Keeping their distance. Lisa Kudrow and husband Michel Stern are celebrating 25 years of marriage on Wednesday, May 27 — but they won’t be together!
The Space Force star, 56, is home with their son, Julian, 22, while Michel is away for work, staying at their home in Palm Springs, she revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday, May 26.
“We were all together in the desert because we have a house there. And then there was the lock-in, so we just stayed put. But that house needed work,” the Friends alum told Jimmy Kimmel. “And then what happened was, it got to be hotter, as it does in the Palm Springs area, so it was too hot for me.”
The comedian added that it’s not a new thing for her and the advertising executive, 62, to be separated on the special day.
“We were like, ‘Oh, well. Does it matter? I love you. You still love me? Yeah. Great. We’re good,'” Kudrow said.
Although the pair have a very private relationship, they know what works for them — and what doesn’t.
“[Michel and I] respect each other’s independence, and I don’t mean that as a euphemism. I don’t mean relationship-wise outside the marriage. Clear?” she told Glamour magazine in 2014. “But I don’t like to travel. So if he wants to go on a golf trip, he goes. I think people get in trouble [when they assume they’re] supposed to be one unit, in sync about everything. [Marriage] is like being on a team. Each teammate is different, but you have the same goal.”
She also stated that it’s important to understand the commitment you make when marrying someone. “We’re not promising to love each other forever, because you can’t do that, but we are promising to work on whatever problems come up,” the Comeback alum shared, “We’re committed to our marriage working. It turns out, after you have a history, there’s such a bond, and love takes another shape. But, oh, I don’t want to jinx it — I’m superstitious!”
For the most part, Kudrow and Stern keep their son out of the spotlight. In 2018, he went away to college to have a normal experience away.
“I think I’m handling it really well — and, you know, like a mature adult — happy that our son is away … and independent. It’s hard,” she told Kimmel, 52, in 2018. “I think I did a good job injecting him with the right amount of fear. He’s independent and good.”
