Sarah Michelle Gellar believes that shifting societal values are responsible for the decline in enduring relationships.
The actress and her husband, Freddie Prinze Jr., marked their 22nd wedding anniversary in September. The couple has two children. In an interview with Fox News Digital, alongside her “Dexter: Original Sin” co-star Patrick Gibson, Gellar discussed what she believes is essential for a lasting marriage.
“I think everything takes work in you, whether it’s a friendship or a work relationship or a marriage,” the Buffy the Vampire Slayer star said.
“You have to put the work in, she continued. And we live in an extremely disposable society now. Your phone breaks, you don’t fix it. You get a new one,” Gellar added. “And I think that’s a lot of the attitude toward relationships.”
“And I don’t know, maybe separate bathrooms,” the actress joked.
Gellar and Prinze Jr. first crossed paths while filming the popular 1997 horror film “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and started dating in 2000. They got engaged in 2001 and married a year later in Mexico when Gellar was 24, and Prinze was 26.
Before their wedding, Prinze Jr. was a guest on “The Howard Stern Show,” where the host placed a million-dollar bet that their marriage would not last. “So you’re going to marry Sarah Michelle Gellar, even though you know that won’t last?” Stern asked. “Oh, absolutely it will last,” Prinze Jr. replied. “I wanna make a written bet with you,” the radio host told him. “In about 10 years, you’re gonna hunt me down and go, ‘Howard, I owe you money.’”
For their 20th anniversary, Gellar posted screenshots of this interview on her Instagram Story. “@SternShow, I think you owe us,” she wrote.
Prinze Jr. later reposted Gellar’s message on his Instagram Story, adding, “She will not forget with two laughing-crying emojis.”
In a 2019 conversation with Us Weekly, Gellar shared that communication is crucial for their strong marriage. “It’s about being present, the New York native said. Listening is the most important thing.”
“We still make each other laugh. And we treat each other with respect,” added Prinze Jr., who noted that after their first kiss, he didn’t go on another date. It was just Sarah, he expressed to the magazine.
The couple, who also worked together in 2002’s “Scooby-Doo” and its 2004 sequel “Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed,” welcomed their daughter Charlotte Grace in 2009 and their son Rocky James in 2012.
Gellar and Prinze Jr. both became well-known in the 1990s, emerging as major stars of that time. In her chat with Fox News Digital, Gellar commented on how celebrity life in the ’90s was different compared to today.
“I would say the advent of social media and everybody having a camera phone,” she said. “I think you had a lot more anonymity, which at times I think makes storytelling a little bit easier because people didn’t know so much about your every move or even your show.”
“It’s hard to keep things spoiler-free,” Gellar added. “It moves shows more indoors when you have to keep secrets.”