Peter Gallagher Explains Why He Finds 41 Years of Marriage with Wife Paula Harwood 'Embarrassing'

"I always feel like people say, 'You know how long we’ve been married?' And then they do it in the press and then six months later, they’re on the rocks," the actor noted of why he avoids publicly celebrating his marriage milestones

Peter Gallagher knows he’s “lucky” to be celebrating his 41 years of marriage with wife Paula Harwood.

On the latest episode of the New York Times’ Modern Love podcast, The O.C. alum, 68, admitted the milestone is “so embarrassing when you’re in show business.”

When asked what he meant, the actor clarified, “It’s not something you hear every day and it’s not something I ever really am interested in promoting. ‘Cause I always feel like people say, ‘You know how long we’ve been married?’ And then they do it in the press and then six months later, they’re on the rocks.”

He added: “Not jinx it, I do think it’s dangerous to promote it or talk about it. It’s not immutable. It’s a living, breathing thing, something that needed to be … it’s like a garden.”

Related: Peter Gallagher and His Wife Celebrate 40-Year Anniversary: 'We Are Two Very Lucky, Grateful People'

Gallagher shared that being married for more than four decades is “astounding,” adding, “I don’t think either of us feel substantially different or changed. Of course, we probably are. I feel very lucky about it.”

The Grace and Frankie alum also revealed his advice for a long-lasting union, saying, “Don’t get divorced! Good luck. Well, the fact is it, it’s ya know, I find there’s very little certainty about anything in life.”

“So much of life including love and work and the choices you make is built more on suspicion than certainty,” he continued. “And it’s being able to listen to those subterranean streams that are talking to you and you kind of hope you’re going in the right direction but there’s very little certainty I think.”

Related: Peter Gallagher Accompanies Daughter Kathryn Gallagher to Her First Tony Awards as a Nominee

The actor echoed that sentiment when discussing his secret to a healthy marriage on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2020.

"We just drive each other nuts, and don't get divorced," he joked. "I mean, the joke I always say is we're both very stubborn, and the only way out of this is on the horizontal."

Gallagher shared that he "got lucky" in marrying Paula, adding, "I adore my wife."

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Gallagher met Paula during their first year of college at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. The two tied the knot on May 7, 1983 and share two children: daughter Kathryn, 30, and son James, 27.

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