As she recounted to Vogue Australia recently, the two met in 2010 and married later that year — before Hemsworth, 34, made Thor (2011) and became a household name thanks to the Marvel movies.
“We did everything very quickly – I don’t know how we survived as a couple,” Pataky, 41, admitted to the magazine. “We were married and then a year after we had kids. It puts a lot of pressure on a marriage, but we came out good because there is a lot of love between us and we are very strong personalities but love each other so much. We make it work.”
The couple has three kids: 5-year-old daughter India Rose and 4-year-old twin sons Tristan and Sasha.
“In the beginning it was beautiful – when I met him he wasn’t known at all and I grew with him and experienced all his successes and changes, and then he became just so huge and I’ve been sharing that too,” Pataky added. “Going through every moment and being there with him with every success was actually a good thing – we grew together. It’s difficult when you go from being an unknown person to a very known person and all the changes that come with that.”
The Fast and the Furious actress also admitted that “it’s constant work to be in a successful marriage and stay together forever” — noting that “every marriage has ups and downs.”
Hemsworth recently told GQ Australia that the secret to their eight-year marriage is making quality time together a priority.
“Once you have children, every instinct and every moment of your time is consumed by that. You’ve got nothing for each other,” he revealed. “So, make sure you have date night even if it’s once in a blue moon, because most of the time you’re just too tired and you’d actually prefer to sleep.”
This article originally appeared on PEOPLE.
