Katherine Schwarzenegger is giving up one of the secrets to her her amazing marriage with Chris Pratt, which started even before they tied the knot.

During a recent conversation on Dear Media’s Meaning Full Living podcast with co-hosts Hayley Hubbard and Jessica Diamond, the 31-year-old author opened up about motherhood and marriage with the Guardians of the Galaxy star. She mentioned attending premarital counseling prior to their wedding in June 2019, saying it was instrumental in building the strong foundation of their marriage.

“Before we got married in the Catholic Church, you have to do premarital counseling before you get married, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, what is that going to be like?’ And it was the most amazing thing and just the most amazing gift,” she explained. “I know not everybody does [it], of course, because ... if they don’t tell you you have to do it then why would you?”

She continued, “But for us, when we had this experience of going to premarital counseling to get married in the Catholic Church, it was such an amazing gift in our relationship ahead of getting married that we‘ve definitely wanted to continue throughout our relationship and has been such a helpful thing to be able to have in our relationship of having that guidance.”

“Talking about things that maybe we wouldn‘t necessarily have talked about before getting married, talk about things that couples of 10 or 15 years still don’t like to talk about with one another,” Schwarzenegger explained. “Being prompted to talk about those things is also a really helpful thing to do early on. That I think helps us.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Katherine talked about other helpful elements in their relationship, explaining why it’s important for her and her husband to “carve out” time for each other.

“Making sure that you can carve out that time. And of course, there are days where it doesn’t happen, and then we make sure we connect in a different way,” she said. “I also just remember growing up and watching my parents always be each other’s biggest support system and biggest cheerleaders, and that was always something that I wanted with who I envisioned somebody that I marry; always wanting to have that same support system and that same dynamic.”

She continued, “I want him to be, to always feel loved and cared for and supported and like I’m his biggest cheerleader. And to feel that from him as well. We always are on that same page of wanting that for one another. And always putting our relationship first and our family first is super important to us.”