The romance between Calista Flockhart and husband Harrison Ford has lasted more than 21 years, including 13 years as a married couple.
It turns out that one of their secrets to a lasting relationship is laughing a lot, which often comes from the practical jokes they play on each other.
During an interview with The New York Timesthe Ally McBeal alum confessed that they’ve both gotten their fair share of screaming and laughing out of each other by hiding behind corners of their home and using fake insects to scare their partner.
In fact, she’s gotten so good at surprising Ford that she calls herself the “Fright Monster” at home.
“Because I hide behind every corner,” she explained. “And so Harrison walks in, and I say, ‘Raaah!’ And he’ll say, ‘W-uy-aah!’ And then I die laughing.’
“I put a plastic spider in his big ice cubes in the bowl, and then he drinks it,” Flockhart added of her scare tactics.
Calista Flockhart, 59, says she and husband Harrison Ford keep their 13-year marriage light by playing practical jokes on each other; seen on January 23
The couple, who started dating in 2002 and married in 2010, like to hide behind corners of their home and use fake insects to scare each other; the couple seen on January 14
“But then I go to bed two weeks later, and he’s out of town in Jackson, and I pull the covers down and there’s a little rubber scorpion. It’s fun.’
Another way they’ve been able to maintain a healthy and thriving relationship is by being “very independent of each other in some ways” and “probably incredibly co-dependent on each other in other ways,” Flockhart, 59, revealed.
Because as a mother she was “really content with being at home,” she didn’t see them as “competing with each other,” which ultimately helped make the romance work.
In a shining example of her independence, the actress continued on as a single woman and adopted her son Liam, now 22, a year before she met Ford and they started dating in 2002.
“It scares him sometimes, I think,” she said of her independence. “When I first met him, he said, ‘You’re the most self-sufficient woman in the world, and I don’t know how I feel about that.’ I remember saying, ‘What are you talking about?’ Because I didn’t realize I was self-sufficient.’
But then there are the similarities they all have, which makes marriage a little easier to navigate through the years.
“The other reason it works is that we’re both quite introverted,” she said of one of the similar traits they have in common. ‘We stay at home a lot, house sparrows, that’s nice.’
Flockhart’s five-season run in her breakout role in Alley McBeal was coming to an end heading into the finale and Ford was working on the historical submarine film K-19: The Widowmaker when they met at the 59th Golden Globe Awards in 2002 and started dating.
The Indiana Jones star was 60 years old at the time, while Flockhart was 38, which translates to 22 years older than his wife.
The couple eventually married after eight years of dating in 2010, after Ford proposed a family vacation the year before.
Flockhart and Ford first met at the Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills in January 2002 (pictured)
While speaking with the publication, the Freeport, Illinois native addressed rumors that she suffered from anorexia during her time on the legal comedy-drama, which ran on Fox starting in 1997.
While speaking with the publication, the Freeport, Illinois native addressed rumors that she suffered from anorexia during her time on the legal comedy-drama, which ran on Fox starting in 1997.
She clearly explained that any speculation about her being too thin was inaccurate, which ultimately changed the day-to-day experience she had working on the series.
“I loved working on Ally McBeal, and it just made things sour,” Flockhart said, referring to the eating disorder rumors. “I was very sleep deprived and depressed about it.”
She also thought there would be a price to pay for all the rumors and innuendos about her body weight at the time.
‘I really thought it would ruin my career. I didn’t think anyone would ever hire me again because they would just assume I was anorexic and that would be the end of it,” she admitted.
“I had days where I was really hurt, ashamed, and furious. I was lucky that I had to work. I just put my head down. I always felt, ‘Calista, you’re a good person, you’re not mean to anyone,’ and I’m confident in that.”
After thinking about all the hurtful talk of yesteryear, Flockhart made a point by suggesting that the situation would not arise in today’s world.
She clearly explained that any speculation about her being too thin was inaccurate, which ultimately changed the day-to-day experience she had working on the series.
“They call it body shaming now,” she said. “I haven’t thought about it for a long time, but it’s really not okay to accuse someone of a disease that many people struggle with.”
She continued, “My mother is now 6-foot-4 and she weighed 93 pounds when she got married,” she said. ‘Talk about a little elf. I only have small bones and I’m just lucky.’
The interview is part of promotion for her role in the FX series Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans.
She plays socialite and PR manager Lee Radziwill, who, according to the BBC, was the younger sister of former First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. People.
The new season, which will focus on the fallout from a roman à clef story written by author Truman Capote based on the lives of several New York socialites, premieres January 31.