Million-dollar couples - Interview

Ebony, May, 2003 by Joy Bennett Kinnon

A special date with their special mate and a peck of planning for a pint of time keep Black America's increasing number of million-dollar couples in love and in the spotlight.

Is it easier or harder to keep the sizzle in the marriage when a couple goes from the runway to the driveway?

High-profile, high-powered couples say that when the flashbulbs stop popping and the red carpet is rolled up, they face the same challenges that all married couples face.

In fact, most couples in the limelight find they must work even harder to keep it real in their personal lives. Designer gowns and tuxedos, movie openings and music shows don't exempt a couple from the ups and downs of married life. And while most working couples wish they had more time together, these A-list couples like Angela Bassett and Courtney Vance or Toni Braxton and Keri Lewis are often like ships passing in the night. Sometimes they find it hard to be on the same continent together. And that forces some of the celebrity couples to get really creative.

For example, few can match the over-the-top romantic antics of "fly jock" Tom Joyner when it comes to wooing his bride, fitness expert Donna Richardson. For Valentine's Day 2002, Joyner flew diva Patti LaBelle to the couple's home in Texas to surprise his wife. But get this, he didn't fly her there to sing, he flew her there to cook a special love meal!! When director Antoine Fuqua was filming in Hawaii, and his pregnant actress wife, Lela Rochon, was home on bed rest, he flew from Hawaii to Los Angeles every weekend to be with her. Attorney William (Billy) Martin met his wife, ABC News correspondent Michel McQueen Martin, in New York when she was moderating a panel there. New ABA President-elect Dennis Archer and his wife, Judge Trudy Duncombe Archer, often travel together when he has speaking engagements.

All of the couples have special days or special date nights when they make reservations for two, and no one is allowed to disturb them. All of them have mastered the etiquette of staying out of the spotlight when their partner is in the spotlight. When it's Angela Bassett's movie set, Courtney Vance says he's "Mr. Bassett," and when Courtney Vance is headlining, you'd better believe Angela Bassett is "Mrs. Vance." Tom Joyner says he even registers at hotels as "Mr. Richardson."

So whether the couple has been married for two years or 32 years, whether they are directors, actors, singers, judges, lawyers or TV journalists, they all say their marriage and family are the most important things in their lives, and it still takes work to make it work, with or without the glitz and glamor.

HIGH-PROFILE CELEBRITIES REVEAL HOW THEY BALANCE CAREER AND ROMANCE

TOM JOYNER/DONNA RICHARDSON have only been married a few years (three this summer) but he has already earned his wife's complete devotion. "He's the best damn husband ever!" the fitness expert says unequivocally. And who could blame her assertion? The "fly jock" has been putting the "R" in romantic for years. On this year's Valentine's Day, the couple flew to Detroit and spent the evening with the Queen of Soul, and when they returned to Texas, he had her office decorated with hearts and roses. Ironically, Tom doesn't like surprises, though he loves to surprise his wife. The couple stays close by reserving every Tuesday as date night. "I get to surprise him on date night with picnics, theatre, bowling outings," she says. "I do the little surprises and he does the big ones." They say family and friends know not to call or visit on Tuesdays. When Vice President Al Gore tried to call their home one Tuesday in 2000 for get-out-the-vote help, he had a hard time getting through. "I did chat with him for a minute, but I told him I'd talk to him tomorrow," Joyner recalls laughing.

The couple has to travel extensively for business, but they try to limit travel from Thursday through Sunday only. They work hard, but they also play hard. "We take five, one-week vacations a year, and those dates are set in stone," Tom adds.

The couple is very supportive of each other's projects and ego doesn't get in their way. Tom says he even registers in hotels sometimes as Tom Richardson. "We love and respect each other, and we're really thankful to be doing what we're doing," Donna says. "It's really about creating change and making lives better for the next generation. We have a very fulfilling life," she adds.

TONI BRAXTON/KERI LEWIS laugh when asked about the glamor versus the reality of married life. Normally very sexy and sultry, the singer says she was just trying to find something to wear that matches! At press time, Toni was eight months pregnant with her second son and she was chasing her firstborn, Denim, an active toddler who loves to get outdoors. "It's really, really hard to do," she says. "Right now it's not so glamorous!"

Braxton's new album, More Than A Woman, is still doing well and she is set to star in the Broadway play Aida, only seven weeks after her new baby's birth. And she is already planning to go on tour four to six months after the play.