Denzel Washington ‘Blessed’ with Wife: ‘She Holds Everything Together’

Denzel Washington is praising his life with wife Pauletta.

While Washington, 68, appeared on a new episode of Tom Brady’s radio show Let’s Go! with Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray on SiriusXM, the actor shared his plans for Thanksgiving and complimented his wife of 40 years for her prep work to host guests.

“The Missus is getting everything ready. The long table is out. People come from all over. She told me she had a 11th-hour issue this morning that was, like, they brought the wrong-size turkey or something,” Washington said. “So she had to go get an extra turkey or something.”

“And I don’t do anything in the kitchen but eat,” he said with a laugh. “She kicked me outta there. She’s like, ‘You have nothing to do with this. Just go make some money and get out the way.’ ”

With Pauletta, 73, taking over kitchen duties for the holiday, Washington is left to admire his wife’s contributions to their family.

“I’m thankful and I have been blessed beyond measure with the greatest woman in the world, who not only is a beautiful woman and a great wife and I love her, great mother of our children, but she holds everything together,” he added.

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Washington and Pauletta met on the set of his first movie, 1977’s Wilma. After getting to know each other at a mutual friend’s party some time after filming the movie, the couple married in 1983. They share four kids: John David, Katia and twins Malcolm and Olivia.

In 2018, Washington joked to PEOPLE about what makes his marriage work: “I do what I’m told. I keep my mouth shut.”

“What pops into my head: security, food, a beautiful home. The difference between a house and a home, it’s a big difference,” he added at the time. “You can buy a house, but that doesn’t make it a home — and not to say a man can’t make a home a home, but my wife has made our house a home, and raised these beautiful kids and protected them and sacrificed for them. She did the heavy-lifting.”