In "Seinfeld," actor Jason Alexander plays Jerry's neurotic, albeit lovable, friend who is shoddily employed and constantly fumbling romantic courtships. While filming the show, Alexander's love life was panning out quite differently.

The actor was happily married to his wife Daena Title, and has remained so for more than 40 years. The two moved in together three weeks after meeting and were wed shortly afterwards in 1982.

Recently, Alexander opened up about the key to their long-lasting union.

"I'm married to a woman who lives this thing that I first heard of in 'A Raisin of the Sun,'" he said on the Today Show. "It's kind of quoted there, but she does it. It goes something like this: On my worst day, she remembers me on my best day and beckons me back."

He continued on to say, "If you have a partner who can do that, because we all have worst days, you don't give up on that partner."

'Do you want a cup of coffee?'

What Alexander is describing could be seen as a form of something renowned clinical psychologists John and Julie Gottman call doing "repairs."

The Gottmans have interviewed more than 3,000 couples and followed some for as long as 20 years. They have also studied more than 40,000 couples who are about to begin couples therapy.

In the midst of a fight, making a repair means taking a beat, remembering that you and your partner are on the same team, and then asking them a question that shows you still see them as a person.

This could be as simple as saying "Do you want a cup of coffee?"

"The couples who really were successful a few years down the road were the ones who made repairs," Julie Gottman said in an interview. "They made repairs when their partner didn't receive a bid for connection. They made repairs if they said the wrong thing, [if] they blurted out the wrong thing." 

By reminding Alexander that on his worst days she still remembers the person he is on his best, Title is making a bid for connection and showing that she still values their partnership.

And, as Alexander expressed on the Today Show, this is a rare quality.

"I am a lucky man," he said.

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