The Front Porch Blog

Martina McBride: The secret to my 21-year marriage

Jessica Phillips  |  July 9, 2009

by Martina Mcbride

(Note: Martina blogged for MSNBC recently about the secret to her 21-year marriage to her husband, John. Martina's latest single, "I Just Call You Mine," is a beautiful tribute song that she performed on The Today Show).

I am going to New York City to sing for the TODAY wedding! It is July 15 and I'm very excited to be singing my new single, "I Just Call You Mine," for the lucky couple, Nick and Leigh. In light of this, TODAY asked me to write a blog about my thoughts on marriage.

I've been married to the same man, John McBride, for 21 years. When people ask me the secret to staying married, the most obvious answer is that I chose well. Or got lucky, depending on how you look at it. I married a man who is a great partner. He is thoughtful, kind, considerate. romantic, handsome and really funny. We love each other's company, our personalities complement each other and we respect each other. He thinks I'm smart and funny and I think the same about him. We are a great team.

Not to say that either one of us is perfect! We both have faults. It's just that the good outweighs the bad by far. He leaves his socks and T-shirts on the floor by the bed. I am always late. He likes to have the radio on loud in the car while he's talking on the cell phone (that drives me crazy). I don't put the cap back on the toothpaste, and my side of the bathroom is really messy. But as he left the house this morning, he asked me, "Is there anything I can help you with or do for you today?" And I will try (really hard) to be on time when we go out to dinner tonight. He is always happy to hear from me, even if it's his 100th call that day. And I will make sure he knows again today how important he is to me.

Yes, I chose well. Or maybe I just got lucky. Or maybe it has nothing to do with choices or luck. Maybe a love like this is just simply a blessing. I know that's how I feel:blessed.