Most of us would agree that Rob Lowe has led a charmed life, blessed with fame and fortune.
Making his TV debut at 15 years old in the ABC sitcom “A New Kind of Family” it wasn’t long before the young man from Ohio became a teen sensation and member of the Brat Pack.
He’s starred in a string of movies in the ’80s including St Elmo’s Fire and Outsiders putting him firmly on the map as a Hollywood movie star.
With his marriage to make-up artist Sheryl Berkoff in 1991 still going strong and his two boys now aged in their 20s, Lowe’s life seems picture-perfect from the outside.
Rob Lowe met his wife Sheryl Berkoff in 1983 on a blind date but actually did not start their romantic relationship then. It was not until years later, in 1990, that they began seeing one another after reuniting on the set of Lowe’s film Bad Influence, where Berkoff acted as a make-up artist on set.
The two were married a year later and had two sons shortly thereafter. They’ve now been together for more than 31 years!
When asked about the secret to his long and happy marriage, Rob said, “Well, it starts at the very beginning. I married my best friend, and if you’re lucky enough to be in a relationship with your best friend, you’re so far ahead of the game. We see the world the same way. We have no fundamental point of view differences that we have to navigate every day, like whether it’s how to raise a kid or what to do with money. It’s really important, and a lot of people don’t have that in their relationships.”
Acknowledging that every marriage has its ups and downs, Lowe continued, Rob added, “And the relationship 31 years in is really different than it was 31 years ago, but it’s different in a really good way.”
For their recent 31st anniversary, Lowe shared an Instagram post of Sheryl with a loving caption:
“Happy 31st Anniversary, baby. Your love has made my world. You are as beautiful, knowledgeable, fascinating, kind, and hilarious as you were so many glorious years ago. Partners in love for life!!”
Lowe has lived through some dark times in his life, an addiction he’s battled and won against and today marks the 30th anniversary of the moment he decided to take up that battle and change his life forever.
At the height of his fame, he was abusing alcohol and drugs which led to a string of controversies that threatened his marriage.
At 26 years old he made the tough decision to change his life for the better.
The Golden Globe-winning actor decided to get sober on May 10, 1990 and in 2014, Lowe talked to Oprah Winfrey about rehab.
“I didn’t love the fact that I had to go and it was unbelievably painful but I like the science. I couldn’t have gotten sober without rehab because I needed the science … I needed to do the work. It was like going to law school,” he said.
For over a decade Lowe’s career went into decline but enjoyed a resurgence when he ventured back into TV making his breakthrough as Sam Seaborn on the NBC political drama “The West Wing” in 1999.