Gloria Estefan Reveals ‘Respect’ Is the Key to Her 40-Year-Marriage to Husband Emilio (Exclusive)

What’s the secret to Gloria Estefan‘s 40-year marriage to producer-musician Emilio Estefan? “There’s a lot of deep respect, and we’re very supportive of each other. We want each other to be successful and try to do everything to help that happen,” the singer, 61, exclusively revealed to Closer Weekly at the TCA Winter Press Tour on February 1 while promoting their upcoming special Emilio & Gloria Estefan: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song (premiering May 3 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS).

“We don’t believe in love at first sight, though,” she added. “You can have lust at first sight, but when you marry someone, you better have things in common, and we have so many!” That includes their wedding song “The Day You Say You Love Me,” which Gloria recorded on her 2013 album The Standards. “I sang it to my hubby in the studio,” she said. “I was holding him, and he was crying.”

Gloria and Emilio have been married since 1978 and, in a previous interview with Entertainment Tonight, Emilio, 65, agreed with his wife and said that “respect and love” is the reason why they have been married for so long. He also joked that being Latino helps their relationship, too. “More than anything else, being Latino, you say, ‘Yes, Baby, whatever you want,'” he said.

Emilio’s funny personality keeps Gloria laughing whenever she feels down. “He makes me laugh every single day of my life,” she gushed, adding that she loves her husband just as much as she loves music. “Music was always a personal thing for me,” she previously told Closer Weekly. “It’s not like I set out to be famous. I just love music.”

Although some careers might break up families, Gloria’s music has brought her closer to her husband. “I’ve been able to live my life close to the person I love, made a beautiful family and been able to live making music and entertaining people,” she gushed. Gloria is living her dream!

For more on Gloria Estefan, pick up the latest issue of Closer Weekly, on newsstands now — and be sure to sign up for our newsletter. for more exclusive news!