Gavin and Stacey's Joanna Page says parts of her marriage have been 'pretty rubbish'
Gavin and Stacey star Joanna Page says her and James Thornton's marriage has not all been "lovey-dovey".
Joanna Page admits parts of her and James Thornton's marriage have been "pretty rubbish".
The 48-year-old actress revealed the pair have had "massive arguments" - which she blamed on his "northern and measured" nature clashing with her "very manic and hysterical" personality - but they know the hard times pass, and their relationship becomes "wonderful again".
Joanna - who married actor James, 50, in 2003, four years after they met on the set of the BBC drama, David Copperfield - told MailOnline: "If you're going through 26 years of marriage like me, it's not always going to be wonderful.
"It's going to be pretty rubbish, and sometimes, you end up hating each other, you get bored of each other, they will really annoy you, and suddenly it will be wonderful again.
"You can't be with someone for 26 years, and it be wonderful all the time. These days, people say, it's not working, let's just split up, and to go through 26 years, we're lucky because we have grown on the same path, so we still have the same thoughts and opinions.
"Yes, we do disagree with each other, we have massive arguments, but we have grown on the same path. We bicker all the time; we're not all lovey-dovey.
"He's quite slow, and northern and measured, and I'm very manic and hysterical next to him and very impulsive and fiery.
"Be prepared, you have to work at marriage, don't give up at the first sign of hard work. Always be kind and have a good sense of humour."
The Gavin and Stacey alum and James - who have daughters Eva, 13, and Boe, four, as well as sons Kit, 10, and Noah, nine, together - co-host the podcast, Lush!.
And Joanna likened the podcast - in which they spill details of their lives and bedroom secrets - to "couple's therapy".
She said: "At first he was quite weary and nervous because he's never done anything like this before, and he was really worried he wouldn't think of anything to say, but we were in the studio for two hours just chatting.
"We went in on an argument, we actually weren't even speaking, and I just said, 'Right, come on', and it was like couples' therapy.
"We are like ships passing in the night sometimes because there's so much going on with the children that we don't have time to sit down and talk to each other.
"We talked and talked and talked, and when it finished, he was like a new man, he was buzzing, and full of life, and we really connected."
Joanna continued: "During one episode, we talked about all the things that are better than getting back into my marital bed after four years of sleeping with Boe.
"We know everything about each other, but it's quite liberating talking about those things and delving into those things.
"There are loads of different things that have happened to us over the years, but sitting in a room and talking about our opinions, and asking our listeners, like we have had a whole debate about the heating.
"There's nothing off the table at all. We have been together for 26 years now, so there are no topics off limits."
