Last May, REACHER star Alan Ritchson shared some marriage tips in light of his 17th wedding anniversary.

“It’s a big week coming up for me…this is the week of my 17th wedding anniversary,” the actor said. “It’s amazing that Cat has decided to put up with me as long as she has. I’m as floored as you are.”

Photo from Alan Ritchson’s Instagram

“When a marriage works well, you see life and abundance springing up out of that everywhere,” he said. “There’s a book called ‘Outwitting the Devil’ that I think talks about this really well. It’s told from the perspective of the author interviewing the devil, and it’s quite fascinating.”

The devil in the book talks about how two or more like-minded people can come together to be a “mastermind.” The like-minded people gain access to a “divine root” of strength and unity.

“I noticed that when my marriage is healthy, we, Cat and I, can tackle all the challenges of life together in this united front that brings this unbelievable sense of peace and power over our situations, over our challenges,” he explained. “That is the benefit of a healthy partnership with somebody. But how do you maintain a healthy marriage, a healthy partnership?”

“I think there are two unbelievably essential important ingredients. [The first] one [is] devotion. Why? Devotion is the glue that unites the inner lives of…two parties,” Ritchson said.

Ritchson explained that when he devotes himself to his wife, the groundwork of their marriage becomes more solid. The Devil can attack from so many sides, but if he keeps focused on who is important—his wife—the Devil won’t find a crack to get in.

The other thing that Ritchson says marriages need to have are boundaries.

“Boundaries are…simply the walls that we erect around the sacred parts of our relationship that allow us to remain united and protect what we have and what we’ve built. And you know these are things that, I mean, I’m just, after 17 years, just starting to understand the importance of,” he said.

Ritchson notes that the idea of marriage extends beyond human relationships. It’s “practice” for the “one true” marriage to the kingdom of heaven.

“In…the last the story of marriage in Revelation, we get Jesus the resurrected Christ talking in this magnificent image, talking to John on the island of Patmos who’d been exiled,” he said. “He was running the churches at the time that were blossoming quickly, and John gets seven letters that he’s told to give to the churches, but these translate quite well to us in the modern day.”

“The second letter is to Smyrna, a wealthy Port City…He said, ‘Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.’ And the significance of the crown of life phraseology—it goes deep—but the word was used for the crown was Stefanos, which was a crown worn at marriages and special occasions. This wasn’t the kind of crown…that a king would wear,” Ritschon said.

The crown was for special celebrations and marriages. Jesus gave the people at Smyrna an image of marriage for those who are faithful to him.

Jesus was “saying be faithful until death,” Ritchson explained. “This is a very pagan place. In fact, Smyrna was where the first temple was erected today, Aroma, which is the spirit of Rome. So this is a place where people had started to worship the spirit of Rome.”

“We are practicing marriage this week, 17 years in, and we need reminders. We need reminders sometimes to remember to be faithful until death to receive a Crown of Life,” the actor concluded.

Richton made a thoughtful anniversary post for Cat on his Instagram:

Today is @catritchson and my 17th wedding anniversary. Usually I drape moments like these in humor because she lives to laugh and gets me. But admittedly, this year has been particularly challenging both personally and professionally…

Thank GOD for someone with the unspeakable strength, persistence, resilience, patience, grace, love, compassion and forgiveness to suffer through the valleys with me. I’ve learned that marriage is about partnering with someone you are willing to awaken and heal alongside. That can be a downright brutal endeavor for the better half of a fickle and sensitive artist like myself.

She deserves a level of seriousness of intention, devotion and reverence that words betray. It is through that door that the path to peace, joy and fruitfulness is found. Love is not a feeling. It is not seasonal. It is a decision you make. It is a survivor.

It thrives in the storms and hydrates in the deserts. It rebuilds after hurricanes and wets fresh wounds. It is the piece of a relationship that is covered in poverty, grime and fatigue and smiles in the face of it all whispering words of hope.

On the TODAY show, Ritchson shared how he and Cat met in ballet class. The two performed together in high school. Before performances, Cat would bring him cookies.

So, “Of course I fell in love,” Ritchson said.

Ritchson plays the lead role in Amazon Prime’s REACHER. Movieguide®’s review of Season 2, episode 5 reads:

In Episode Five, Season Two of REACHER on Amazon Prime, Reacher and the surviving members of his former Army unit find out the reason their three friends were killed. It’s all part of a terrorist plot to sell 650 state-of-the-art anti-aircraft missiles that can shoot commercial planes out of the air.

The team discovers the mysterious arms dealer’s henchmen have hijacked the missiles. Their plans to stop the transfer of the weapons to the highest bidder are put on hold briefly while they attend the Christian, military funeral of their third murdered friend.

Episode Five of REACHER: Season Two is an exciting, slam-bang episode. Season Two is one of the more gripping action series available on the major streaming outlets. Best of all, Episode Five has strong Christian, pro-family, patriotic values and overt references to resurrection and eternal life through Jesus.

The best scenes, which are extremely moving and uplifting, are smack dab in the middle of Episode Five. However, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution because of strong foul language and intense violence involving ruthless, murderous terrorists in Episode Five of REACHER: Season Two.