Alec Baldwin explains why he still thinks of wife Hilaria Baldwin as his girlfriend

Despite being married for 12 years, Alec Baldwin says he still wants to think of his wife Hilaria Baldwin as his girlfriend.

In fact, the couple tells People it’s the secret behind their successful marriage.

Leading up to the premiere of their new reality show on TLC, “The Baldwins,” Alec and Hilaria Baldwin are getting honest about their marriage and their life together as parents of seven.

In their interview with People, Hilaria Baldwin said the secret behind their marriage is that they always find a way to carve out time for them to simply be husband and wife.

“We’ll find time to go for dinner,” she says. “It gives us a chance to reconnect, sometimes just sit in silence. It’s just like, ‘Okay, ‘we’re here.’”

Continuing to date each other, regardless of having been married for more than a decade, is important for their relationship, Hilaria Baldwin, 41, told People.

“He always said, ‘We’re married, you’re my wife, you’re the mother of my children, but you always need to be my girlfriend.’”

And as Alec Baldwin, 66, confirmed, he “just couldn’t have it any other way.”

The actor and the yoga instructor also recalled meeting each other 14 years ago.

According to People, the pair met at a restaurant at a time when Alec Baldwin had no interest in being in a relationship. Hilaria Baldwin recalled her now husband being “very respectful” when he shook her hand.

“I had been married, got divorced. I dated another woman for off and on for quite a while. I’m like, ‘I don’t want to have a girlfriend. I don’t.’”

So when he met Hilaria in 2011, Alec Baldwin said his friends called it a “miracle.”

“I fell madly in love with her. And I told my friends, and they were like, ‘Oh, Jesus Christ. It’s like a miracle,’” he told People.

“The Baldwins” is set to premiere on TLC on Feb. 23.