Cyndi Lauper Shares the Secret to Her 33-Year Marriage to Husband and 'Best Friend' David Thornton (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Cyndi Lauper and David Thornton in New York City in June 2023.Photo:Theo Wargo/Getty Images

Theo Wargo/Getty Images

Cyndi Lauperand her husband, actorDavid Thornton,will be celebrating their 34th anniversary this November.Their big secret to marital bliss? Just enjoy hanging out together — and don’t stress out about small things.“You have your highs and lows of course,” Lauper tells PEOPLE of marriage. “But sometimes the things you think are important when you’re young just aren’t important.“Cyndi Lauper with husband David Thornton on their wedding day.Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis/VCGNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Lauper adds that it’s important to remember that your spouse isn’t just your spouse, but also your family.“Your partner is the best friend you’ll ever have, that you’ll spend the most time with. So you have to talk to them, share stuff,” she says.Cyndi Lauper and David Thornton in Hollywood in April 2016.Paul Archuleta/FilmMagicLauper and Thornton first met on the set of the 1991 movieOff and Running.Though they started off as friends, they soon began to fall for each other. In an interview withThe Independentin 1992, Thornton said, “She began inviting me to join her for dinner regularly, and after a couple of weeks it dawned on me that I really liked her an awful lot.“Daid Thornton and Cyndi Lauper in 2018.On Nov. 24, 1991, the duo got married at a Friends meeting house in New York.“Neither of us is a Quaker, but we liked the idea of friendship and tolerance being the theme, as our friends come from all walks of life and all kinds of political and sexual persuasions,” Thornton said in the same 1992 interview.On Nov. 19, 1997, Lauper and Thornton welcomed their first and only child together,a son named Declyn.Lauper is about to kick offher Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tourin Montreal on Oct. 18 and says she’s particularly excited because shenever did do another big arena tourafter welcoming Declyn.“I was an opener for other acts at arenas, then I got to do one big tour for myself,” she says of her rise to fame in the ’80s.“Then I got pregnant with my son, and I was worried I couldn’t do a whole show, so I went back to being an opener again. So watch out, kids, once an opener, always an opener!”Lauper notes that her entire family shares a love of music. “David loves art music, though his taste in music is different,” she admits.“When our son was growing up, David always listened to electronic dance music, which is popular now but was more underground in the ’90s. Declyn was more interested inGreen Day. Either way, it was always a dance party at our house.”

Cyndi Lauperand her husband, actorDavid Thornton,will be celebrating their 34th anniversary this November.

Their big secret to marital bliss? Just enjoy hanging out together — and don’t stress out about small things.

“You have your highs and lows of course,” Lauper tells PEOPLE of marriage. “But sometimes the things you think are important when you’re young just aren’t important.”

Cyndi Lauper with husband David Thornton on their wedding day.Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis/VCG

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Lauper adds that it’s important to remember that your spouse isn’t just your spouse, but also your family.

“Your partner is the best friend you’ll ever have, that you’ll spend the most time with. So you have to talk to them, share stuff,” she says.

Cyndi Lauper and David Thornton in Hollywood in April 2016.Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic

Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic

Lauper and Thornton first met on the set of the 1991 movieOff and Running.Though they started off as friends, they soon began to fall for each other. In an interview withThe Independentin 1992, Thornton said, “She began inviting me to join her for dinner regularly, and after a couple of weeks it dawned on me that I really liked her an awful lot.”

Daid Thornton and Cyndi Lauper in 2018.

On Nov. 24, 1991, the duo got married at a Friends meeting house in New York.

“Neither of us is a Quaker, but we liked the idea of friendship and tolerance being the theme, as our friends come from all walks of life and all kinds of political and sexual persuasions,” Thornton said in the same 1992 interview.

On Nov. 19, 1997, Lauper and Thornton welcomed their first and only child together,a son named Declyn.

Lauper is about to kick offher Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tourin Montreal on Oct. 18 and says she’s particularly excited because shenever did do another big arena tourafter welcoming Declyn.

“I was an opener for other acts at arenas, then I got to do one big tour for myself,” she says of her rise to fame in the ’80s.

“Then I got pregnant with my son, and I was worried I couldn’t do a whole show, so I went back to being an opener again. So watch out, kids, once an opener, always an opener!”

Lauper notes that her entire family shares a love of music. “David loves art music, though his taste in music is different,” she admits.

“When our son was growing up, David always listened to electronic dance music, which is popular now but was more underground in the ’90s. Declyn was more interested inGreen Day. Either way, it was always a dance party at our house.”

source: people.com