HER MARRIAGE SECRETS!

1

MARRY YOUR BEST FRIEND Holly and husband Dan were good friends before they started dating, and Holly says a solid friendship is the secret to a long-lasting relationship. She revealed, “If you get on and have the same interests, it makes the difficult times easier because you’re both approaching it from the same angle. We really have a good laugh together.”

2

SET PRIORITIES As the years have gone by, Holly’s learnt to value her time and will make sacrifices if she needs to. She said, “I have become quite good at becoming strict with my time and in everything I do in life… Even friendships will sort of go down the pecking order, because it’s not as important as [family]. If they’re true friends, they’ll always understand that.”

3

MAKE TIME FOR YOUR PARTNER Despite their busy schedules, Holly says she always makes sure she and Dan spend one-onone time together when they can. She says, “If I’m sitting in the bath, I’ll just ask Dan to come in and sit on the toilet and talk to me… so we just have that ten minutes together.”

4

SLEEP ON IT Fallouts are inevitable in family life, and Holly’s tip for dealing with arguments is to sleep on it. She admitted, “Sometimes I just need to have more of a level head, so I go off and calm down… I wake up the following morning and things don’t seem as bad. Sometimes you’ve just rationalised things a bit better in your head, and you’re not so emotional and quick to snipe.”

5

WORK AT IT Holly says not to expect marriage to be perfect all the time – because it won’t be. She says, “Marriage is something we have to work at. You’re an idiot if you think you just get married and then tick along happily ever after for the rest of your life. At the same time, it shouldn’t be too difficult. I do believe tiredness has a lot to answer for.”

6

DON’T LOSE YOURSELF While Holly credits motherhood as “the greatest job” she’s ever had, she says it can be easy for women to lose their identities and just become “mums”. She said, “Just because your life is different, it doesn’t mean you are. You’re the same person, it’s just that now you have a permanent plusone to consider.”

7

PUT FAMILY FIRST Holly has to juggle a hectic work schedule with being a mum, but her mantra is that family always comes first. She revealed,“if I work in the afternoons, then I make sure I’m home in time for bedtime. I have to do that, otherwise I go a bit grey inside. The most important thing is my family and making that right.”