Ozzie and Sharon Osborne's marriage tip: Persevere

Valentine's Day is coming so talk turns to love and marriage. Also, in our parish the Beyond Cana marriage retreat will begin this Friday. Naturally, this WSJ article about long-lived marriages struck a chord. (Heads up, Tom and I are heavily involved in the presentation this time around and so my blogging will become sparse as we get closer to the weekend.)

Never, ever give up. This tip is really important, so pay attention. Sharon Osbourne says it is how she stayed with husband Ozzy for 28 years and counting.

[...]

He also spent years strung out on drugs and alcohol. Never mind the groupies and the near-fatal overdoses. This man set fire to his house, passed out on a freeway median, and once tried to strangle his wife.

Ms. Osbourne, for her part, tried to run him over with a car, smashing his gold records with a hammer and taking out a restraining order. "We became like a soap opera," says Ms. Osbourne, 57, who is her husband's manager.

And yet she stuck by her man. Why? Because she felt he was a good person when sober and that he would kick his addictions one day. And she still believes he is her soul mate. ("Twice recently we've had the same dream on the same night," she says.)

"I went into marriage thinking it was forever. So I was stubborn," says Ms. Osbourne who has three children with her husband.

Mr. Osbourne, who was married once before, finally did sober up "six or seven years" ago, he says, and is very glad his wife stuck it out. "You don't throw in the towel at the first sign of trouble," he says.

And so Mr. Osbourne has made a point of telling his wife he loved her every single day—no matter where he was in the world, no matter how drunk or high. "She sometimes said 'Drop dead' or 'F— off,'" he says. "But at least if you are arguing, you are talking. If you stop talking, it's time to call it a day."

This story covers many good tips from a number of long-lived marriages, among them such famous folk as Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. Yet I believe that for all its tempestuous nature with many examples we definitely do not want to ever follow, the Osbornes have the key to the most important step. Never give up. Never surrender. My favorite moment, however, may be the tip conveyed by author, Ellen Bernstein's sister. No, I'm not going to tell you. Read the article.