Brad Paisley, 48, and Kimberly Williams-Paisley, 49, reveal the key to their 18-year marriage

Defying the odds of Hollywood marriages, Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley recently celebrated a remarkable 18 years of marriage.

The country star and the actress opened up about their nearly two decades of wedded bless in a new People Magazine cover story, on Wednesday.

Brad and Kimberly, who live in Nashville, Tennessee, revealed that the secret to staying happy is ‘focusing on the laughter.’ 

‘A lot of married couples would rather do anything but spend the evening together,’ the Whiskey Lullaby crooner told People. ‘That’s not the case in our house.’

The duo met back in 2001 when Brad asked the actress to co-star his I’m Gonna Miss Her music video and the rest is history. 

At their Music City home, Brad and Kimberly have been hunkering down during the pandemic with sons Huck, 14, and Jasper, 11.

On March 15, the pair celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary with their annual tradition of journaling their best memories from the last year which Kimberly calls their ‘greatest hits.’ 

‘We record the meaningful moments, the best laughs,’ the Father of the Bride star said. ‘That’s a big part of our relationship—focusing on the laughter and keeping a sense of play.’ 

This last year of their marriage was certainly like none before due to the pandemic that crippled both of their industries and hit their hometown of Nashville hard.

Kimberly and Brad’s charity, The Store, a year-round free grocery store for those facing food insecurity, jumped into action to deliver necessities to people in need. 

The couple broke ground on their food pantry in 2019 after coming up with the idea to create a community resource in partnership with Belmont University.

It had been scheduled to open in mid-April 2020 but as lockdown hit, the couple changed things up a little.

In an Instagram video posted on March 17, 2020, the singer and three-time Grammy winner shared that The Store would focus on helping those most at risk from the coronavirus.

At home, the couple did what most families did this year: baked bread. Kimberly and son Huck had a particular affinity for focaccia. 

Since the pandemic impacted both Kimberly’s shooting schedule and kept Brad from going on the road, they were faced with the unique opportunity to spend uninterrupted time together.  

‘She’s used to three days a week at minimum that I’m gone, so we’ve learned a lot about ourselves this year,’ Brad said, adding to Kimberly: ‘I figured out I really like being around you!’