Lisa Kudrow’s 30-Year Marriage Secret: ‘We’re Not Promising To Love Each Other Forever’

Apr 01, 2026 by apost team

Some marriages are built on big gestures. Others are built on something quieter that lasts longer.

For Lisa Kudrow, the relationship she shares with her husband Michel Stern has never been about grand declarations. It has always been about staying committed, even when things are not easy.

Kudrow met Stern in the late 1980s, long before fame entered the picture. At the time, he was dating her roommate. Years later, they reconnected, and by 1995, just as “Friends” was beginning to change her life, they got married. Their son, Julian Murray Stern, was born in 1998. Looking back, Kudrow has been open about how much that timing mattered.

“I feel like the luckiest thing that happened to me was that I met and fell in love with the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with before ‘Friends,’ right before,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. That early foundation shaped how she sees marriage today. For Kudrow, it is not about promising lifelong romance. It is about choosing to keep working at it.

“When we decided to get married, we understood: We’re not promising to love each other forever… but we are promising to work on whatever problems come up,” she told Glamour. “We’re committed to our marriage working.”

She had also been clear about what could go wrong when expectations are unrealistic.

“I think people get in trouble when they assume they’re supposed to be one unit,” Kudrow continued. “(Marriage) is like being on a team. Each teammate is different, but you have the same goal.”

It is a simple idea, but it is one Kudrow has held onto for three decades.

That same grounded approach shows up in the way Kudrow moves through her life today, especially as a mother.

Now 62, she recently shared the screen with her son Julian, who appears alongside her in the 2026 season of “The Comeback.” Watching him step into her world has been meaningful, but it has not changed how she treats him.

On set, she does not think about appearances or professionalism in that moment. She just followed her instinct.

“I just walked over and climbed onto the couch right next to him and cuddled in,” she told PEOPLE. The reaction from the room caught her off guard.

“And he went, ‘Hi, Mom,’ and everyone was looking,” she continued. “It was maybe inappropriate just like to climb on him. I think some people didn’t know he was my son. So they were still wondering, ‘What’s happening right now?’”

It was a small moment, but it said a lot. No matter how much time has passed or how much she has achieved, Kudrow still shows up the same way. And when it comes to her marriage, she does not complicate it either.

Speaking with PEOPLE at the season 3 premiere of “The Comeback,” Kudrow shared what has kept her marriage to Michael steady all these years.

“I think that’s all there is to it,” she said. “Mutual respect for the most part. But definitely wanting to stay together and then relearning mutual respect, practicing mutual respect and listening.”

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Are you a fan of Lisa Kudrow and her honest take on relationships? Do you think lasting marriages today really come down to effort and respect more than romance? Let us know, and then pass this on to your family, friends, and other fans out there!