The couple, who married in 1988 and had two kids together, first met while working on the ABC sitcom Bosom Buddies in 1981. However, they did not start dating because Hanks was already married and had two children with his college sweetheart at the time.
Hanks and his wife split up five years later, and he eventually got a divorce in 1987 before getting married a second (and apparently final) time in 1988.
In the 35 years after their marriage, Wilson, 66, has given birth to two boys, Chester “Chet” and Truman, and she has also taken on the role of stepmother to Hanks’ two children, Colin and Elizabeth, also 66.
The Hollywood pair, who have been married for 35 years, celebrated their anniversary on Sunday, April 30. In an Instagram post, Wilson included a picture of the couple sitting down together, with Hanks holding up a cake that read “Happy Anniversary” and was covered in purple calligraphy.
Wilson shared the delightful moment and wrote: “35 years of marriage. April 30, 1988. Everything is about love.
Wilson told talk show presenter Kelly Clarkson in 2020 that she was pulled to her husband after they connected after their first meeting. Wilson and Hanks have been extremely outspoken about their affection for one another throughout the years.
“When we first met, one of the things was how well we clicked. I adore a good storytelling, first and foremost. I’m down with anyone who can tell a fantastic narrative, thus I adore it. He constantly makes me chuckle. He tells wonderful stories,” she stated, according to People.
Wilson also shared a tender memory of her first date with Hanks with Piers Morgan, saying, “I’ll never forget, we were standing on the intersection of 57th and 5th in New York, or 58th and 5th. We were waiting for the traffic signal to change while holding hands. I just want you to know that you never have to change anything about who you are to be with me, he continued as he turned to face me.
She described him as “pretty much” the way he is now: “If love is a feeling, or a cellular thing that happens to your body, it went through me.”
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2001, Hanks discussed his relationship with Wilson and said, “I regard my wife as my lover, and we have a closeness that goes beyond words like wife or girlfriend or mother. For instance, because to my friendship with Rita, I was able to build a number of things in Philadelphia.
“I feel about mine the same way my character feels about his lover. The same was true when I portrayed Jenny’s love interest, Forrest Gump. I don’t know how I would have been able to relate to what Forrest was going through without my relationship with Rita,” he concluded.
This couple cannot stop—they’re becoming too adorable!