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Kurt Sutter is celebrating his anniversary with Katey Sagal in a permanent way.
The screenwriter and director, 65, shared a heartfelt tribute to his wife, 71, on Oct. 2 to mark their 21st wedding anniversary. On his Instagram Stories, Sutter shared a whimsical photo of their wedding day, memorialized in a photo frame just inside their home’s door.
“A black & white reminder every time I walk out the door. Be GRATEFUL,” Sutter wrote over the photo. “For over 21 years, she has calmed your fears, soothed your fragile ego, forgiven all your violations … and loved you. No matter what.”
Kurt Sutter/Instagram
The following day, Sutter shared a snap of his new ink: four Runic letters, one for each finger exposed in a fist, which spelled out “KTLU.”
“Katey’s full name is Catherine Louise. My nickname for her is Katey Lou. KTLU,” Sutter explained in the post. “Anniversary ink was the Runic letters for that.”
Sutter and Sagal wed in 2004 and share a daughter, Esme Louise Sutter. Their professional lives merged with Sons of Anarchy, which Sagal starred in and Sutter created.
Kurt Sutter/Instagram
Last year — as they approached their 20th anniversary — Sutter and Sagal addressed their secret to keeping their marriage in tact while collaborating on the show. In an episode of their joint podcast PIE, the couple shared that they found a way to keep their personal and professional lives separate after running into a few hurdles.
“I think there was something that was not clear to her or she didn’t understand or felt like there wasn’t, you know, things weren’t being addressed,” Sutter said. “I remember clearly in that moment going, oh, this is going to blow us up, right? And so what we learned is we love what we do.”
“In terms of problems or issues or concerns, there is a crew of people who can navigate and take care of those things who are not me,” he added. “And that was sort of our first lesson.”
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From there, the couple started working with a therapist to help them set boundaries in their relationship, Sutter said. That’s how they learned to be coworkers as well as spouses.
“Then I think it became easier and even to the point of enjoyable,” Sutter added.
