SUSAN DOWNEY

Robert Downey Jr. credits wife Susan, a Hollywood producer whom he met on the set of 2003's Gothika, with helping him stay sober and stage a career comeback. "I really don't want to thank my wife, because I could be bussing tables at the Daily Grill right now, if not for her," he joked in his 2010 Golden Globes acceptance speech, a year before the couple announced they're expecting their first child.

JILLIAN DEMPSEY

Following months of flirtatious salon visits, Patrick Dempsey tied the knot with wife of 12 years Jillian in 1999. "Our relationship is stronger than ever because we know the difference between what is fantasy and what is real," he told Glamour U.K. of how his makeup artist spouse keeps him grounded. "We're not caught up in that whole McDreamy thing."

RHEA DURHAM

It may have taken eight years for Mark Wahlberg and model Durham – who welcomed their fourth child last year – to make it official in 2009, but The Fighter star knew early on Durham was The One after an unorthodox first date. "I asked her if she wanted to come out with me, and she said yes. Then I asked her if she wanted to come to church with me the next morning, and she said yes again," he told PEOPLE.

ELIZABETH CHAMBERS

Armie Hammer had at least one thing in common with the characters he played in The Social Network, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss – playing the field – that is, until he met journalist Chambers. "I was always the guy who thought I'd never get married because [I thought], 'There's never going to be one woman worth giving up all the others,'" he said. "But she knocked me off my feet." Six months after tying the knot in May 2010, Hammer couldn't help but gush about life as a newlywed: "She's incredibly supportive. I couldn't be more blessed."

CAMILA ALVES

For Matthew McConaughey and Brazilian beauty Alves, the secret to a successful partnership is acceptance. "Neither one of us wants the other one to change," the Lincoln Lawyer star told PEOPLE of his model girlfriend and mother of his two children. "We've both said it, if we did change, that could be a problem! We love each other for who we are."

CAROLINE O'DONNELL

After starring in 1997's Batman amp Robin, Chris O'Donnell found himself choosing between fame and family when he reconnected with Caroline, the younger sister of an old friend. "I would think to myself, 'Could I imagine not marrying her?' And there was just no way," the NCIS: Los Angeles star told Redbook. Fourteen years later, the couple are proud parents to five children.

LIZA POWEL

Never one to miss an opportunity for a laugh, Conan O'Brien joked to New York magazine in 2005 that he wed ad executive Powel more out of empathy than love. "She had the tiniest apartment on 105th Street," he said. "I thought, 'I don't have emotional feelings for you at all, but I feel a responsibility to get you out of this apartment.'" All joking aside, the couple who met in 2000, have been happily married 10 years and have two children.

HILARIA THOMAS

A day after cuddling up to his ladylove at the U.S. Open in New York, Alec Baldwin confirmed his relationship of almost a year with yoga instructor Thomas during an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman in August. "I've got a woman in my life now," he said. "My girlfriend is very important to me."

SIBI BLAZIC

The notoriously private Christian Bale took a moment during his Best Supporting Actor acceptance speech at this year's Oscars to pay tribute to his wife of 11 years, whom he met on the set of 1994's Little Women, when she served as a personal assistant to costar Winona Ryder. "My wonderful wife who is my mast through the storms of life, I hope I'm likewise to you, darling," the emotional Bale said from the podium.

CAROLE MARINI

"The honeymoon stage has never ended for us, and for that I am very lucky," Gilles Marini told PEOPLE of his 13-year marriage to wife Carole, with whom he has two children. "Every time I go to bed with my wife, I feel like it's the same as the first few months we are together." To show his appreciation, Marini surprised Carole for her 32nd birthday with her dream house. "It was one of the best days of my life," he said.

LIVIA GIUGGIOLI

Married since 1997, Colin Firth tearfully acknowledged his Italian-born producer wife when he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January. "I want to thank everybody that has accompanied me on this extraordinary journey, but probably more than anybody I could ever imagine, Livia, who has walked every step of this with me joyfully and truthfully," he said. "When I look down there at that star, it's her name I see."

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