After the roses have wilted and the hormones have stopped raging, what remains is love! Love is saying, ‘I will be there no matter what’. Anytime someone’s tempted to throw in the towel, they need only look at these couples to be inspired to give it another shot. At the end of the day, nothing worth fighting for ever comes easy!

Kareena Kapoor Khan-Saif Ali Khan
Married since… 2012

He came with the baggage of a failed marriage. Her folks were naturally fearful. However, this couple has managed to surprise all with the ease with which they have made a success of their union. He believes timing is everything. “I met Kareena at a point in my life when I was ready to consolidate and build in every area of my life. She brought a great sense of stability; I felt like we were able to create a solid foundation on which I could build emotionally, financially, and professionally.” She maintains, “God has been very kind to me. I am lucky to have found this man who is so modern, so liberated. He's much more intelligent than me. I like the fact that he is so well read and that I can count on him for everything.” Together, they make you want to knock on wood!

Saira Banu-Dilip Kumar
Married since… 1966

A marriage that has lasted more than 50 years is a textbook on making love work. Twenty-two years his junior, she went on to leave the limelight as he shone as the unparalleled thespian. It if was a sacrifice, she never let it sound so… “I am still head over heels in love with my Kohinoor, Yousuf Sahab, the way I was when I first felt attracted to him as a 12-year-old. Ours has been as good and enduring a marriage as so many marriages that have survived the ups and downs for four decades. No marriage is perfect. How can it be, when as human beings we are not perfect? It is mutual love, respect and adoration that keep a marriage ticking.” He hasn’t been stingy in his praise of her either – “My queen, the love of my life, Saira. Even a moment without her by my side is painful.” This is the real deal.

Twinkle Khanna-Akshay Kumar
Married since… 2001

She jokes that she married him because her film had flopped. He grins at her cheekiness. Together they have created a marriage that is enviably alive and growing. “I think it’s a great team. We are playing tennis doubles, and I think that’s a pretty good foundation for a marriage to last,” she quips. They have a huge mutual admiration club going. She wants to emulate his calm and composed mind, and admires that he has a pulse on what people say and feel. He believes the one idea that changed his life was the day he decided to get married to his wife… “I was a scattered person; she is the one who has put me together. After marriage, she has kind of raised me.” From producing films together to holidaying in exotic locations across the globe and sharing plenty of laughs, these two have it made and how.

Gauri-Shah Rukh Khan
Married since… 1991

They never indulge in PDA anymore, nor do they believe in gushing about each other in public. Yet, there is a quiet harmony between the Baadshah and his Begum of 26 years, which puts them firmly in the rock-solid category. On the rare occasion that Gauri has opened up about her famous husband, it has been to say, “My life is with Shah Rukh and the kids… He is the best husband and father I could ever ask for… I don't come from space where I gush and praise… The world is doing enough of that. I like to keep my love for him private and inside the doors of Mannat.” When SRK says, “I belong to the middle-class school of thought and still love Gauri like the way I loved her during my twenties and am still as happy to be with her as I was when I hadn’t married her,” you know this is the stuff that lasts.

Genelia D’Souza-Riteish Deshmukh
Married since… 2012

She started off giving him the royal ignore in 2002 when they met as co-stars, presuming the Chief Minister’s son would have tons of attitude! He was nothing like she had imagined. Love stuck swiftly. They went from best friends to life partners 10 years later. But they clearly remain besties still, this Navra and his Baiko, as they call each other. They believe that over the years, marriage, children and responsibilities can change you but that it’s important to retain and remember the aspects that made you fall in love in the first place. Great marital advice there! And when he says, “I must have definitely done something right in my previous life. I better be good this time coz I want you in my next,” and she thanks him for “changing the meaning of ‘Home’ from a place to a person for me,” you know that mush is not just for the movies!

Aishwarya Rai-Abhishek Bachchan
Married since… 2007

They live under the constant glare of the spotlight, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World and her husband with the legendary surname. But beneath all the trappings, they have built a marriage that is simple and strong. As he tells it, “Aishwarya is my anchor. She is my buddy, my closest friend. I can discuss anything with her. Our relationship is not based on her being Aishwarya Rai or me coming from an illustrious family. It is just about two people falling in love which has organically grown.” She calls him her source of inspiration and counts on his support. “Whenever I am confused and don't know what to do, I look at him and he solves the duality in me like magic. He is the real 'Padma Shri' and I'm his 'Padma Shrimati',” she has been known to gush. Their union is definitely one of B-town’s more robust unions.

Hema Malini-Dharmendra
Married since… 1979

She was the silver screen’s Dream Girl, he; filmdom’s He-Man. The fact that he was married and a father to boot, could not stop the two from falling head over heels in the year 1970. Opposition to their union was staunch. Eventually he apparently converted to Islam to marry her, while he stayed married to his first wife. Hema had once described her unconventional marriage to Dharmendra thus: “He leads his life, I lead mine, but we love each other and are always there for each other. We are independent, yet attached. We have space and yet we share.” Denying that she was ever possessive about him, she says, “I know what I am. So there’s no need for me to get nervous. I’m confident about myself and him. I don’t believe in inquiring, ‘Where are you, where are you?’ In fact, the man should worry why I’m not asking him!” We will never know if he did worry; after all he has kept his feelings for Hema very close to his heart. “If I speak about my feelings, it'll lose its impact… She is a wonderful person and of course she is still my dream girl — I can say only this much.” That says it all, actually!

Kajol-Ajay Devgn
Married since… 1999

She was all quicksilver, he; the silent hero out of a romance novel. The chemistry was instant!  She married her man at the peak of her career, and morphed into the perfect wife, the ideal mother, the much-loved daughter-in-law. Even at the height of rumours linking Ajay with other actresses, she staunchly maintained, “I don't believe in those rumours because I know the way this industry functions. You cannot continue a marriage without the basic trust. Frankly, I don't care for such talk.” Today they have apparently struck the perfect balance. She thinks their relationship has worked only because she speaks a lot and he quietly listens! He quips that he listens sometimes and sometimes he just pretends to! Either way, they have discovered the perfect formula.

Neetu Singh-Rishi Kapoor
Married since… 1980

Co-stars and lovers, their marriage has been no bed of roses – yet today, they are inseparable. “I don't believe in all this dying-for-love, Laila-Majnu stuff,” Neetu has explained, “That is just hormonal attraction, which disappears soon. Real love comes later, a love that forgives everything - as a mother with a child. For Rishi and me, real love has come now after so many years of togetherness. I am totally in love with my husband today - I look for him everywhere.” He has to see her once he comes home, or he gets restless and brings the house down till she emerges. “I feel blessed to have her in my life,” is all he will say, this man who has opinions on everything but is strangely shy speaking about the woman he met when she was just 13. Today he gives her all the credit for their successful marriage. “She took me as I was and has been my best friend and support. Despite ups and downs, we have always been totally in love and can't do without each other.” If that isn’t love, what is!

Stay tuned for more where we talk about our fav newly weds including Virat-Anushka and Shahid-Mira!