Everyone knows that relationships are not easy; they take dedication, compassion, understanding, and love. But what do you do when love is not enough? Many couples divorce for lots of reasons. Most of the time, it wasn’t because they didn’t love each other; it was because life got in the way. I had the amazing opportunity to attend the Own Network press conference, where the producer and cast spoke about this new series for the franchise and how they handle success and marriage.

Carlos King, who is the creator of Love & Marriage: Detroit, always wanted to create a show about black couples who are entrepreneurs and have very relatable issues that a large audience could relate to. I must agree that I think it was a good idea to shine some light on successful black relationships. Since Detroit is Carlos’s hometown, he wanted to put it on the map. Carlos has been producing reality shows for 15 years; he started with The Real Housewives of Atlanta. His goal is to make Love & Marriage: Detroit one of the biggest franchises in the world. When I asked Carlos what advice he would give someone in a relationship, this is what he had to say:

“The one lesson I’ve learned from being in a relationship and hearing from other” couples who have been in long relationships is that compromise is the number one rule. You have to choose your battles, and not everything is worth the fight. You can’t allow yourself to not be seen or heard in a relationship, but you also can’t allow yourself to overpower the other party, so compromise is the key.“

Anthony and Dr. Latoya Thompson have been married for 14 years and are the parents of two sons. LaToya is a successful sports physical therapist and the owner of Opulence Wines. Anthony has started a men’s organization so men can have an outlet to discuss the root cause of the issue that is affecting men in relationships. Anthony and Latoya are between the honeymoon period and life. They admit they are still learning from each other. The dynamics in their relationship are that Latoya comes from a large family, while on the other hand, Anthony is an only child. Which sometimes causes quite a stir. This is what Latoya had to say.

“It’s something that takes some explaining to him because I’m also a twin and we share everything. Just like for my birthday, he wanted to throw a party for me, and he was like, I have to throw it for your sister too? Yes, it’s my twin sister, so explaining to him why is one of the biggest learning experiences for me because he wasn’t used to that. You also have to be able to communicate with your wife about things that you’re doing and how you feel about things, because he’ll just go on like, I thought you knew that.

Anthony has his own version of how he deals with things. Since he’s a very giving person and loves to express how he feels, sometimes he doesn’t see what he does as being wrong.

“Ima do what I do. I don’t mean it like that. I’m a very giving person. I love you, and I express how I feel. I show you daily, and I am going to protect you. Even with family, I have your best interests at heart more than anyone else. We just have to lean on God; he’s the key. That’s how I look at it.“

The couple believes being in the public eye and living out their lives will be very beneficial to many couples because showing their real lives, faith, and family will show the world how they operate in love. Be sure to tune in on June 24th at 9 p.m. ET/PT on OWN and watch how the couples do life.