Singer Harry Connick, Jr. and his wife Jill Goodacre in a 2014 file photo. (REUTERS/Danny Moloshok)
Harry Connick Jr. knows a thing or two about keeping the spark alive in his marriage.
The 50-year-old singer has been busy performing, acting and now hosting his talk show “Harry.” But despite his back-to-back schedule, the New Orleans native has maintained a joyous relationship with his wife of 27 years, former Victoria’s Secret model Jill Goodacre.
Fox News spoke with the entertainer about launching “Harry" and the worst Valentine’s Day gift he’s ever given his better half.
Fox News: You’re a singer and an actor. How has it been launching your own talk show?
Harry Connick Jr.: Oh, it's been terrific, you know? A lot of the things that I've done throughout my career have sort of informed me to do the things that I'm doing now with the talk show.
I mean, when you're performing in front of people every night on stage, whether it's on Broadway or on tour or you're doing films and you're working with other actors or whatever the situation is, a lot of those experiences taught me a lot and make my job easier now when I'm doing the “Harry” show.
Fox News: With you having such a busy career, how do you and your wife keep the romance alive?
Connick Jr.: Jill’s my best friend and I've known her now for 27 years. And for me, it's all about my maintaining interest in her. I mean, she's fascinating to me, she's still mysterious to me, I'm still very interested in her and everything that sort of makes her tick, and I think it's mutual.
We never really think of it in terms of keeping the spark going. I love being around her, I respect her infinitely, and I admire her so much. She's a hero of mine. We just take it day to day, and you know, count our blessings really.
Fox News: What has been the best and worst Valentine's Day gift you've given her?
Connick Jr.: I usually play it pretty conservative when it comes to Valentine's Day. Like, we'll go out to dinner, you know, flowers and things like that. So I don't really have a lot of best and worst Valentine's Day gifts. I am a sucker for anniversaries, though. They have the traditional gift and the modern gift, and one of the years was like gold earrings or something.
I got a pair of little fake plastic football goals and I attached an earring clasp to them and she said, "What is this?" I said, "Those are goal earrings." So that was probably the worst one. It was a bad pun.
Fox News: Your show is very family-oriented. How important is it for couples to share similar values for a lasting relationship?
Connick Jr.: … All I can do is speak from my own experience. I'm 50 years old, I've been with Jill for 27 years, I have three daughters, so I have a little bit of experience… And in my experience, love and respect are paramount, and that's what my relationship with Jill is predicated upon, and that's what we try to teach our girls. I think respect in general and love are two things that we could use a lot more of.
All I can do is try to walk the walk and improve and be a good a person as I can be… I’m thankful to have the “Harry” show as an opportunity to discuss some of these things because I think we live in a time where some of those types of values aren't talked about a lot… We’ve made a lot of great cultural advancements, artistic advancements, but anything goes right now.
Things are kind of crazy and a lot of people have responded very positively to the things I've said with regard to respecting women, respecting our mothers and sisters and teachers and nurses, and respecting our elders and respecting one another, loving one another. So I'm glad to have a chance to talk about all those things.
Fox News: It seems like you've done it all. What would you like to accomplish next?
Connick Jr: I don't really think of it in terms of what's next because if I did, I'd probably be trying to do it right now. But you know, at my core, I'm a piano player, I'm a singer and I'm an entertainer. I want to get better at all of those things and that comes with time and I learn things as I go.
I'm loving doing the “Harry” show… I look forward to doing it as long as viewers will have me, and I just want to continue to be inspired and uplifted by the people that I meet every day, folks who have done extraordinary things. I just feel so lucky to have had the career that I've had. So who knows what the future will bring? But right now... I have a lot of fun things on the horizon.
"Harry" airs weekdays on FOX.
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