Marriage will never be an easy thing. (Any married couple will tell you that.) But not all married couples have a willingness to work things out, and that’s where La La Anthony and basketball player husband Carmelo Anthony are a bit different from the rest. The infamous couple got engaged in 2004 after years of dating and finally tied the knot in 2010, three years after their son, Kiyan, was born. Over the years, it’s been clear this duo has been through the wringer. But when La La sat down with Life & Style to talk exclusively about her epic relationship, she got real with us about how much work actually goes into keeping the wheels of her relationship greased.

“I think marriage is tough. I mean, everyone goes through ups and downs at different times,” La La explained. “Especially when you’ve been with somebody so long, I mean, Melo was 19, 20 years old when I met him and he’s 34 now, so that’s a long time.” Well said, girl. Things are bound to shift when you’ve been with someone for many years. “There’s gonna be bumps and bruises along the road, but, you know, you sort things out.”

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For La La and Carmelo, their son is the biggest influence in keeping their marriage as strong as possible. “When you’re parents to an amazing child like we are, you wanna be great examples to your child. We’re in each other’s lives forever! So, it’s important to try to make things work.” We love these hardworking parents! It takes a village, y’all.

La La really doesn’t play when it comes to being a mom and that’s something we really appreciate about her. “Being a mom is my number one job, my number one priority, it comes before anything else,” she told Life & Style. “That’s where I put my focus first and then the work comes after, but it’s great that I have such a strong support system with family and friends that can help me if I’m working long hours on set or in interviews, they’re able to step in and help with my son, which is a blessing in and of itself.”

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Having a support system you can trust is an awesome asset when you’re a busy parent, so we’re glad La La has that, not only in her friends and family, but in her husband Carmelo as well. It really isn’t easy juggling your professional life and your personal one, but we can tell La La has her eyes on the prize: a happy and healthy family life.

La La currently has a partnership with Lysol.