Boris Kodjoe Reveals Secret to His and Nicole Ari Parker's 21-Year Marriage

Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker make one hot couple - and after over two decades of marriage, it seems like they've got the whole "for better or worse" thing figured out.

They recently celebrated 21 years of marriage - "which is 70 years in Hollywood," Kodjoe, 53, jokes while speaking exclusively to Us - and the secret to their long-lasting love goes beyond just staying put.

"My No. 1 answer is don't ever give up, because people are focused on the good in the ‘for good and bad,' and they're rarely even considering the bad," the actor reveals exclusively in the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now. "The bad will undoubtedly come, 100 percent, just like the good."

He continued: "So the question is: What do you do when it happens? Do you turn your back? Do you run for the hills or do you stick it out? Do you fight for your relationship? Do you get to know each other even better throughout that process?"

The Hollywood couple first met on the set of Soul Food in the early 2000s before sparking a romance and saying "I do" in Kodjoe's hometown of Gundelfingen, Germany, in 2005. They welcomed daughter Sophie in 2005, and son Nicolas one year later.

"He's pretty breathtaking, gorgeous, but I was a bit of a snob," Parker recalled to Us of her first impression of her husband for her cover story last year. "One night we were doing a scene, and his character was supposed to sexily lean me against a wall and kiss me. He was so nervous, adorable and shy. I took him behind the set, put my hands on his face and kissed him. I said, ‘That is how you kiss!' And then I fell in love."

Parker has a similar mindset to Kodjoe when it comes to long-lasting love.

"It gets hard, you get in ruts, you get sick of each other, but you find a way," she told Us. "So far, so good."

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This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 7:00 AM.