The author tied the knot with Chris Pratt in 2019.
Katherine Schwarzenegger is thankful for premarital counseling. During a discussion on Dear Media's Meaning Full Living podcast, the 31-year-old author opened up about how she and husband Chris Pratt were able to lay a solid foundation in their relationship before their 2019 wedding.
"In the Catholic Church, you have to do premarital counseling before you get married, and I was like, 'Oh my god, what is that going to be like?' It was the most amazing thing and just the most amazing gift," she said. "I know not everybody does [it], of course, because... if they don't tell you you have to do it then why would you? But for us... it was such an amazing gift in our relationship ahead of getting married that we've definitely wanted to continue throughout our relationship."
"[It] has been such a helpful thing to be able to have in our relationship of having that guidance, talking about things that maybe we wouldn't necessarily have talked about before getting married, talk about things that couples of 10 or 15 years still don't like to talk about with one another," Schwarzenegger continued. "Being prompted to talk about those things is also a really helpful thing to do early on. That, I think, helps as you add children, add new experiences, new locations, new jobs, all those things."
Schwarzenegger and Pratt's relationship has always been a deep one that's based largely on friendship and faith.
"Friendship is a great foundation for a good relationship, and a healthy relationship. Faith is also a big part of our relationship, and the foundation of our relationship, having very similar values, similar beliefs. That was really what brought us together and what connected us in the first place," she said. "We met in church. We went on our first date and really just talked about absolutely everything; what are beliefs were, how we wanted to raise kids, how we wanted to live our life, what was important to us. We really dove right into it and talked about pretty much everything."
After dating and tying the knot, Schwarzenegger and Pratt welcomed their daughter, Lyla, who will turn one in August. Pratt is also dad to Jack, 8, with his ex-wife, Anna Faris. Being pregnant and giving birth during the COVID-19 pandemic, Schwarzenegger said, highlighted the importance of communication within a relationship.
"That's a really big part of our relationship that is super important with everything, and especially with parenthood." she said. "It has been important, of course, in these times of COVID because my husband travels for certain parts of his job, so the communicating part of it and just being able to always touch base and be on the same page about things."
"And then if there's ever a moment where you're not on the same page about something, being open to talking about things, feeling comfortable to vulnerable, to talk about things that aren't fun to talk about all the time," Schwarzenegger continued. "Always putting our relationship first and God first and our family first... we're both on the same page with that."
The couple is definitely on the same page about communication, as Pratt counted it as the secret to their happy marriage while speaking to ET in June.
"Communicate," he said. "Listen, listen to your partner with intention. Care about each other's feelings and support one another and just listen."
During her podcast interview, Schwarzenegger said that she and Pratt strive to maintain a strong relationship by making sure they "carve out that time" for each other, something she learned from her parents, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver.
"Of course, there are days where it doesn't happen, and then we make sure that we connect in a different way. I also just remember growing up and watching my parents always be each other's biggest support system and biggest cheerleaders, and that was always something that I wanted... to have that same support system and that same dynamic," she said. "I want him to always feel loved and cared for and supported and, like, I'm his biggest cheerleader. [I want] to feel that from him as well. We are always on that same page of wanting that for one another."
Amid the pandemic, the couple did just that by practicing their faith and going for walks together.
"Just, like, going on a walk, that was something that we did every single day when I was pregnant. It was a really great time for him and I to connect while also being able to get outside, which during the pandemic was important," Schwarzenegger said. "Just taking the time to connect and to check in and always making that time is really important. Even with having the baby, it is still a priority for both of us."
Through it all, Schwarzenegger said, her husband was by her side.
"I feel really lucky all the time, and especially since becoming a new mom, that I have him as my partner because he's an incredible man, an incredible husband, a wonderful father, and a really great support system for me," she gushed. "... Having a great partner is really helpful and a really great part of someone's pregnancy journey and pregnancy experience... I feel really lucky that I had him by my side during my pregnancy and my labor and just in my whole experience with being a new parent, a new mom."
Back in April, while speaking to ET, Schwarzenegger gushed over seeing Pratt "step into the role of being a girl dad," calling the process "so beautiful." She reiterated the feeling while speaking on the podcast.
"He's been a father, so seeing him as a girl dad has been really beautiful and exciting and still is for me. I think [our relationship] has changed obviously in the sense that I had a baby, so we talk about a lot of things that maybe we wouldn't have talked about before I had my daughter," she said. "Also it's brought us a lot closer with really everything because there isn't anything that we don't feel comfortable talking to each other about and I don't feel 100 percent supported by him on."
"All these different parts of new motherhood, those moments can be really challenging and he was just like solid with me with everything," Schwarzenegger further praised. "... Chris is just super gentle and calm and so I'm very, very, very lucky."
Watch the video below for more on the couple.
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