Ray Romano Has Been Married For Over Thirty Years. Here's How - Nicki Swift (2024)

Pool/Getty Images

When it comes to Hollywood's long-lasting marriages, there are several couples that immediately come to mind: Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr., and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, to name a few. Yes, all those relationships are #goals, but let's not forget about Ray Romano, who has been married to his wife, Anna Romano, since 1987.

The couple first met in 1983 while they were working as tellers at a bank in Queens, N.Y., per People. "He kept the job funny and fun," Anna told the outletin 1996. Romano waited until he didn't work at the bank anymore to ask Anna on a date so "there was less pressure," he told Graham Bensinger in 2016."My batting average wasn't that good," the Everybody Loves Raymond alum added."She took a gamble ... I lived at home until I was 29, but she already started dating me."

"I don't know that I was A-list material, you know, as far as potential boyfriend/husband, but she wasn't materialistic .. then," he quipped.

The couple ended up tying the knot and later welcomed four children — daughter Alexandra, twins Gregory and Matthew, and son Joseph — into their lives. So, what is Romano's secret to his happy marriage? Keep reading to find out.

Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Ray Romano has been married to his wife, Anna Romano, since 1987, and it seems like the couple's relationship is only getting stronger and stronger with time. During an interview with Ellen DeGeneres in 2013, the Everybody Loves Raymond star noted one of the reasons his marriage has lasted is because his wife isn't in the spotlight. "I think it works because if you are someone, you know, with fame ... it's good to be married to someone who is not impressed with that at all," he quipped.

Romano got his big break in 1995 after he appeared on David Letterman's show. The talk show host "wanted to produce a show with Ray," per People,and from there, Romano's sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond,was born. Despite becoming a household name in Hollywood and taking home three Emmy Awards and one SAG Award for his work on the sitcom,Anna doesn't put her husband on a pedestal. "It's very funny when she insults me," he told Redbook magazine in 2009.

"She likes to remind me that, as big as my head can get with fame and fortune, I'm still the d**k she married," he continued. "And one of my jobs is being able to get her to laugh too. It's one of the things that's made our marriage last 21 years."

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

After being married for decades, Ray Romano and his wife, Anna Romano, have been through their fair share of ups and downs. Of course, just like in any marriage, Romano and his wife aren't afraid to fight — especially when it involves silly, minor details. For instance, the Ice Age star revealed Anna gets annoyed by his ... sneezes. (Yes, you read that right!) "Here's how you know you've been married a long time. The amount of God bless you's I get now are less and less and less," he told Ellen DeGeneres in 2019.

"Like if I go on a little sneeze run, I get maybe two and then it's just, 'Alright already. Alright!' It's literally, 'Go in the other room. I am watching Say Yes to the Dress, just get out of here!'" he explained. "Not only that, but we are at the point where she is arguing about how loud they are. We have that argument."

In 2012, Romano gave David Letterman a look inside his home life with his wife."She's reading a book, I'm emailing a friend," the comedian said during an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman (Us Weekly)."She puts the book down, looks at me and goes, 'I can't stand the way you type.'" Can't win them all, right?

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Ray Romano and his wife, Anna Romano, seem to have the whole marriage thing down. Even though the pair aren't afraid to fight and call each other out, the comedian was there for his wife after she was told she had "invasive breast cancer" in 2010. "The reason we're going public is to share our experience, yeah, but to have an effect," Romano told People in 2012. "Our goal is to help people."

Anna was not used to all of the attention her kids and husband gave to her during the difficult time. "I take on everybody's stress, but this had to be all about me," she said. "I'm not like that!" Fortunately, Anna beat cancer, which is something Romano will never forget. "We dodged a bullet," he admitted.

At the end of the day, Romano and Anna "try to find time among the chaos" to get away from their kids and have some alone time. "One of the secrets [to a 'long, happy marriage'] is that there's a lot of acceptance," he told Redbook magazine in 2009. "Anna would be just as happy with me if I were a plumber. As a matter of fact, when she married me, I was working at a bank and living at home. I didn't move out until I was 29!"

One thing is for sure:Romano and Anna's relationship has definitely stood the test of time.