Michael J. Fox and His Wife Tracy Pollan Reveal the Secret to Their Happy 30-Year Marriage

They first kissed in 1985 on Family Ties, but Michael J. Fox, 57, didn’t start dating Tracy Pollan, 58, until they co-starred in 1988’s Bright Lights, Big City. The couple just celebrated their 30th anniversary on July 16, and in a new interview with People, the couple opened up about their happy marriage.

Even though the two came from very different backgrounds, they admitted their upbringings are what has made their marriage last so long. “Big families, middle children,” Michael told the news outlet. “Sense of humor. Both our families had that.” Tracy added of her upbringing, “It was us against the world. That’s exactly what we’ve created.” The couple is parents to a son Sam, 29, twins Schuyler and Aquinnah, 23, and daughter Esmé, 16.

And the secret to their happy union? “Just give each other the benefit of the doubt. He assumes I’m doing the best I can, Tracy shared.” Michael added, “Find the best things about you and the best things about life and celebrate them.”

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Tracy loves every minute that she can spend with her husband and kids. She knows that Michael is the love of her life and makes her a better person every day. “He’s so relaxed and so accepting of where he is, and that makes it easier for me, the kids, and everyone around him,” she has said.

However, when Michael was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he started to worry that Tracy might not want to still be married to him due to his health battle. “There were a lot of questions I was afraid to ask Tracy, like ‘Does it scare you that I’m sick? Do you not love me because I’m sick?’ I didn’t ask her those questions,” he told Oprah Winfrey in a past interview. 

Tracy added, “Any time I would say to myself, ‘This isn’t what I bought into,’ it wasn’t about Michael being sick. It was about his doubting and the behavior that came out of that fear.” Luckily, the couple knew that they wanted to be in it for the long haul and no matter what, they will overcome any obstacle together.

After Michael and Tracy got married in the ’80s, they always knew that they would stand by each other’s side no matter what. “Through it all we’ve loved each other,” Michael said. “And that love never died,” Tracy added. Does it get any more perfect than that?