MIKEL ARTETA’S wife Lorena Bernal has opened up on the secrets of a happy marriage.
The couple have been together for 23 years since meeting in a nightclub in their hometown of San Sebastian, Spain.
They wed in 2010 and have three children together – Gabriel, 15, Daniel, 12, and Oliver, 10.
But their hectic working lives mean Lorena and Arteta often find joy doing the simplest things together, like going for a coffee.
Lorena shared the secrets behind her happy marriage to the Arsenal boss, revealing it is important to grow as people while maintaining separate lives.
She told Hello!: “There isn’t just one secret to our marriage, but I’d say it’s important to understand and to accept that you’re two individuals sharing a life, not completing each other.
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“You’re not there to teach them how to live; you’re there to grow next to them and support their growth. But you need to accept that each person has their own rhythms, pace and journey, and that acceptance makes it amazing.
“And of course, there’s the love underneath it, the foundation of admiration, respect for the other person… and having fun together.
“When we have time together, we do pretty normal things, because our life is the opposite of normal. So we go for a walk or we sit and have coffee. Doing nothing together is beautiful.”
Lorena has a busy working life, combining her role as an actress with her job as a spiritual life coach.
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Lorena has helped fellow models and actors, and other footballers’ wives, leading to her publishing a book – It Starts With You.
She finds peace in the every day, finding appreciation in the small things.
Lorena said: “It’s a state of being that I have and apply in my daily life.
“No matter where I am in my life, if I’m mothering or acting or being the wife of my husband, I enjoy it, embracing every day. Because every day is one day less that I have to enjoy all this.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk