Secrets of a Good Marriage with Sharon Horgan

5 December 2012

Sharon Horgan, writer and actress, gate-crashes six very different marriages and a wedding in a bid to open up to the private world of husbands and wives.  Sharon says, ‘everyone knows what they want from a wedding - drunk by noon, quick go on a bridesmaid, chocolate fountain - but what do we want from a marriage?' She admits marriage is a serious, lifelong commitment but nobody tells you how to do it. Sharon meets six different couples to explore the essence of a lifelong and happy marriage. She wants to find out how they've made it work and what she can learn about marriage from their relationships. 

Sharon spends time with the each of the couples detailed below:

Tantric sex teachers Kavida and Roland think there's no reason why marriage should get in the way of a ‘mind-blowing sex life'.  Everything they do together is sexy: whether it's shopping, walking or even drinking tea. 

‘Louella' has a different story: her husband isn't interested in sex, and tolerates her having a lover so they can stay married.   She is a dab hand on the marital dating scene and finds her lovers online. 

Chris and Norma have a 32 year age gap. Chris was 18 when he was bewitched by 50 year old Norma on holiday. He proposed within 2 months and they've been married for 13 years. Norma describes herself as a ‘mother and his lover'. 

Steven and Shelly saved their marriage by the ‘elimination of feminism in their relationship'.  They run a marriage website, and tell wives to look to the natural world for inspiration - lions in particular. ‘Mrs Lion' goes to get the food and ‘Mr Lion' protects the pack. 

Lydia and Andrew have swapped roles: she's the alpha female, he's the house husband. Andrew's daily routine is shopping, cleaning cooking and doing the school run. Lydia's is conferences and airports as she's a management consultant. She tries not to micro manage from afar and he tries to stick to her menu plans. 

Chas and Diane & Jo and Graham are two couples and Diane and Jo are identical twins. They have lived together in the same house for 23 years and their four children have been raised as siblings. They share everything together with the exception of each other's wives and the bedrooms. What's the point of wife swapping when they both look the same?

Production Company - North One TV

Exec Producer - Ricky Kelehar

Director - Ida Bruusgaard