5 Celebrity Parents on Love & Valentine’s Day Plans

With successful careers and growing families, it can be challenging to keep a high-profile marriage happy and healthy.

But for five celebrity couples, including Gena Lee Nolin and husband Cale Hulse, and Hugh Jackmanand wife Deborra-Lee Furness, keeping the flame alive is par for the course.

Let’s look at some of our favorite celebrity parents and hear how they keep their love alive.

• Gena Lee Nolin:

Mom-of-four Gena Lee Nolin and her husband, former NHL star Cale Hulse, are parents to four children: Spencer, 16, Caia, 11, Hudson, 6, and Stella, 4.

But the Baywatch alum is sure to keep the romance alive amidst their busy family life.

“Love is beautiful when it’s right — it can’t be bought, it can’t be forced and it should never hurt [abusive],” she blogged for Celebrity Baby Scoop. “The moments of hardships and the growing pains we go through together make it real. If it were always easy, it would be a bore. Great things in life are worth fighting for, and that usually requires work.”

She added: “I am so blessed to have found a man who accepts me for me. He’s never once told me what, where or how I should do something. He allows me to be me and loves my silly-willy ways. He encourages my family and friends to be around, he’s a very confident man that wants to see me happy (as I do for him). Unconditional love is such a rare gift — that’s accepting your partner exactly the way they are.”

As for their plans on Valentine’s Day, the couple are planning a romantic evening together.

“This Valentine’s Day will be spent with our children, decorating boxes for school parties and cutting lots of pink and red hearts,” she shared. “Then we’re off for a quiet dinner for two followed by a night at a hotel with my Valentine. Zzzzzzz!”

• Alison Sweeney:

The Biggest Loser star Alison Sweeney and husband David Sanov are parents to two kids: son Ben, 9, and daughter Megan, 5.

To keep their marriage strong, the Days of our Lives actress says they enjoy plenty of alone time together.

“Dave and I make a point to have time to ourselves, even if it’s only going for a hike or watching a movie,” Alison shared with Cupid’s Pulse. “This time together enables us to keep our connection strong. We cook dinner together and then watch Survivor or Breaking Bad and just hang out.”

As for her best love advice, Alison said: “Enjoy life, meet people and know that you’ll meet the right guy who will explain all the wrong ones along the way.”

She added, “With Dave, there was definitely a spark that led to our relationship and two incredible kids.”

• Alysia Reiner:

Orange Is the New Black star Alysia Reiner and husband, actor David Alan Basche, are parents to 5-year-old daughter Livia. The actress says this Valentine’s Day is especially important to her.

“Lately with David shooting The Exes in LA and me shooting Orange in NYC, we have been sorely lacking in date nights!” she shared with Celebrity Baby Scoop.

She added: “We don’t usually do a big deal for Valentine’s Day. I prefer the surprise flowers, secret love note, or sweep-away weekend to a calendar-enforced box of chocolates any date! But this year is special to me because I co-designed a locket and 100% of the proceeds go to the Women’s Prison Association. So the biggest gift I want this year is a lot of men to buy it for their ladies and raise a ton of money for WPA.”

• Hugh Jackman:

Wolverine star Hugh Jackman and his wife, actress Deborra-Lee Furness, have two kids: son Oscar, 13, and Ava, 8. The hunky actor opened up to Your Tango about their “thrilling” love affair.

“I run into people, really powerful, big people, who say, ‘Congrats to you, but your wife is really one of the most talented.’ And every time I hear that, it reminds me of the sacrifice she’s made, her selflessness, her love and what she’s done for the kids,” Hugh shared.

“We always made family a priority but I’m acutely aware, every day, that actually, when it comes to sacrifices, Deb has shouldered most of those,” he added. “In fact, I was telling her right now, ‘You need to get back to work because you’re just too good to waste that talent. Everyone needs to see it.’”

As for their seemingly perfect family life, Hugh admits he’s not perfect.

“If you ask my wife, the biggest fault is my inability around the house,” he shared. “She says the only thing handy about me is that I’m close by. And, I have a terrible memory. I’m bad at saying no. I often double-book. There are a lot of things.”

“I have a terrific marriage, but unlike a lot of relationships where they ebb and flow, no matter what happens you fall deeper and deeper in love every day,” he said. “It’s kind of the best thing that can happen to you. It’s thrilling.”

He continued: “The thing I find hard is that a lot of people won’t even see her, and they’ll obviously be talking to her to get to me. I’ve seen Deb literally be knocked out of the way. She just knocks ‘em back. She’s a morning person. Deb pops up, and it’s, ‘Come on, baby. Let’s go!’ Yet at night, she falls asleep instantly, sometimes in mid-conversation. She’s fallen asleep during every movie I’ve ever done.”

And lastly, his best relationship advice is: ”Your wife is always right. Very simple. I think I’m going to get it tattooed on my forehead.”

• Sarah Rafferty:

Suits star Sarah Rafferty and husband, stock analyst Aleksanteri Olli-Pekka ‘Santtu’ Seppälä, are parents to two daughters: Oona, 6, and Iris, 2.

The actress shared her “offbeat” Valentine’s Day plans with Celebrity Baby Scoop.

“We try to do something offbeat for Valentine’s Day, and don’t ever really celebrate it right on the day. I don’t even try to get a reservation that night for dinner,” she shared.

She added: “Last year, we got a babysitter, and we went to a local ski mountain and enjoyed some quick runs and then we were home for dinner with the kids. We like to take hikes. If we can carve out a couple of hours where can talk to each other without being interrupted, we find that to be an incredibly romantic day or night. We’re so tired by the time night comes around as well. I’m a big fan of having a date during the day. We might go out to lunch or to a spa.”