation like this.
I was so amazed, so blown away by the care my husband gave me.
It was such a normal, intimate time.
Who knew it would make us even closer?”
she said.
As for Tom?
He was in awe of how Rita handled the diagnosis.
"All I can do is bow down before the courage of my wife," he said.
They also see their fair share of stress in their daily life.
While Hanks has the reputation of being America’s Dad and Hollywood’s nicest guy, he takes
his wife’s safety extremely seriously.
And who can blame him?
In June 2022, an encounter with a group of fans became tense when the eager crowd bumped
into Wilson and almost knocked her over.
At this point, Hanks shouted, “Woah.
My wife?
Back the fuck off!
Knocking over my wife?”
Yeesh, intense.
But what everyone really wants to know is how they are still so madly in love after
so long and while navigating the entertainment industry.
Well, it isn’t always easy according to the actor.
"Not that marriage doesn't come close to being hell in a handbasket sometimes.
I think that anybody that gets married is partaking in an act of bravery.
But we both know that no matter what, we'll be with each other—and we'll get through
it," he said.
Hanks has opened up about how he and Wilson have made it through three decades.
The secret to a long marriage?
Well, according to him, there isn’t one.
And that whole thing about being married requiring endless work is not for these two.
"I wish there was a secret.
People say, 'Jeez, it must be hard to stay married in show business.
I think it's hard to stay married anywhere.
We dig each other a lot.
You start there.
They say it must be hard work.
No, it’s not,” he said.
Well, we guess, we’ll trust you on that one, Tom!
To add to the romance that is Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, the Saving Private Ryan actor
got his hands… and feet dirty for his hand and footprints ceremony at Grauman’s Chinese
Theatre.
He had his doting wife by his side, and he jokingly threatened to wipe all the dirt over
a laughing Rita.
"We laugh just as much now at two in the morning as we always have.
And we fight less and less,” he said.
We really could go on forever about this couple.
Being positioned just four stars away from one another on the famed boulevard, their
love story is now forever immortalized in the entertainment industry.
They are fully supportive of everything the other does and have endless love for one another.
We wish them the very best and are glad that Rita has made a recovery from breast cancer
with Tom by her side.
Let us know in the comments what you think the sweetest thing about this couple is.
Rumour Juice, at your service.