Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell are considered one of Hollywood's most long-standing couples, even though the two never married. Hawn and Russell have been together since 1983 after meeting on the set of Disney's 1968 live-action movie musical, "The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band."

While it would be another 15 years before their romance sparked, their 40-year relationship has blended their families, and welcomed a son and seven grandchildren.

Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell shared the 'secrets' of their happy and long relationship.

In a November 2020 interview with CBS correspondent Tracy Smith, Hawn and Russell admitted to the inner workings of how their successful relationship has continued to be healthy and loving. 

"There is no secret," Hawn confessed. "I love you for asking the question because it's a normal question." Despite Hawn's nonchalance about the inquiry, it wasn't to say that the couple didn't have advice for people looking to make a relationship work with their partner. 

"You both want to be together," Hawn continued, prompting Russell to burst into laughter. "You gotta want to be together."

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"You're right," Russell interjected after Hawn questioned why he found her response so humorous. He validated that what she was saying was completely right, and added that their relationship, just like any is "up and down, it’s sideways, it’s whatever. At the end of the day, how do you explain it? ...It’s the same thing as what you’re saying. I call that love."

Hawn continued, explaining that relationships are challenging but, as you grow up, you can come to the conclusion that you're glad to have gotten through "whatever period that was."

"Relationships go through periods, sometimes really hard times. But there’s nothing sweeter than having a family, and that is worth everything," the "Cactus Flower" actress said. 

Hawn and Russell have previously opened up about their decision to never marry each other.

Despite Hawn and Russell previously sparking marriage rumors in 1989 when Russell seemed to propose to Hawn while presenting at the Academy Awards, the two have not tied the knot.

"Why should we get married? Isn't that a better question?" Hawn admitted during a July 2023 interview on CNN's "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?" "Because we have been married and because when it doesn't work out it ends up to be a big business. Somebody has to own something. It's always ugly."

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Hawn had two marriages before entering her relationship with Russell, who was married once prior.

"Somebody has to actually take a look and say, 'How many divorces are fun? How many divorces actually don't cost money? How many divorces make you even hate the person more than you did before? How many divorces have hurt children?'"

Hawn added that she enjoys the freedom of not being married because she can wake up every morning and actively decide if she wants to be in the partnership.

"Relationships are hard," she said. "They’re not always easy. There’s all kinds of hurdles that we go through. There’s things that we believe and things that we don’t believe in that we agree on."

"So I think ultimately staying independent with independent thinking is important so you can hold onto yourself and you can actually have that feeling."

Not everyone dreams of being married to their partner, but it doesn't mean that a relationship isn't still full of love and joy.

Everyone's journey is different, and it's refreshing to see how much Hawn and Russell value each other while still leaving room for the other to be independent and live their own life.

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Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.