From Anthony and Cleopatra to Bill & Hillary Clinton, for centuries couples have been attempting to find the key to pursuing a successful career while also maintaining a marriage, preferably a happy one. Such a noble endeavor cannot be easy and for many it has proven impossible. Yet couples keep trying, and although there isn’t really one answer, nor is it magic or an act of god, it is attainable. We found three Bay Area couples who have joined forces, powerfully and positively, each in their own way.

Michael & Chris Boskin

Michael & Chris Boskin agree that humor and setting priorities are essential for a working couple. Michael is a leading economist and professor at Stanford University. Chris has worked in the magazine industry and is a media consultant. “We were both thirty-five when we met,” says Chris, “and very involved in our careers.” The couple met at the Mark Hopkins Hotel at a magazine conference, which Chris was organizing and Michael was invited to speak at.

Chris was against having Michael as a speaker. “I thought he would be boring,” she explains. And Michael wasn’t interested in speaking. But higher powers prevailed, and finally Michael agreed. Still very much against the idea, Chris went so far as to change the luncheon seating arrangement, switching out Michael’s name place from her table. A move she immediately regretted when she spotted him from afar, taking the podium for his speech. “I thought he was the cutest thing,” she recalls. So she made sure to introduce herself to him at the event’s reception. “I was instantly interested and soon it was love,” says Michael. The two were married thirteen months later.

Michael says it’s important to have a strong foundation of love and respect for each other. “You can’t always be on the same schedule,” says Michael, who explains that as a working couple there are a lot of compromises. “But if you have a strong foundation, it sees you through a lot.” Chris says that an important aspect to their success is that they understand the significance of what the other does. “This allows us to be who we are,” she says.

The couple works at making time for one another. “We do calendars,” says Chris. “To make sure we carve out enough time for one another.” Michael and Chris enjoy the outdoors, skiing, and golfing, as well as hanging out at home with their black lab, Maggie. Ultimately they agree that they feel lucky to have one another. “Despite all the ups and fortunately far fewer downs in twenty-eight years, personally and professionally,” says Michael, “we’d both say our relationship is the best and most important thing in our lives.”

Rick Lee & Colleen Quen

Jet-setters Colleen Quen & Rick Lee insist that time apart is as essential as time together. “We make sure to have some quiet time for ourselves,” says Colleen. “I meditate and do my tai qi and play guzheng [Chinese plucked zither]. Rick plays his guitar, and goes sailing or fishing.” Married for seventeen years, the couple met at the young age of twenty at a summer camp in Taiwan. “I saw him from a distance,” tells Colleen. “I fell in love with him when he asked me out to go shopping and for ice cream.” Travel and distance remained a theme for Colleen and Rick as they continued a long-distance relationship for nine years. Rick lived in Chicago, and Colleen lived in San Francisco. “We had phone dates every Friday evening,” explains Colleen, “and flew to see each other every three months.” In between, the couple wrote letters to each other. “There was no e-mail or computer communication,” reminds Colleen.

Each runs their own successful design business—Colleen in fashion and Rick in furniture. Travel is important to their creativity, as well as their relationship. “We get away together and stay at beachfront homes and enjoy the ocean and nature together,” says Rick. “We travel a lot to Paris, Italy, and China.” Lately the couple has been focused on their new French bulldog puppy, five-month-old LiBai, but they also enjoy working together on art projects. “We love to create installations or exhibitions of our work in our atelier or outside venues, such as museums,” says Colleen.

Colleen and Rick attribute the qualities of being best friends to their success. “Honesty, love, and laughter,” says Rick.

David Thomson & Lucy Gray early in their relationship

Lucy Gray & David Thomson say part of their success comes down to quality time and conversation. “We both have enormously crowded lives,” says David, “but because we work at home we are able to see a great deal of each other.” Their first encounter could be right out of a Hollywood film. “I fell from the top of a set of stairs,” explains Lucy. “My arms were full of books that came down first, announcing my arrival a moment later.” Lucy was coming out of a college library in Henniker, New Hampshire, and David just happened to be at the bottom of those pesky stairs, ready to lend a hand. “I suspect it was very carefully planned,” teases David.

Lucy, a successful fine art photographer, and David, a world-renowned movie critic and film historian, keep long working hours and active social lives. Lucy says she and David enjoy the freedom of pursuing their own interests and then sharing with one another. “We each continue to be ambitious and to learn a great deal on our own,” she explains, “so that when we get together we have new ideas to bring to a conversation that has gone on for thirty-plus years.”

As busy as David and Lucy are, they agree that family comes first. They have two sons together and David had three children when they married. “You have to resolve that your relationship is the most important thing in your life,” says David. “Work as hard at your relationship as you do your career.” The couple has always maintained dinnertime as a priority. “I’m a great believer in the dining table as a place for conversation,” says David.

David and Lucy find quality time where they can, which includes walking the dog. “We walk the dog in the mornings in the Marin Headlands,” says Lucy. “This is a terrific opportunity for conversation and catching up,” adds David.

Moya Stone is a freelance writer and senior editor of SFBaystyle.com.