The 'Star Wars' icon and Marilou got married in December 1978 and for them it was "love at first laugh."
The force is strong with this relationship. Mark and Marilou Hamill tied the knot in December 1978 at their home in Malibu and have been together for over four decades, reports PEOPLE. Celebrating their 44th wedding anniversary, the Star Wars legend shared a beautiful snap of the two from their wedding. The 71-year-old captioned the throwback photo, "Celebrating our 44th Anniversary today. ❤️Thank you for saying 'yes' 🙏."
This isn't the first time the actor has expressed his love for his longtime wife. A few years ago on their 40th anniversary, he captioned a tribute to her with a Maya Angelou quote, “In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is no love for you like mine. 40 years and counting….,” he added with a collage of some of their best moments together. “#NoMeWithoutYou.”
The pair share three children together across their decades-long relationship: Nathan Elias, 43, Griffin Tobias, 39, and Chelsea Elizabeth, 34. Mark previously confessed that it was "love at first laugh" when he went on his first date with Marilou who was a dental hygienist when she met her husband. “I took her to Annie Hall to see if she had a sense of humor. I dropped women if they didn’t,” Mark told PEOPLE. Soon after, the pair saw an early Star Wars screening. "There was this one close-up of a minor character, curling his lips back from his teeth. She leaned over to me and whispered, ‘Bad caps.'"
After the actor went on to find fame, the two called it quits. “I had to taste groupies and fame,” Mark admitted. “I went to Las Vegas to date 38-year-old showgirls. I wanted to scale all these women. That was exciting for about the first 10 minutes. Eventually, I wanted something to hold onto—and a family.”
Marilou “kept busy” during their time apart, she said. “I ran my own life. But all the time I thought I was good for him, so I was hoping we’d get back together.” And sure enough, they did.
How have they managed to have a long-lasting relationship in Hollywood? They credit staying out of it. Marilou told Good Morning America in April 2018 that they "don't live in town, so we don't go in and do all the party circuits." But the family does support Mark on the red carpet to show support for his films. “It’s fun to be together like this. As you get older, you start treasuring the times you get to spend with family,” daughter Chelsea said.
References:
https://people.com/movies/mark-hamill-celebrates-44th-wedding-anniversary-with-wife-marilou/
https://people.com/archive/cover-story-mark-hamill-strikes-back-vol-16-no-9/
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/rare-glimpse-family-life-star-wars-icon-mark/story?id=54366947
Cover Image Source: (L) Instagram | Mark Hamill; (R) Getty Images | Amy Sussman