Sarah Michelle Gellar blames the ‘disposable’ society for America’s marriage woes

Sarah Michelle Gellar blames changes in societal values ​​for the decline of long-term relationships.

In September, the 47-year-old actress and Freddie Prinze Jr., 48, who have two children together, celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary.

During an interview with Fox News Digital alongside her “Dexter: Original Sin” co-star Patrick Gibson, Gellar reflected on the secrets to a lasting marriage.

“I think everything takes work on you, whether it’s a friendship, a work relationship or a marriage,” the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star said.

“You have to work,” she continued. “And we live in an extremely disposable society now.”

“If the phone breaks, it doesn’t fix it. You get a new one,” Gellar added. “And I think that’s a big part of the relationship attitude.”

“And I don’t know, maybe separate bathrooms,” the actress joked.

Gellar and Prinze Jr. first met while filming the 1997 horror film I Know What You Did Last Summer and began dating in 2000.

The couple announced their engagement in 2001 and married a year later in Mexico when Gellar was 24 and Prinze was 26.

Before their wedding, Prinze Jr. made an appearance on “The Howard Stern Show,” during which the friend of the friend made a million-dollar bet that their marriage wouldn’t go the distance.

“So you’re going to marry Sarah Michelle Gellar, even though you know it won’t last?” Stern asked.

“Oh, it’s absolutely going to last,” Prinze Jr. he answered.

“I want to make a bet with you,” the radio host told him. “In about 10 years, you’re going to hunt me down and say, ‘Howard, I owe you money.’

On their 20th wedding anniversary, Gellar uploaded footage of the interview to her Instagram Story.

“@SternShow, I think you owe us,” she wrote via Us Weekly .

Prinze Jr. later shared Gellar’s post on her Instagram Story and wrote, “She won’t forget,” along with two laugh-cry emojis.

During a 2019 interview with Us Weekly, Gellar told the outlet that “communication” was key to their successful marriage.

“It’s about being present,” the New York native said. “Listening is the most important thing.”

“We still make each other laugh. And we treat each other with respect,” added Prinze Jr., who noted that after the pair shared their first kiss, he “didn’t go on another date.”

“It was just Sarah,” he went to the magazine.

The couple, who also starred in 2002’s Scooby-Doo and the 2004 sequel Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed, welcomed their first child, daughter Charlotte Grace, in 2009.

In 2012, Gellar gave birth to their son, Rocky James.

Gellar and Prinze Jr. both first rose to fame in the 1990s and became two of the era’s biggest stars.

While speaking with Fox News Digital, Gellar shared her thoughts on how celebrity life in the ’90s differed from today.

“I would say the advent of social media and everyone having a camera phone,” she said. “I think you had a lot more anonymity, which sometimes I think makes the story a little bit easier because people didn’t know as much about your every move or even your show.”

“It’s hard to keep things intact,” Gellar added. “Move shows more indoors when you have to keep secrets.”

The actress is starring in Showtime’s new series “Dexter: Original Sin,” which premiered in December. 13.

Dexter: Original Sin is a prequel series to the hit network serial killer show Dexter, which starred Michael C. Hall in the title role and ran for eight seasons from 2006 to 2013.

The plot summary for “Dexter: Original Sin” reads: “Set in 1991 Miami, “Dexter: Original Sin” follows Dexter (Gibson) as he goes from student to vengeful serial killer.

When his bloodlust can no longer be ignored, Dexter must learn to channel his inner darkness.”

With the guidance of his father, Harry (Christian Slater), he adopts a Code designed to help him find and kill people who deserve to be eliminated from society without getting on the radar of law enforcement.

This is a special challenge for young Dexter as he begins a forensic internship with the Miami Metro Police Department.”

Gellar is playing Dexter’s new boss, Tanya Martin, the CSI chief of the Miami Metro Police Department.

The show also stars Hall as the narrator, as well as Patrick Dempsey, Christina Milian, Alex Shimizu, Reno Wilson and James Martinez.

During her interview with Fox News Digital, Gellar expressed her excitement about joining the cast of the prequel series, saying that she was a huge fan of “Dexter.”

“I loved the original,” she said. “And obviously I never had a chance to be a part of it. So in your head, you think, “This is too bad.” It would be fun to be a part of that canon.”

Gellar continued, “And then to come back and be like, ‘Wait, I get to be a part of a show that I loved?’ [it] it becomes a dream opportunity.”

Gibson told Fox News Digital that he “had a lot of fun” playing Dexter as a young man and portraying his journey.

“The Dexter that we all know is fully formed by the time we get to the first season of the original,” he noted. “So playing with somebody at that stage in their life — I know I was pretty tough at that time in my life.”

“You’re like one leg as a teenager, one leg as an adult,” added Gibson. “Adults don’t take you seriously.”

“You don’t fit in with people,” admitted the actress.

“You’re not a kid either,” Gibson said. “And you’re also experiencing a lot of these firsts. In this case, you just happen to kill people.”

“Hey, we all have firsts,” Gellar said.

“And you always remember your first time,” Gibson said. “It’s not always the best.”

The 29-year-old actor has also starred in the TV series “The Tudors”, “The OA” and “Shadow and Bone”, among other roles.

While speaking with Fox News Digital, Gibson noted that “there were a lot of unique challenges” in playing a character who was already so familiar to audiences.

“Part of it was keeping the continuity with what Michael did,” he said. “The thing I loved about Michael’s performance was that when you meet him, there’s a lot of himself in that role.”

Gibson continued, “It was finding a balance of both, because obviously just doing an impression would be a bit cold even for a psychopath.”

“But then it was also like remembering it,” he added. “I think we are trained as actors to be empathetic on set. And you’re working with some of the best actors ever.”

“And I want to remind myself that you can’t be too affected by the situations that are happening and you are much more calculated than you may appear. It was a bit of a challenge.”

New episodes of “Dexter: Original Sin” will air on Showtime every Friday through February. 14.