Ghostbusters legend Ernie Hudson talks secret to 40-year marriage - after learning it while arguing with his wife over toilet paper

Ernie Hudson said he learned the secret to a successful marriage after an argument over toilet paper. 

Years ago, the 78-year-old Ghostbusters icon had his moment of realization during a seemingly trivial spat with his wife of nearly 40 years, Linda Kingsberg, over the orientation of the toilet paper roll. 

Despite the disagreement, he decided to let it slide, realizing that such small disputes didn't really matter much in the larger context of their relationship. 

'I'm like, "I don't care. If it makes you happy, I'll do it that way. If me opening the door is an issue for you, then I'll open the door." What am I going to fight over? I'm good,' he told People on Wednesday. 

'I love her for who she is and not who I want her or think she should be,' he said of Linda, with whom he shares two children. 'So I just trust her to be herself and if she's happy, then I'm good.'

Ernie Hudson said he learned the secret to a successful marriage after an argument over toilet paper with his wife of 40 years, Linda Kingsberg; pictured 2021

Despite the disagreement, he decided to let it slide, realizing that such small disputes didn't really matter much in the larger context of their relationship; pictured 2016

Hudson also shares two children from his previous marriage to Jeannie Moore, whom he wed when they were 'just kids', according to the star. 

'I was 18, she was 16. The marriage ended, the kids came with me, which I was surprised by,' he explained. 'But I just felt that I never wanted to do that again.'

After meeting Linda, however, his perspective on walking down the aisle again shifted. 

'We were together for basically nine years before I finally said, "You know what? We're together. So let's just go ahead and marry,"' explained the Quantum Leap alum.

The pair would go on to tie the knot in 1985. 

Over their time together, Hudson said he's embraced the art of compromise, particularly in navigating his friendships with other women. 

'I like women as friends,' he added. 'I find women more interesting to talk to because they'll talk about their kids and they'll talk about emotions and feelings and things.' 

He noted that the majority of his friends were women, but acknowledges that this dynamic wasn't always conducive to a healthy marriage. 

'I love her for who she is and not who I want her or think she should be,' he said of Linda, with whom he shares two children. 'So I just trust her to be herself and if she's happy, then I'm good'; pictured 2019

Ernie, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace and Gil Kenan at Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire film screening, London 2024

Ernie in 2016's all-female Ghostbusters

Hudson portrayed Dr. Winston Zeddemore in the 1984 supernatural blockbuster Ghostbusters, alongside co-stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Annie Potts, and William Atherton

'Even though I can explain this relationship, I'm more concerned about [my wife] now and I know that she's my friend now. And I can't spend two hours on the phone with my best girlfriend and expect her to understand,' he claimed.

'If it was turned the other way around, how would I feel?'

Hudson portrayed Dr. Winston Zeddemore in the 1984 supernatural blockbuster Ghostbusters, alongside co-stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Annie Potts, and William Atherton. 

He, along with these co-stars, returned to reprise their roles in the 2021 film Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and are now starring in the latest sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.