Hilaria Baldwin says the biggest lesson she has learned from more than 15 years with Alec Baldwin comes down to one rule. Both people have to keep wanting the relationship.
“You both have to want to be there,” Hilaria told Fox News Digital while reflecting on how she and Alec have navigated difficult periods together.
The couple met in February 2011 and married in June 2012. They have since welcomed seven children together while moving through what Hilaria described as the “ups,” “downs” and “sideways” parts of a long-term relationship.
Hilaria shared the marriage advice while discussing her appearance on FOX’s celebrity competition series Nation’s Dumbest, and said the same principle now shapes what she tells friends who come to her with relationship problems.
Hilaria Says ‘You Both Have to Want to Be There’
Speaking with Fox News Digital, Hilaria pointed first to the length of her relationship with Alec. “Oh, it’s been more than 15 years. We met February 2011,” she said.
Her advice for making a relationship last was considerably shorter. “You both have to want to be there.” Hilaria said she and Alec have continued to make that choice despite the inevitable changes and difficulties that have come during their years together.
“Both Alec and I, through our ups and our downs and our sideways, we’ve wanted to be there,” she said. “And I think that that’s what’s kept us strong.”
She Gives Friends the Same Relationship Advice
Hilaria said the lesson has become particularly relevant when friends ask her for advice about their own relationships. She described friends coming to her when a newer relationship hits trouble or an established couple encounters a difficult stretch.
Her response is to consider whether both people genuinely want to remain together through the difficult periods as well as the good ones. “If both people don’t really want to be there through your difficult moments, through your best moments, then it’s just not going to probably work out,” she said.
Hilaria and Alec celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary in June. Their relationship began more than a year before their 2012 wedding in New York City.
Seven Children Have Changed Their Date Nights
Hilaria also acknowledged that finding conventional alone time can be complicated when raising seven children. She recalled a recent dinner when she and Alec simply brought their youngest child, Ilaria, with them.
“Well, last night it involved taking our youngest with us to dinner because that’s what it was,” Hilaria said. She explained that she has childcare assistance during the day but did not have a babysitter available that night when she and Alec decided they wanted to go out.
“So, the baby comes with us,” she said. Hilaria and Alec share daughters Carmen, María Lucía and Ilaria and sons Rafael, Leonardo, Romeo and Eduardo. Alec also has an adult daughter, Ireland Baldwin, from his previous marriage to Kim Basinger.
Hilaria Says She Is More of a ‘Fun Mess’ Than People Think
View this post on Instagram
Hilaria made the relationship comments while promoting Nation’s Dumbest, the new FOX celebrity competition hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall. The network describes the series as a return to summer school for its celebrity contestants, who face trivia, physical challenges and classroom-inspired tests while trying to avoid finishing in last place.
The cast includes Hilaria alongside Carmen Electra, Anthony Michael Hall, Jon Heder, Ice-T, Elle King, Matt Leinart, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Steve-O, JoJo Siwa and Andrew Yang. Hilaria told Fox News Digital that she believes people sometimes assume she is more calculated than she actually is.
She instead described herself as curious and willing to try things, joking that she would rather people recognize that “she’s kind of a mess, like a fun mess.” Hilaria said she sometimes began challenges without a plan and watched to see whether things worked out or whether she would “fall over very badly” in front of everyone.