October marked the fourth anniversary of Wordle’s public debut, although by my recollection it really took off in January 2022. That was when I remember seemingly everyone sharing their results daily. Wordle blew up because it was accessible (even after it was sold to the NYT) and everyone was into it. There were daily group chats dedicated to strategies and streaks. (I’ve never been in one, but that’s just because I’m biding my time until the word is “ADIEU.”)

This brings me to Mary Steenbirgen and Ted Danson, two of my favorite actors who have been married for 30 years. They’re currently co-starring in Netflix’s A Man on the Inside. Mary and Ted have a routine in which they wake up super early and play several of the NYT’s different word games together.

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen just might be creatures of habit. Now costarring as love interests in the second season of Danson’s hit Netflix series, A Man on the Inside, the superstar couple were more than happy to start going to work together every day on the Paramount lot for the production and even shared the same trailer.

But they have a daily ritual that will never change: playing Wordle, Connections and Spelling Bee. “Wake up at 4:30ish. Because we had to go get ready and be in a car, we probably got halfway through Spelling Bee. These are important facts,” says Danson, 77. Adds Steenburgen, 72: “And another important fact is that we’re bright enough to do these games together. So we each have half a really amazing brain.”

Last year, Danson revealed the cute ritual in an interview with PEOPLE. “To both of us, it’s like heaven on Earth,” he said at the time.

“Even if she’s working in a different time zone, we will wake up in time to be able to play our games and have coffee over the phone,” he added.

Married since October 1995, the two began dating after first costarring in the 1994 film Pontiac Moon. Danson had finalized his divorce from his second wife, Casey Coates, with whom he shares daughters Kate and Katrina; Steenburgen was raising her kids Charlie and Lilly after ending her marriage to actor Malcolm McDowell.

They recently celebrated their 30th anniversary in Japan. “I had to work. But then the next day we got on a plane and flew to Japan, just the two of us,” says Danson. Adds Steenburgen: “We’d never been there, and it was No. 1 on our wish list for travel. We really loved it. The whole experience blew our minds.”

[From People]

This is so cute! I love that Ted and Mary make the time to play these different word games every day. It keeps them connected, no matter where they are. Sometimes, it’s the little rituals, like playing games or taking a walk together, that can really make all of the difference when it comes to intimacy or maintaining (platonic) relationships. I once had a coworker who swore by double showers as a way to swap stories about each person’s day. Sadly, I do not not have a double-headed shower like she did, but I like doing Connections with Mr. Rosie. He has a different range of knowledge than I do, so for me, that’s more of a team word-game sport. Wordle is the one game where I draw the line because I like challenging myself. I only ask for help when I’m desperate! As for the rest, he dips out at Strands and neither of us f-ck around with Spelling Bee anymore because, well, we had one or two bad days, and decided that, like Mary and Ted, we’d like to hit 30+ years of marriage.

Photos credit: Colleen E. Hayes/Netflix, Gregg DeGuire/Image Press Agency/Avalon, IMAGO/Jennifer Bloc/Avalon