You hear it at wedding ceremonies:
I, (name), take you (name), to be my (wife/husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, from this day forward until death do us part.
Some couples take these marriage vows; others just…take them for granted. Whichever the case, we’ve compiled a list of couples who have remained married in sickness and in health–but especially in sickness–as the vows demand.
Michael J. Fox & Tracy Pollan
These two lovebirds tied the knot in 1988. By the early ’90s, Fox received a diagnosis for Parkinson’s disease. Not only have the two been combatting the disease as a couple, they’ve been raising four wonderful children. Now that’s exactly what those “in sickness and in health” vows mean, wouldn’t you agree?
Holly Robinson Peete & Rodney Peete
Actress Holly Robinson meets NFL quarterback Rodney Peete, and then: the two get married. They wed in June of 1995 and have been raising four beautiful children, one of whom has autism. Having received their son’s autism diagnosis early enough (when he was 3), the Peetes have united to educate others about autism and keep their family as phenomenal as it is.
Roger Ebert & Chaz Hammel-Smith Ebert
The famous movie critic Roger Ebert (of Siskel & Ebert), first began treatment for thyroid cancer in 2002, and had been weakened by multiple surgeries, including a 2006 operation that took his ability to talk, eat and drink.
Now, doctors have been able to recreate his voice and build text-to-speech software that would allow him to speak to his loving wife, whom he married in 1992.
His first words to her? “I love you.”
Cue beautiful kiss.
And scene.
Cut.
Now take five.
Bill & Hillary Clinton
Former President of the United States Bill Clinton underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery to repair blocked arteries in 2004. Upon all his heart trouble(s)–literally and figuratively–his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is currently the Secretary of State, stuck by his side. The two remain an inseparable couple…in sickness and in health.
DMX (Earl) & Tashera Simmons
DMX suffers from bipolar disorder. His wife Tashera Simmons has stuck with him through mental illness and more. “People tend to lean on things like drugs and alcohol,” Tashera once shared on Rapper Wives: True Hollywood Story. “In X’s case, he already had a lot of demons that he was fighting before, and when he became on top the world, things got worse.”
Derek & Candace Fisher
You saw him point-guarding for the Lakers during last week’s NBA finals. Derek Fisher, the tenacious basketball player has been married to Candace since 2005. Their youngest daughter was diagnosed with retinoblasma, a rare form of eye cancer that strikes children. The two persevered through this illness; now, their young darling has regained a significant amount of sight in her affected eye. They must continue to monitor the eye until she is 44 months old.
