Tom Hanks: Wife Rita Wilson ‘Makes Me Laugh Harder Now Than She Did In ’86’
As Tom Hanks‘ wife, Rita Wilson has made them a Hollywood power couple for decades. Fans found them endearing when they got married in the ’80s. By the ’90s, they were partners in blockbusters and in 2002 produced My Big Fat Greek Wedding together. Hanks and Wilson also speak openly about what makes their marriage work.
Hanks was a guest on Phoebe Robinson’s Sooo Many White Guys podcast on Feb. 13, 2018. Speaking about his wife, Hanks said the sweetest thing about their shared humor.
Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson took their relationship seriously
Wilson is Hanks’ second wife. They first met when Wilson appeared on Hanks’ sitcom Bosom Buddies. Then they made the 1985 comedy Volunteers together, but didn’t marry until 1988. Hanks feels being grown-ups was key.
“I will tell you this, we didn’t get married young,” Hanks told Robinson. “We didn’t get married until we were both 30. We graduated from high school in the same year. So we didn’t get married on the fly. We didn’t get married in a fever. We weren’t so enamored with each other we had some goofy version of what love or togetherness is.”
Love at first sight is a little more complicated in real life
Hanks acknowledged he was immediately smitten by Wilson. Then he went on to tell the story of bringing that relationship to fruition.
I will say that right from the get go, I thought that there was something crazy great about her. You want to call it at first sight, I’ll say without a doubt, I met her and I thought oh lord, oh, I just crossed some brand of rubicon here. There’s something cooking here. Now, it takes a long time in order to get around to the rest of what goes on in a relationship but we knew each other for oh, we met in ’84 and we got married in ’88. So we got together at the first moment that we could. I had two kids. She had none. She comes from a big Greek family. I got to know all of those people.
Tom Hanks, Sooo Many White Guys podcast, 2/13/18
Tom Hanks’ wife Rita Wilson makes him laugh
Hanks offered very simple relationship advice. Honesty and humor are the keys to Hanks and Wilson’s marriage.
“We learned the secret of happiness with each other a long time ago and that’s always telling the truth and she makes me laugh harder now than she did in 1986,” Hanks said. “So there’s no secret. You’ve just got to meet the right person and when the time comes, when you go all in, you go all in.”
