Bette Midler reveals the secret to her long marriage: 'He really is the wind beneath my wings'

Bette Midler(Photo: Alan Light)

Entertainment diva Bette Midler opened up in a recent interview about the key to her 30-year marriage to artist Martin von Haselberg.

Midler said that both spending time apart and their 28-year-old daughter are central to why their Hollywood marriage has lasted so long, reports WhoSay.

The 69-year-old is a singer, actress, producer, philanthropist, author, and comedian, and her busy schedule was cited as having a positive effect on her relationship.

"We never see each other!" she joked. "No, he really is the wind beneath my wings," she added, quoting the famous line from her hit 1988 film, "Beaches."

Von Haselberg, 65, was a member of the performance art duo The Kipper Kids in the 1970s and early 80s with performance and sound artist Brian Routh. In 2009, von Haselberg created a series of self-portrait balloons that were displayed in the New Orleans Museum of Art, and continues to work as an artist.

"He has looked after me for many, many years, he's sacrificed a lot," Midler said of her husband.

Their daughter, Sophia, was born in 1986, and led to the couple recommitting themselves to each other.

"We used to fight bitterly, we came to the conclusion that we wanted to raise a child, we wanted to raise a really wonderful child, we never wanted to hurt that kid in any way and we stayed together until it got better, and it did get better and it was really fascinating," Midler explained.

"And both of us, we both look back and we just like wipe our brows and say, 'What the hell was that?'"

At 30 years, Midler and von Haselberg are one of the longest celebrity unions.

"It's like a thousand years in dog years," the singer told ITV's "Good Morning Britain."

"Our marriage is the oldest marriage in Hollywood."