How Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker Keep It 'Fresh' After 19 Years of Marriage: It's 'Fun to Be Together'

Mar. 15, 2025

Boris Kodjoeis sharing his andNicole Ari Parker’s secret to having one of the strongestmarriagesin Hollywood.

TheStation 19star, 51, appeared on Thursday’sepisodeofTheJennifer HudsonShowand opened up about how he and Parker, 53, have maintained such a successful, loving relationship in their 19 years of marriage.

While the actor said there was “no trick” to the longevity of their marriage, he shared that it was all about their ability to be supportive of one another, even through challenges and disagreements.

“There’s no trick. You just can’t give up,” Kodjoe told the actress/talk show host, 42, when asked how he and theAnd Just Like That…star, whom he shares two children with, keep it “fresh.”

He shared, “Everybody goes through their stuff, individually and as a couple. You got to give each other space to make mistakes, you got to give each other space to apologize, to forgive. You got to give each other space to grow, to mature, to, like I said, mess up.”

Nicole Ari Parker and Boris Kodjoe at ELLE’s Women in Hollywood event on Dec. 5, 2023.Kevin Winter/Getty

Kevin Winter/Getty

“It’s like in business: You cannot succeed without failing,” Kodjoe added. “You have to make mistakes along the way, it’s too bad to bail out before they can reap the benefits of having made mistakes and having been through all of that stuff.”

Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker at the premiere of ‘The Color Purple’ on Dec. 6, 2023.Leon Bennett/Getty

Leon Bennett/Getty

The couple first met on the set of the Showtime seriesSoul Food, which ran from 2000 to 2004, but it wasn’t until the second season that Kodjoe made a move. After several years of dating, the two performers tied the knot in 2005 at a 900-year-old church in Kodjoe’s hometown of Gundelfingen, Germany.

TheCode Blackstarreflected on saying, “I do,“to theEmpirestar in a 2023 interview with PEOPLE. “It was magical that day,” he said.

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In 2005, Kodjoe and Parker welcomed their first child together, daughter Sophie, and the following year, they expanded their family to four with the birth of their son Nicolas.

Emma McIntyre/WireImage

Throughout their relationship, the actors have spoken candidly about the love that they share and how they keep romance a part of their relationship after nearly two decades of marriage.

When theReal Husbands of Hollywoodstar appeared in in the 2022 PEOPLE’sSexiest Man Aliveissue, he shared how he plans dates with his wife.

“I gave my wife a sound bath for her last birthday. I had a lounge singer in our front yard serenade her and a chef cook her a meal on the terrace,” Kodjoe shared. “That was during COVID, so we couldn’t go anywhere, so I had everybody come to the house. And I had a masseuse in the house and a manicure, pedicurist. And a henna artist.”

He added, “I had them all come to the house and then just gave her a beautiful romantic birthday.”

Parker has also spoken candidly about what she appreciates about her husband. “He’sexactly who his persona is, kind, loves being a husband and father,” the actress told PEOPLE in a 2019 interview. “An incredible human being who thinks of others. He’s just authentically good.”

Over the years, the pair has worked together on a handful of projects, such as the 2022 Lifetime movieSafe Room. They also launched a charity organization,Kodjoe Family Foundation, to raise awareness for spina bifida, a congenital spine disorder that their daughter was diagnosed with.

source: people.com