Mary Steenburgen Shares Her Secrets to a Happy 30-Year Marriage with Ted Danson
Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen in November 2025.
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Mary Steenburgen on the Secrets to Her Lasting Marriage with Ted Danson
In a recent interview, actress Mary Steenburgen shared her insights on maintaining a robust relationship with her husband, Ted Danson, as they celebrate over 30 years of marriage. Speaking at a Paley Center event in New York City, Steenburgen, 72, emphasized the importance of togetherness, especially as they grow older.
"I don’t know that we have formal rules," she said. "Like a lot of actors, we try not to be separated. Especially as we get older, we really don’t want to be separated."
Steenburgen recalled a recent filming experience in Vancouver, where she spent eight days away from Danson, 77. She noted their mutual longing to reunite, particularly because she had taken their dog with her. “We were dying to see each other,” she remarked.
The couple’s relationship is built on kindness rather than strict guidelines. "I want him to have the happiest life possible, so I don’t think I need rules to help give him that, and he feels the same way about me," she explained. They have been married since 1995.
Reuniting professionally, Steenburgen recently appeared alongside Danson in the second season of Netflix’s A Man on the Inside, where she plays music professor Mona Margadoff. The couple previously collaborated in an episode of Mr. Mayor.
The show’s second season, which premiered on November 20, follows Danson’s character, Charles Nieuwendyk, a retired private investigator tasked with solving a case while going undercover as a college professor.
A diverse cast supports the duo in this venture, including Max Greenfield, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, and Gary Cole, among others.
Steenburgen described her reaction to accepting the role in A Man on the Inside as one of pure joy. “When they told me, there was a lot of screaming and jumping up and down,” she said. “We were both dying because we were so excited to work together. It was great.”
Danson echoed this enthusiasm during the same event, expressing satisfaction in collaborating with his real-life partner in the comedy series. “We’re both actors. We were trained the same way. We had some really good material to work with. We’d get up every morning giggling about what we get to do,” he shared.
Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen in November 2025.
Matt Roberts/Shutterstock
Mary Steenburgen in November 2025.
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