Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are one of Hollywood’s most enduring couples, having been together for over 30 years. Hanks first saw his future wife when he was just a teenager, though the couple didn’t meet in person until years later.
They eventually married and had two children together and have since worked together and supported every one of the other’s professional achievements. “When we first looked at each other there was definitely a kind of (pointing to camera), ‘Hey, this is the place!’” Hanks told Entertainment Tonight in 2015. “I felt that anyway. I think the end result is that we got married for all the right reasons.”
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Read on to learn more about the long-lasting pair.
At First Sight
Hanks told reporters at the New York City premiere of My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 in 2016 that he actually first saw Wilson when she made her acting debut as cheerleader Pat Conway on The Brady Bunch in the early ’70s.
“I was actually at a friend of mine’s house when it aired and I remember thinking ‘that girl’s cute,’” he said, via PEOPLE.
Going Public
Hanks and Wilson officially met when Wilson appeared as a guest star on the ABC comedy Bosom Buddies, which Hanks starred on for two seasons. At the time, Hanks was married to his childhood sweetheart, Samantha Lewes, with whom he shares daughter Elizabeth Ann and son Colin. A few years later, Hanks and Wilson starred in the 1985 movie Volunteers, where they felt a connection.
“Rita and I just looked at each other and — kaboing — that was that,” Hanks told GQ, via PEOPLE. “I asked Rita if it was the real thing for her, and it just couldn’t be denied.”
Hanks and Lewes officially divorced in 1987, but Hanks and Wilson went public with their relationship in December 1986 after Hanks and his late first wife had separated.
Down the Aisle
Hanks and Wilson married in April 1988.
“The success of our relationship was a matter of timing, maturity and our willingness to have an intimate connection,” Hanks told Oprah Winfrey in 2001. “When I married Rita, I thought, ‘This is going to require some change on my part.’ I won’t deny that providence was part of us finding each other, but our relationship isn’t magic — the way it’s shown in movies. In real life, our connection is as concrete as me sitting here. Not that marriage doesn’t come close to being hell in a handbasket sometimes. But we both know that no matter what, we’ll be with each other — and we’ll get through it.”
Adding to the Family
The pair welcomed their first child together in 1990 when Wilson gave birth to son Chester “Chet” Marlon Hanks. Chet has taken after his parents and is an actor as well as a rapper and releases music under the name Chet Haze. In 1995, the couple’s second son, Truman Theodore Hanks, arrived.
Hollywood Power Couple
Over the years, Hanks and Wilson have worked on several projects together, both on-screen and off. Wilson played Hanks’ sister in the 1993 hit Sleepless in Seattle, and in 2002, the pair co-produced My Big Fat Greek Wedding. They followed the movie with a sequel in 2016 and also co-produced the movie-musical Mamma Mia! and its sequel.
Through It All
In April 2015, Wilson announced that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had undergone a double mastectomy. She is now cancer-free and told the New York Times that Hanks was by her side through it all.
“You never know how your spouse is going to react in a situation like this,” she said. “I was so amazed, so blown away by the care my husband gave me. It was such a normal, intimate time.”
Celebrating
Hanks and Wilson have both been nominated for numerous accolades, including each receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The couple has walked dozens of red carpets in their years together, and their most recent was the Golden Globes in January, where Hanks was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
Photo Credit: Getty / Donato Sardella
