Peter Gallagher Recalls Being Chastised by His Mom After Breaking Up with Now-Wife Paula Harwood: 'It's Your Issue'

"She is a wonderful young woman and any problem you're going to have with her you're going to be having with anyone," the actor recalled his mother telling him about Hardwood

Peter Gallagher is looking back on the sage advice he once received from his mother.

The 68-year-old actor recalled on the New York Times’ Modern Love podcast that his mom reprimanded him after he broke up with his now-wife Paula Hardwood back when they were dating.

He shared how his mother told him, “You go back to her and apologize. She is a wonderful young woman and any problem you're going to have with her you're going to be having with anyone because they're your problems. So you be damn sure you figure out what's going on with you before you start changing partners like socks — I don't think she said socks — but she said, that was the gist of it.”

Related: Peter Gallagher Explains Why He Finds 41 Years of Marriage with Wife Paula Harwood 'Embarrassing'

“Before you throw this relationship away, you investigate what it is that's really bugging you and I bet you'll find it,” he remembered his mother saying. “It's your issue. An issue you will have regardless of who you're with.”

The advice proved to be accurate with The O.C. alum as he and Harwood recently celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary and share two children: daughter Kathryn, 30, and son James, 27.

As for how he knows a relationship will work nowadays, Gallagher said, “It's like faith. It's like willing to accept how little you might know. And trying to pay attention to your partner in a more inclusive view.”

Related: Peter Gallagher and His Wife Celebrate 40-Year Anniversary: 'We Are Two Very Lucky, Grateful People'

In honor of the pair’s 40th wedding anniversary last year, the actor shared then-and-now photos of himself with Harwood on Instagram, writing, "Here we are at the church, on the same day with the same sunshine and blue skies that we were married in exactly 40 years ago. I'm so glad we did. ❤️"

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Paula reflected on tying the knot four decades before in her own social media post.

"40 years ago today, May 7, 1983 , these two babies got married in the church we are standing in front of right now," she shared alongside the same photos. "We are two very lucky, grateful people. ❤️"

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