Julia Roberts is loving life, and she says the key to her happiness is her husband, Danny Moder.
“He’s just really our anchor and our person,” Roberts, 56, said during an interview on Today on Monday, December 4. “And in the most beautiful way, the captain of our ship, you know, truly. For me, understanding how deeply felt life could be,” she added, “really started with him.”
The Leave the World Behind star met the cinematographer, 54, when they worked on the 2000 film, The Mexican. They married in 2002 before welcoming twins Hazel and Phinnaeus in 2004 and son Henry in 2007.
During an appearance on The View on Monday, Roberts again praised Moder as she offered her secrets to a blissful marriage.
“I think marrying the right person is important,” the Oscar winner said. “Lots of kissing hello and goodbye is really, I think, a critical detail to daily life … Everybody try it. Give it a week. Every time you say good morning, a hug and a kiss.”
The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg said she appreciated the advice.
“Maybe that’s been my problem,” Goldberg commented. “I just do a kiss out the side of her mouth. ‘See ya, bye. Come back in a week.’”
Roberts had fond words for Goldberg, who recently worked with Moder on a film starring Robert De Niro.
“My husband, who’s a cinematographer, he filmed this beautiful movie called Ezra,” she said, pointing to Goldberg. “And you are so doggone great in that movie.”
Roberts and Moder are close to being empty nesters. The twins are away attending college, and Roberts said on Today she especially appreciates how her oldest children have matured.
“I have an immense amount of appreciation for both of my older kids because they still allow me to be the same mom to them and it’s not eye-rolling. There’s a huge amount of understanding,” she said.
“I parent them the same way out of the house that I parent them in the house,” Roberts added. “Which is, ‘Are you getting enough sleep? You sound like you’re sick, are you drinking tea?’ And, ‘Text me when you get home so I can see that you’re safe and sound.’”
Roberts also stated that she makes sure she maintains a close bond with all three of her kids despite busy schedules.
“We all were on a FaceTime the other day together, all of us. And it was, like, this gift that we had, these four minutes of us all looking at each other. We were all so happy to be together in that way,” she said.
The twins turned 19 on November 28, and Roberts marked the occasion with a rare throwback photo holding them as babies in her arms.
“It is something to be celebrated, and I know Instagram is a place where people like to share happy things,” she told Extra, adding, “I love them so much.”
