Michelle Yeoh shares simple secret to marriage after being engaged for 19 years

Michelle Yeoh has lifted the lid on the simple secret to marriage after being engaged for almost 20 years.

The Malaysian-born Oscar winner has revealed what she believes is the secret sauce to a lengthy and healthy marriage after celebrating her second wedding anniversary with husband, Jean Todt.

Yeoh tied the knot with the French former Ferrari CEO in July 2023, not once but twice, after a rather lengthy engagement spanning 19 years.

Their love affair started when the pair met on June 4, 2004, in Shanghai and quickly became engaged - just a month later on July 26 that year.

After their first wedding in Switzerland, they exchanged vows once again in a second wedding in December that same year in Yeoh's hometown of Ipoh, Malaysia.

The star at the premiere of Ne Zha 2 which hits cinemas this month (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

"19 years and YES!! We are married!! Thanks to our 'families' who love us for all these years. We love you and here's to many more to come," she wrote on social media at the time.

Now happily married, Yeoh has been reflecting on their romance during an exclusive interview with PEOPLE ahead of her lead voice role in the English-language version of the Chinese movie Ne Zha 2.

The 63-year-old Wicked star said: "We’ve been together for 21 years, and we’ve been married for two."

She described her husband as 'a romantic', but as for the secret to success, Yeoh said: "What we say is, ‘Every day should be a celebration'.

"Why do we wait for a special day?”

The pair were engaged for 19 years before saying 'I do' (Marc Piasecki/WireImage)

The Everything Everywhere All at Once star said Todt also doesn't 'count by years'.

"He tells me we’ve been together 7,000-[something] days. And if I really ask, he’ll give me hours and minutes too," she said.

And to this end, the couple even specified how many days they were together when they said 'I do'.

"Today after 6,992 days on 27th July 2023 in Geneva, surrounded by loving family and friends, we are so happy to celebrate this special moment together," the note on their wedding program read.

The couple 'count the days' and not the years (Pierre Suu/GC Images)

Yeoh also applauded her husband, 79, for his support in her career, adding: "I am so blessed because he’s so supportive of what I do. I love my work. This is my passion.

"He never turns around and says you spend a lot of time away from me, which I have sometimes, but he’s very understanding."

Yeoh then revealed she was even traveling on the day of their milestone on July 27, stating: "On the day of our anniversary, I actually was flying.”

Despite their distance, Yeoh said she still celebrated their anniversary, writing in a post on Instagram: "Happy Anniversary with love from Paris," in a caption of a photo of them holding hands.

Yeoh's new movie is expected to hit theaters on August 22 this year.

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