Actors Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance have been married for twenty-four years. Before their marriage, the two had known each other for well over fourteen years.

From how they met to how they maintain their marriage, here’s everything the duo has revealed about their marriage.

Attended Yale School Of Drama Together

The Black Panther actress and her husband Vance met at the Yale School of Drama in the 1980s. She was earning a B.A. in Afro-American studies and M.F.A. in drama while he was also earning his M.F.A.

However, their meeting wasn’t anything special. Vance even said he didn’t remember Bassett at all during his 2007 appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Bassett also recalled that Vance was already in a relationship at the time.

Following a lucky encounter in Los Angeles, after fourteen years from their initial meeting, they started going out,

Their relationship didn’t start out great. Bassett described their first date as not being memorable, while Vance bluntly put it as “not a good date.”

Unlike their first date, their second one was much better and helped transform their relationship into what it is today.

After roughly three years of dating, the two tied the knot on October 12, 1997.

Parents To Two Kids

Following their marriage, the actor couple tried to have children but discovered they had trouble conceiving naturally. They opted for IVF for seven years to no avail and finally turned to a surrogate.

Bassett and Vance finally became parents to twins — daughter Bronwyn Golden and son Slater Josiah on January 27, 2006.

Bassett described her role in parenting as the good cop, with her husband being the bad cop.

The actress who voiced Dorothea in Soul also shared that she was pushing her kids to take on a musical path after they liked her jazz-centric Disney/Pixar movie.

They loved it. They both play the piano and rap and play guitar, so they have a little musical interest that I drill into them, that I insist upon! But I thought maybe they wouldn’t get into it because it’s jazz… but surprisingly they loved it.

Secret To Successful Marriage

Bassett and Vance have recounted their story in their book Friends: A Love Story.

It covers everything from their initial meetings to how their friendship turned to love alongside the effects of stardom on their relationship.

When speaking to People in October 2020, Bassett shared what made their marriage last so long.

Make sure you are looking in the same direction, basically. You’re not clones of each other, but you have similar or closest similar belief systems and, you know, pleasant personalities… also recognizing that we are each individuals, we have our individual dreams and desires and hopes.

Bassett had also previously shared that she loved Vance because he made her a better person and was always supportive of her.