It took them six years after meeting for them to actually start their journey together. Well, it seems like it was worth it.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on February 7, 2020. It has since been updated.
With roles like Phoebe Buffay from the sitcom F.R.I.E.N.D.S and Dr. Fiona Wallice in Web Therapy, Lisa Kudrow has established herself as a comedy trailblazer on screen. Her comedic and acting prowess is known to millions of people worldwide and she is certainly lauded for it. But there aren't many who know about a different side to her — the one where she is a wife to a French ad executive, Michel Stern. And how they met is an adorable story that will melt your heart.
At the time that Kudrow first met Stern, he was actually dating her roommate. But the moment they met, she knew it was love at first sight. "I was living with French girl and he had just moved here and they were dating when we first met. But I'm freakishly polite, so I saw him and went, 'Well, he's the perfect man and it's all ruined because now they're together and I can't (make a play for him),'" she said, according to the Daily Mail. "I thought that that's not nice to flirt. But the minute I saw him I went, 'Well, that's it, there he is.'"
However, the now 56-year-old comedian was too afraid to let anyone know that she was crushing hard on him. "But I was so afraid anyone would see that I liked him, so when he'd come to pick her up, he'd say, 'Oh, hello Lisa,' and I'd say, 'Hi,' and I'd go and leave the room and he thought I was a freak. They went out for two and a half months and six years later I met him again at her birthday party and we just never stopped. We're still friends," she continued, reported Contact Music.
Knowing that this time, she couldn't let him slip out of her hands, they turned their friendship into a relationship.
After dating for five years, the two tied the knot on May 27, 1995.
A bare three years later, they were ready to introduce their little boy into their world. Julian Murray Stern was born on May 7, 1998, a nice addition to their small family. And now 24 years later, the two are still going strong, though the Easy A actress doesn't share much about their private life together. It's also why they have managed to keep their now 21-year-old son mostly out of the spotlight.
However, in 2014, when speaking to Glamour Magazine, she did open up a bit about her marriage and gave some advice. She said, "When [Michel and I] decided to get married, we understood: We're not promising to love each other forever, because you can't do that, but we are promising to work on whatever problems come up. We're committed to our marriage working. It turns out, after you have a history, there's such a bond, and love takes another shape. But, oh, I don't want to jinx it—I'm superstitious!"
The mother-of-one also added that being married doesn't mean you have to lose your independence. "[Michel and I] respect each other's independence, and I don't mean that as a euphemism. I don't mean relationship-wise outside the marriage. Clear? But I don't like to travel. So if he wants to go on a golf trip, he goes. I think people get in trouble [when they assume they're] supposed to be one unit, in sync about everything. [Marriage] is like being on a team. Each teammate is different, but you have the same goal."
Well, it seems like her advice is holding her marriage solid as in 2020, they will be celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. And it doesn't look like they've lost any of the love that brought them together which is no surprise considering her love for him held strong for six years before they could be together. Here's to many more years together.
References:
http://www.contactmusic.com/lisa-kudrow/news/kudrow-met-husband-while-he-was-dating-her-pal
