Jamie Lee Curtis Reveals Secret to Nearly 40-Year Marriage with Husband, Who Raised Their Kids & Supported Her during Recovery

• Actress Jamie Lee Curtis and her husband, Christopher Guest, share a unique and enduring marriage of close to 40 years.
• Curtis first spotted Guest in a magazine, predicting she would marry him. Their relationship survived Curtis's addiction struggles, and they adopted two daughters.
• Despite differences, they find comfort and connection in their opposites, maintaining a realistic and lasting partnership.

Jamie Lee Curtis is married to Christopher Guest, actor, musician, and screenwriter. The British-American filmmaker and Curtis are blessed with two adopted kids, Ruby, 27, and Annie, 37.

Curtis first saw her husband in 1984 in a Rolling Stone magazine. Freshly out of a relationship, Curtis sat in her Los Angeles apartment, purchased at 25, with friend Debra Hill. In the living room, they browsed through Rolling Stone magazine, where Curtis spotted a photograph of three men.

The "An Acceptable Loss" actress's eyes went to the man on the right, who wore a plaid shirt and a mischievous smile. Curtis had never seen this man before, but she told Hill, "I'm going to marry that man."

Hill told her the man was Christopher Guest, and coincidentally, she knew his agent. The following day, Curtis contacted Guest's agent, leaving her number and instructing him to have the actor call her if he was interested. The Curtis waited, but Guest never called. So, she moved on with life and dated another man.

However, Curtis knew things wouldn't work out with this man. One day, she dropped him at the airport and said a final goodbye. Upon leaving the airport, the actress headed to Hugo's restaurant in West Hollywood for dinner with friends. There, she noticed Guest sitting only three tables away, and he waved to her.

Guest left without speaking to Curtis, but the next day, he called her. The two went on their first date at Chianti Ristorante on Melrose, and a few months later, they'd fallen in love. Guest and Curtis got married on December 18, 1984, and have been in the union for 39 years.

Now, Curtis admits she's unsure why she believed they would understand each other when she first saw her husband's photograph. "Hidden in that smirk, I think, was a little secret that only I knew," she noted.

Curtis also said her union with Guest is complicated and "a very real marriage." Despite their fame, the pair lead an imperfect life, like when the actress struggled with addiction. In December 1998, she washed down a handful of Vicodin tablets with a glass of wine at their vacation home in Idaho.

Curtis had picked up this habit when she was prescribed painkillers after a cosmetic surgery ten years ago. The movie star recalled that she had a wake-up call when a Brazilian healer who had visited her approached her from behind, and said, "You're not Jamie." In February 1999, Curtis took the bold step to enter recovery. Being sober gave her a community and a new identity that she desperately needed.

The actress admitted that she would be dead if she hadn't started her sobriety journey. Now, she calls herself "just a sober person — flawed, contradictory, broken and redeemed."

Aside from their vacation home, Curtis and Guest have a house in the Los Angeles area, where they spend most of their time. The couple's domestic bliss hit a notch higher with the adoption of their daughters. Curtis reminisced that when Annie was eight, she represented the deepest and indescribable event in her life.

The adoption of Annie inspired Curtis to write a book about that part of motherhood. To make their family complete, they adopted their second daughter, Ruby. As they raised their kids, Guest said they lived a very regular life, where he spent most of his time dropping off and picking his kids up.

Curtis also values family, a lesson she got from her mother. "My mom instilled a lot of good, concrete values, respect, how you treat people, the importance of family and friends," she explained.

Now, the couple's kids are adults, and the married couple still finds love and comfort in each other. Curtis, who never believed that her looks were one of her positive aspects, thinks her own pragmatism about matters of the heart helps her and Guest stay happy.

The movie star explained that she has never gotten lost in a romantic comedy, "I have the problem of going back home and trying to deal with a real marriage, which is very different from that." Delving into collaboration, the actress ruled out working on joint projects with her husband, joking that they already collaborate in bed.

As much as Curtis doesn't think life is a romantic comedy, she calls herself a "deep, serious romantic." She also refers to Guest as her "one and only." Still, the actress is realistic and isn't lost in romantic delusions.

On their 35th anniversary, Curtis wrote a song for Guest. The chorus rings, "I feel safe when I drive up and see that you are home." She explained that in her long marriage, she finds safety in knowing her husband's car is in the garage, that she isn't alone, and that Guest is with her.

The 65-year-old also opened up about the secret to her long-lasting marriage. Curtis said she and Guest are opposites. Guest is an intellectual, while Curtis came from a family where education wasn't important. They don't share musical tastes, reading preferences, or bedtime routines.

Yet, they both delve into the same history books. For their 30th anniversary, they both read "Undaunted Courage" and embarked on a journey with friends, retracing a segment of the Missouri River in canoes mirroring Lewis and Clark's expedition. "We're a little nerdy," gushed Curtis.

Guest also has other hobbies, including playing golf, skiing, riding his bicycle, and playing music every day. He plays the guitar, bass, mandolin, mandola, clarinet, and piano. Curtis is happy about her and Guest's relationship, where they seek comfort, contact, and connection from each other.

On the 36th anniversary of their wedding, she shared an emotional post on Instagram alongside a picture of the pair holding hands. The actress conveyed that their connection spans children, family, and friends. Guest and Curtis' nearly 40-year bond resembles a human emotional chain, guiding them through triumphs and tragedies.