Chris Pratt credits premarital counseling for strong marriage with Katherine Schwarzenegger

Chris Pratt has opened up about how premarital counseling has helped him and his wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger, resolve potential conflicts long before they turned into real problems.

The Mercy actor, 46, shared the experience during the Thursday, Feb. 5 episode of SiriusXM’s Literally! With Rob Lowe, reflecting on the counseling sessions the couple completed before tying the knot in 2019.

Pratt explained that premarital counseling was required as part of their wedding at St. Monica’s Church, and the couple ended up completing around six sessions together. “By the way, it was the best thing in the world,” he told host Rob Lowe.

According to Pratt, the sessions pushed them to discuss topics they never would have considered early in their relationship. 

“They ask you questions you would not even think to answer until you’ve been married for eight years,” he said, adding that unresolved issues can later feel like “re-negotiating every landmine.”

Pratt and Schwarzenegger, 36, began dating in 2018 after meeting at church and married in July 2019. 

They now share three children — daughters Lyla, 5, and Eloise, 3, and son Ford, who turns 15 months old on Feb. 8. Pratt is also dad to son Jack, 13, whom he shares with ex-wife Anna Faris.

During counseling, Pratt said the couple created a list of “directives” for their marriage, covering everything from communication styles to holiday traditions — including when Christmas music officially starts and when the tree comes down. 

“We talked about it beforehand,” he said. “Then you don’t have to run into those first-time arguments.”

He added that having a therapist guide those conversations helped keep discussions productive rather than combative. 

“If you disagree, you hash it out and do the work to figure out why,” Pratt said, describing the process as defusing a bomb without starting a fight.