Maury Povich Reveals Secret to 39-Year Marriage to Connie Chung, Details Life in Montana (Exclusive)

Maury Povich is letting fans in on the secret to his nearly 40-year marriage with wife Connie Chung. 

"I always thought that our union was solid because I believe that when your head hits the pillow at night, all discussions and arguments that day would be over, and she believes in holding grudges," Povich exclusively told The Messenger with a laugh ahead of being honored at Saturday's Daytime Creative Arts & Lifestyle Emmy Awards. 

"I think more than anything else, the reason we've survived is we're in the same business," the newest Lifetime Achievement Award recipient explained. "We've always been in the same business and we understand all the positives and negatives of that."

While Povich is an iconic daytime TV staple synonymous with the genre, Chung is a celebrated journalist who has worked at the majority of major news networks — including NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN and MSNBC — over the course of her decades-long career. 

The Maury host continued, "So, we understood and I understood when she would call and say, 'I don't know when I'll be home. I got to go to Afghanistan and do a piece, or I got to go here, or I gotta go there,' and we always accepted that. I've known marriages where one spouse was upset because the other was always on the road. But that never happened with us."

Povich also detailed the couple's life in their Montana home, where they spend a good chunk of their time. 

"My wife and I have a home in Montana where we spend close to half the year. And so 15 years ago, we actually started a newspaper in Flathead in the Flathead Valley of Montana up near Glacier National Park," he shared. "So I'm still very active in that, trying to keep local journalism going up there."

Povich — who retired from Maury last year after a whopping 31 seasons on-air — also told The Messenger that he is honored to be recognized for his achievement in television at this weekend's award show, where Chung will present him with the Lifetime Achievement Award. 

"It's a whole different feeling because I never expected any awards in my career. I was just trying to get by for the last 67 years," he admitted. "I was the kind of person that when I started on radio and as a reporter in television, I said to myself around 1970, 'If I could make $50,000 a year for the rest of my life and work in this business until I was 50, I would be very happy.' So I was a little short-sighted."

The 50th Daytime Creative Arts and Lifestyle Emmy Awards will be presented on  Saturday, Dec. 16, at 12 p.m. PST and can be viewed live here.