Snapshot

WILLIE AAMES is best known for his acting roles in the television series Eight Is Enoughand Charles in Charge. Today he owns a production studio that produces videos, commercials and programs for television broadcast. He also produces and stars in Bibleman, a Christian video series for children. Willie and his wife, Maylo, also an actor, live near Kansas City with their daughter, Harleigh. (Willie has a son, Chris, from a previous marriage.) The Aameses have been married ten years.

WE MET FOR THE FIRST TIME WHEN: I was guest-starring on a cable TV show that Maylo was acting in. She thought I was a geek, but I still asked her out to lunch. She said she'd go only if I invited the show's entire cast and crew, so I did.

WE WERE ATTRACTED TO EACH OTHER BECAUSE: we were both needy and broken. We could sense something special forming between us because we were both in the same place. Back then, before we accepted Christ, Maylo was the type of person who wore fishnet stockings and leather and I was in the process of breaking my addiction to cocaine.

THE TOUGHEST TIME IN OUR MARRIAGE CAME: after Harleigh was born. I was suffering from postpartum depression and it didn't help that Harleigh screamed most of her first year. On top of that, Willie's TV series was ending, and because of our faith he started turning down acting opportunities due to the objectionable content of the programs.

OUR BIGGEST ARGUMENT TOOK PLACE: 24 hours before our wedding. We've both been married before and our previous experiences made us fearful of commitment.

TO RESOLVE THAT ARGUMENT: I came back, knocked on Willie's door, and said, "I can't live without you!" We just talked through our fears.

OUR BIGGEST SURPRISE IN MARRIAGE IS: how little we now think of ourselves. We've grown beyond being self-centered actors to become two people who think about how we can best meet each other's needs.

OUR ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES IS: Pray for your mate. Ask God to soften your heart and show you ways to be a better spouse.

OUR MARRIAGE WORKS BECAUSE: we're not in competition with each other. Instead, we want to serve one another. We talk together for hours every night, and we spend regular time in the Word and in prayer for each other.

Copyright © 1996 by Christianity Today/MARRIAGE PARTNERSHIP magazine.

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