Hillary Clinton says while she’s not one to dole out relationship advice, her and former President Clinton’s “ability to keep talking” is one of the reasons they’re still married.
“We have carried on a conversation now for more than 50 years,” the former secretary of State said to her husband, who appeared as a guest on her iHeart podcast “You and Me Both” on Tuesday.
“Part of, I think, the real core of our relationship, our marriage, has been we started a conversation and we never stopped,” Hillary Clinton told the 42nd president.
“Through good times and hard times, through happy times and sad times — it doesn’t mean we don’t get frustrated and upset with the other because that’s human nature. But we always kept talking,” she said.
The Clintons tied the knot in 1975.
The former first lady has previously said she had “no regrets” about choosing to stay in her marriage following her husband’s affair with then-White House intern Monica Lewinsky in the 1990s.
“I’m not giving relationship advice. Everybody has to find their own way,” Clinton said on her podcast this week.
“But I think our ability to keep talking is one of the reasons why we’re still sitting here together,” she said.
“Yeah, I do, too,” Bill Clinton replied.
“Hillary just came home from going to that [COP28 climate summit] and she got a little sick on the trip. She hadn’t been home two minutes before I knew what was wrong, what was right, how she was feeling,” the 77-year-old ex-president said.
“That happens if you invest time in somebody over a long time,” he said.
“I think one of the gifts you get from investing time in somebody over a long time is what you don’t have to say. What you see and know without anybody saying something,” Bill Clinton said.
“There is no perfect handbook for life. You have to figure it out as you go along,” he continued.
“You’ve always got to decide whether whatever commitment you make in whatever way are fulfilling, that the bonds of love and the benefits of love outweigh the burdens and the frustrations. And that’s a decision nobody can make for you.”
Denouncing “hate-based politics,” Clinton said, “I have always believed that we should keep trying to understand one another and keep reaching out to each other.”
“I believe that whether it starts with Hillary and me or anybody else’s family or the children or grandchildren we have, it’s a gift to be alive. It carries burdens, it carries challenges. But I think just remembering that is important,” he said.
“I’m actually pretty optimistic. I always have been,” the former president added. “But I have been very worried at this moment in history that our capacity to grow in cooperation and understanding is a little bit in doubt.”