Kirk Douglas and Anne Buydens

Award-winning actor, Kirk Douglas, who’s spawned a generation of actors, has been with his wife ’till the very end — more than six decades, to be exact. Douglas’s first starring role was in the epic film Spartacus, and it’s been uphill ever since. It’s been reported that the dashing Douglas tried to woo Buydens only to be rejected despite his steely blue eyes. He was, to a huge degree, flummoxed by the rejection.

She was a publicist working in Paris when Douglas’s friend introduced them, and Douglas assumed — maybe rightfully so — that nobody could resist his charms. Well, it turns out she was able to. Douglas later shared that he was able to win Buydens over by listening instead of talking — who would’ve thunk. The two eventually got married in 1954 and soon had two boys, Peter and Eric. Today, they remain the template for how love ought to turn out in Hollywood.