• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Robert Downey Jr.'s wife reveals ‘two-week rule' that is the success behind their 18-year marriage

Home> Celebrity

Published 12:46 15 Mar 2024 GMT

Robert Downey Jr.'s wife reveals ‘two-week rule' that is the success behind their 18-year marriage

The couple have been married for 18 years

Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard Kaonga

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

Robert Downey Jr. Is likely on top of the world after his Oscar win and his wife of 18 years has explained how they keep their marriage strong.

The star has had a good few days after having recently taking the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Oppenheimer.

You know, no big deal.

However, it hasn't always been this way for the Iron Man star as in the mid 90s to early 2000s, he was regularly on the wrong side of the law due to his drug addiction - even being sentenced to three-years in prison after missing a required drug test in 1999.

Advert

But he managed to turn his life around after undergoing treatment and his career began to flourish again as a result.

The actor praised his wife, Susan Downey, in his Oscar's acceptance speech for helping him in his recovery.

"She found me, a snarling rescue pet, and loved me back to life. That's why I am here. Thank you." he said.

The pair first met whilst making the 2003 film Gothika, later getting married in 2005. They also share two children, Exton, 12, and nine-year-old Avri.

So, how do they keep their marriage successful?

Susan Downey has explained how she and husband Robert Downey Jr. maintain a successful marriage.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Well, Susan explained that the pair have a crucial rule - they do not go longer than two weeks without seeing each other.

“We do have a two-week rule, which often feels too long, but we don't go more than two weeks without seeing each other and the family being together,” Susan told PEOPLE.

“Fortunately, we prefer to be a traveling circus when we can be." she continued to say.

The couple try to stick with the 'basic rule' but sometimes life can be 'oddly unpredictable' so they don't think 'too far ahead'.

“Someone might get sick, or there might be a shutdown, or this or that.

"So you just have to have some basic things in place, and then you have to be willing to flow with the rest of it.” she added.

However, Downey Jr. is pleased he can see his family so often, joking: “It just gives me, honestly, something to attach my neurosis to that's positive.”

The pair have been married for 18 years.
Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

Susan also noted that she was fortunate that her job doesn’t as a producer doesn’t require her to be in front of the camera so she can be more flexible when it comes to seeing her family.

She added: “The good news is I'm not in front of the camera, and so as a producer I end up with a little bit more flexibility in terms of location, of where I would need to be.

“I really admire and have a lot of empathy for couples who both have to be in front of the camera, because you get stuck and you have to make those choices.”

Featured Image Credit: Amanda Edwards/Getty Images, Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images

Topics: Robert Downey Jr, Sex and Relationships

Gerrard Kaonga
Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard is a Journalist at UNILAD and has dived headfirst into covering everything from breaking global stories to trending entertainment news. He has a bachelors in English Literature from Brunel University and has written across a number of different national and international publications. Most notably the Financial Times, Daily Express, Evening Standard and Newsweek.

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Harrison Ford shares important rule that is the success behind his 15-year marriage
  • Robert Downey Jr hints Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman could be in Marvel’s Avengers Doomsday
  • Dolph Lundgren, 67, reveals the ’simple secret’ behind marriage to wife Emma, 29
  • Robert Downey Jr made the comeback of a lifetime to win an Oscar

Choose your content:

an hour ago
3 hours ago
5 hours ago
6 hours ago
  • Instagram/thylaneblondeau
    an hour ago

    Model dubbed 'most beautiful girl in the world' at age six announces engagement to actor

    Thylane Blondeau announced her engagement to Ben Attal

    Celebrity
  • Rich Polk/2026GG/Penske Media via Getty Imags
    3 hours ago

    Judd Apatow claims Trump has made it 'harder to do comedy' because of 'difficult' reason

    The director has long been critical of Donald Trump

    Celebrity
  • Dia Dipasupil/WireImage
    5 hours ago

    Brooke Shields makes rare admission about JFK Jr. decades after brief romance

    The model made the cheeky remarks in a TikTok video with her daughter

    Celebrity
  • vanderkimberly/Instagram
    6 hours ago

    James Van Der Beek's 9-year-old daughter opens up on grief as she shares heartbreaking birthday tribute

    The Dawson's Creek actor passed away on February 11 after battling colorectal cancer

    Celebrity