Celebrity Couples Who’ve Strengthened Their Marriage With Therapy

Marriage isn’t always easy, even when you have all the fame and fortune you could desire. That’s why many celebrity couples turn to marriage counseling, which has helped them strengthen their relationship and become the best possible version of themselves.

Recently, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West made headlines when it was reported that they had entered couple’s therapy to help save their marriage. While the future of their relationship is yet to be seen, many couples have admitted that it helped get them through a tough time.

Pink and her husband Carey Hart even cite counseling as the only reason they’re still together. Meanwhile, Busy Philipps and Marc Silverstein credit therapy sessions to helping them overcome bumps in the road. Even Barack and Michelle Obama have turned to counseling at times!

Find out what celeb couples had to say about marriage counseling…

1. Gabrielle Union & Dwyane Wade

Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade have been married since 2014 but several years later admitted that things aren’t always as perfect as they seem. The couple have said that they put in hard work to maintain their relationship and happiness.

“People are like ‘goals’; me and D are like, ‘wtf?’ We’ve kind of figured it out now, but I guess maybe we should tweet live from couples’ therapy. And when you ask us we’re gonna tell you, there’s a process to happy,” Gabrielle told Complex.

2. Kristen Bell & Dax Shepard

Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard tied the knot in 2013 and admit that early in their relationship, they went to therapy to learn how to better communicate.

“We have a very healthy marriage and we got there by doing therapy when we needed it, and constantly doing fierce moral inventories. We both take responsibility when we are wrong, and I think it is easy to work with him because I married him, because I enjoy spending time with him and I trust him,” Kristen told People.

3. Barack & Michelle Obama

Even Barack and Michelle Obama have been to couple’s counseling, which Michelle admits helped her learn some important things about herself that improved their marriage.

“Marriage is hard, even for us. We have a great relationship… I was one of those wives who thought, ‘I’m taking you to marriage counseling so you can be fixed, Barack Obama.’ Because I was like, ‘I’m perfect.’ I was like, ‘Dr. X, please fix him.’ And then, our counselor looked over at me. I was like, ‘What are you looking at? I’m perfect.’ But marriage counseling was a turning point for me, understanding that it wasn’t up to my husband to make me happy, that I had to learn how to fill myself up and how to put myself higher on my priority list,” Michelle said on “The Tonight Show.”

4. Pink & Carey Hart

Pink and Carey Hart have been together for almost two decades and attribute couple’s counseling to their lasting relationship. It’s helped them navigate bumps in the road as well as basic relationship maintenance, like figuring out how to best live life together.

“Carey and I have been in couples counseling almost our entire 17 years that we’ve been together. It’s the only reason we’re still together. We come from broken families and we had no model of, ‘How are we supposed to keep this family together?’ And live this crazy life? There’s no model, there’s no book that says, ‘Here’s how to do this!’ So, we go to counseling, and it works,” Pink said on the “Today” show.

5. Neil Patrick Harris & David Burtka

David Burtka says therapy has helped strengthen his relationship with husband Neil Patrick Harris over the past 16 years.

“We go to couples therapy. Not that there’s anything wrong, but it’s nice to sort of just talk to someone who is a mediator. That’s helped our relationship,” David told Life & Style.

6. Will & Jada Pinkett Smith

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith admit they have attended therapy sessions over the course of their relationship and while it can be scary, in the end, it helps overcome and move on from problems.

“What happens in a marriage once you do counseling, the truth comes out. And you sit across from your wife and you’ve said all of your truth and she has said all of her truth… When the truth comes out and people have to say who they are and what they think, you get to know who they are. I think that’s the cleansing before you get to the other side that is understanding and moving forward in our relationship,” Will reportedly told The Sun.

7. Busy Philipps & Marc Silverstein

Busy Philipps revealed that back in 2016, she told her husband Marc Silverstein that she wanted a divorce after emotionally cheating with another man. Instead, he encouraged her to work through things together with him. The duo began going to therapy both together and separately, which has helped make lasting change.

“We were doing well in therapy together too… When I finally came clean about the other dude, he was weirdly understanding about it. He really just wanted me to know that he loved me and was sorry I’d felt so alone for so many years and wanted to support me in whatever I needed. He wanted to be a different partner and a different dad, and he was delivering on that. It’s hard to explain it exactly, but he broke open in a way and totally changed the way he related to everyone, not just me. it wasn’t exactly overnight, but it was happening, and I could recognize the change – everyone we knew could see it,” Busy wrote in her memoir “This Will Only Hurt a Little.”

8. Bryan Cranston & Robin Dearden

Bryan Cranston admits he was initially hesitant about going to therapy with his wife Robin Dearden but in the end, it has greatly helped them work through issues.

“My wife and I go to a couples therapist. Our agreement is, if either of us feels like we want to go, the other can’t object. For my father’s generation, as he literally said, ‘I’d rather stick needles in my eyes than go to a therapist.’ When I was a kid, if you heard of someone who went to a psychiatrist, it meant they were crazy. That’s the kind of labeling and judgment I was raised with. And I had to get rid of that,” Bryan told Rolling Stone.

9. Patrick Dempsey & Jillian Fink

After filing for divorce in 2015, Patrick Dempsey and Jillian Fink decided to go to couple’s therapy to reconcile their relationship.

“Jill and I decided it was time to work on our issues and improve. We wanted to be role models for our kids like, okay, if you have differences, you can work them out… You’ve got to keep at it. You’ve got to communicate, and stay open and not get lazy. And not give up,” Patrick told People.