Better TOGETHER

THESE LONGTIME COUPLES MAKE MARRIAGE LOOK EASY - EVEN WHEN IT'S NOT!

MARISKA HARGITAY & PETER HERMANN

"Faith is a huge part of our life," says the Law & Order: SVU star, who went on her first date with her future husband to church. From the start, their relationship felt like coming home. "I waited and married the right one, and it's better than I thought it was," says Mariska, 60, who became a parent of three with Peter, 57. "I'm at a point in my life where it just keeps getting better with him," she says. "I have learned so much."

KEVIN BACON & KYRA SEDGWICK

"We got lucky very young," says Kyra, 59, who fell for Kevin, 66, on the set of 1988's Lemon Sky. "It's work, it's always going to be work," she adds of marriage. "[It] demands a lot of you."

But it's all worth it. "To me, walking down the street together," says Kevin, "still feels like a nice place to be."

BONNIE BARTLETT & WILLIAM DANIELS

"Bill and I were able to grow together and change together," Bonnie, 95, tells Closer. She adds that "a sense of comfort" and being on the "same intellectual level" are other keys to a lasting union. Adds Bill, 97: "There has to be communication between the two of you."

TRACY POLLAN & MICHAEL J. FOX