Black Panther star Angela Bassett has a lot to celebrate.

In addition to being a member of the cast of what is currently one of the hottest films in the world, the Academy Award-nominated What’s Love Got To Do with It star is not being shy about telling the world how wonderful her man is.

When asked how they’ve successfully kept their marriage alive despite being actors in Hollywood, Bassett had this to say:

“I don’t keep count!” she tells PEOPLE Editor-in-Chief Jess Cagle in the latest episode of The Jess Cagle Interview. “I hope that means I stay in the moment.”

The actress whose latest role has her portraying Ramonda, Black Panther’s mother and the queen of Wakanda, said the couple’s love wasn’t completely blissful from the start. In fact, the 59-year-old actress said she met Vance, 57, in drama school when he had a girlfriend.

“He had a beautiful, beautiful girlfriend at the time, who was also in drama school with us,” Bassett remembers. “So maybe about 14 years later, our paths crossed here in Los Angeles. And I was single, he was single. And I had such an appreciation for him over those years—of his consistency, how he treated other people, of what a supporter he is, what a connector of people and ideas he is, how passionate he is.”

Well, we know how this story turned out. Congrats to the lovely couple on having staying power in love!