Steven Van Zandt and his wife Maureen will celebrate 42 years of marriage on New Year’s Eve, and now he’s revealing the key to their longevity.
The 73-year-old guitarist and member of Bruce Springsteen’s iconic E-Street Band and his 72-year-old wife will showcase their lives in an upcoming HBO documentary called Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple.
The documentary premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June and debuted on the Max streaming service late last month.
While promoting the film in a new interview with PeopleVan Zandt was asked what the key to his marriage’s longevity was… and he revealed it was separation.
“As I often say, the key to staying together is staying apart. We’ve been together, God, how long now? Over 40 years and we’ve probably spent about 10 years together out of that 40, because I’m always on tour,” he admitted.
Steven Van Zandt and his wife Maureen will celebrate 42 years of marriage on New Year’s Eve, and now he reveals the key to their longevity
The 73-year-old guitarist and member of Bruce Springsteen’s iconic E-Street Band and his 72-year-old wife will showcase their lives in an upcoming HBO documentary called Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple.
While promoting the film in a new interview with People, Van Zandt was asked what the key to the longevity of his marriage was… and he revealed it was the split.
“So when you come home, everything is new again,” he added, admitting that his wife has more than enough work to keep her busy while he is away.
“I think it’s important to maintain your own identity. She’s a very, very strong person. She has a theatre company. She’s the real actress in the family,” she admitted.
“She is a true dancer. In addition to her literary background, she teaches acting at the American Ballet Theater. She was a ballet dancer,” Van Zandt added.
The musician adds: “I think you have to find a way to maintain your own identity and make sure that one plus one equals three instead of one plus one equals one and a half.”
He added that this last formula “is seen all the time in relationships where people simply start to lose their identity and compromise it in order to get along.”
Van Zandt admitted that neither of them is particularly good at reaching agreements, but they found a way to make it work after four decades.
“I think you have to set some boundaries, so to speak, so that everyone can have their own identity and come together and find common ground. We have both. That’s the key,” he admits.
The upcoming documentary looks into the couple’s private lives, something director Bill Teck said he wanted to show.
“Then when you come home, everything is new again,” he added, admitting that his wife has more than enough work to keep her busy while he is away.
“I think there’s something to do with maintaining one’s own identity. She’s a very, very strong person. She has a theatre company. She’s the real actress in the family,” he admitted.
“She is the real deal. In addition to her literary background, she teaches acting at the American Ballet Theater. She was a ballet dancer,” Van Zandt added.
“I just wanted to reflect their love. I never fail to get emotional when Stevie sings the song to Maureen at the end,” Teck revealed.
“I just wanted to reflect their love. I never fail to get emotional when Stevie sings the song to Maureen at the end,” Teck revealed.
“It’s inspiring to me as a man and as a person in a relationship, as a human being, I should say, and as a person in a relationship, the commitment and the love and how present those two are for each other, how protective they are of each other,” he added.
“I was very honored and humbled that we were able to accomplish this,” Teck continued.
Van Zandt admitted in the documentary that he went “crazy” for her the first time they met, but it took him a year to convince her to go out with him.
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