If there is one person in this world who could resuscitate their marriage, it would naturally be Dr. McDreamy. Patrick Dempsey opened up in a candid interview for People magazine’s latest issue about calling off his divorce from wife Jillian Dempsey.
"Our marriage was not something I was prepared to let go of," he shared. "I didn't feel like we had done all the work. And we both wanted to do that work. That's where it started."
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Jillian filed for divorce from the actor in January of 2015 after 15 years of marriage. Patrick admitted that having his marriage potentially end was a “scary” thought. He said, “It's always destabilizing when you're potentially breaking up a family or you have a big section of your life that's ending.”
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The rekindled pair are parents to 14-year-old daughter Talula Dempsey and twin eight-year-old sons Darby and Sullivan Dempsey. Slowly, with the help of couples counseling, which Patrick noted as “very important" in the rekindling process, the parents-of-three were able to find a “new beginning” in their marriage.
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"Everybody has their own path," the 50-year-old confessed. "Jill and I decided it was time to work on our issues and improve. We wanted to be role models for our kids like, okay, if you have differences, you can work them out."
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Patrick left his hit ABC show Grey’s Anatomy in 2015 and cut back from racing to spend more time with his family. "I always struggled with the question of sacrifice," the Bridget Jones’s Baby star said. "But I became frustrated with the lack of quality of experience in my life. I wanted to get to that deeper level, and not just skirt the surface. You can only do one thing at a time and do it well."
Photo: Instagram.com/jilliandempsey
He confessed, "I [learned] to prioritize. Our union has to be the priority. I wasn't prepared to give up on her and she wasn't either. We both wanted to fight for it."
Now with his marriage "much healthier" than ever, the actor said he's learned what it takes to keep a relationship strong. "You've got to keep at it," Patrick shared. "You've got to communicate, and stay open and not get lazy. And not give up. And lots of sex!"
Bridget Jones's Baby opens in theaters Friday, September 16, 2016.
