Lisa Kudrow Reveals Secret to 3 Decades of Marriage with Husband Michel Stern (Exclusive)

Desiree Anello, Alex CramerSat, March 28, 2026 at 3:00 PM UTC

0

Lisa Kudrow and Michel Stern attend the Los Angeles Premiere of HBO's 'The Comeback'Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty -

Lisa Kudrow exclusively tells PEOPLE how she and Michel Stern have kept their marriage strong over the past 30 years

The Friends actress married the advertising executive in 1995, and they share 27-year-old son Julian

Kudrow also gave insight into what it was like working with her son on season 3 of The Comeback

Lisa Kudrow is sharing the secret to her and Michel Stern’s 30-year marriage.

While catching up with PEOPLE at the season 3 premiere of The Comeback, the 62-year-old actress says that the one thing that keeps her and Stern’s marriage strong is simply wanting to stay together.

“I think that's all there is to it,” she says. “Mutual respect for the most part. But definitely wanting to stay together and then relearning mutual respect, practicing mutual respect and listening.”

Along with walking the red carpet with her husband, whom she met in the late 1980s when he was dating her roommate, Kudrow was joined by their 27-year-old son, Julian Murray Stern, who also stars in the latest season of the HBO sitcom.

Julian Stern, Lisa Kudrow and Michel Stern attend the Los Angeles Premiere of HBO's 'The Comeback'Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty

As for how the mother-son duo fared while working together on their latest project? During the premiere, Kudrow — who plays Valerie Cherish in the show — admits to PEOPLE that she couldn’t help but slip into mom-mode once or twice while shooting with Julian on set.

"I was kind of tired, and my brain was just a little fuzzy, and I've been looking at lines," she recalls. "I walked in and I saw Julian sitting on the couch with some other people like, ‘Oh,’ and just walked over and climbed onto the couch right next to him and cuddled in."

“And everyone just went ... And he went, ‘Hi, Mom,’ and everyone was looking," she continues. "It was maybe inappropriate just like to climb on him. I think some people didn't know he was my son. So they were still wondering, ‘What's happening right now?’ ”

Advertisement

While she takes delight in getting to watch Julian follow in her creative footsteps, Kudrow recently told The Hollywood Reporter that she was very thankful to have met her husband before her rise to fame.

— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Lisa Kudrow and Michel Stern attend the Petersen Automotive Museum grand re-opening galaCredit: Paul Archuleta/Getty

“I feel like the luckiest thing that happened to me was that I met and fell in love with the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with before Friends, right before,” she said of the advertising executive.

Indeed, the couple tied the knot in 1995, just one year after the iconic sitcom premiered, and went on to welcome Julian in 1998.

“When we decided to get married, we understood: We’re not promising to love each other forever… but we are promising to work on whatever problems come up,” she told Glamour in 2014. “We’re committed to our marriage working.”

“I think people get in trouble when they assume they’re supposed to be one unit,” she added. “[Marriage] is like being on a team. Each teammate is different, but you have the same goal.”

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”