Sting and trudie styler married 1992

Sting and trudie styler married 1992, After almost 30 years together, one of rock’s most famous couple isn’t afraid to spice things up. Read the interview here and then check out the steamy pictures from the February photo shoot.

By LAURA BROWN
Sting and Trudie Styler are nursing a double gin and a vodka tonic, respectively, after spending the day cavorting sexily for photographer Terry Richardson. But they really should be having a cigarette. In a cheeky nod to the couple's boudoir infamy, Sting says, "That was like tantric filmmaking."

If anyone can handle a bit of raciness, Sting and Styler can. Married for 18 years, together almost 30, and parents to a Brady Bunch--like six children, they still plan exotic hotel rendezvous and toss around saucy innuendo as casually as if they were talking about the weather.

That's the secret to romance, they say: a sense of occasion. "We treat every day as it comes," Sting explains. "Relationships aren't easy, and I don't think they're particularly natural, but we're lucky because we actually like each other. We love each other--that's a given--but Trudie lights my world up when she comes into a room. I don't take her for granted." How so? "Well," he pauses, while Styler pops on his Lanvin fedora, "I could lose her. He'd have to be very rich and very handsome, but ..."

While Sting and Styler have been together a record amount of time in celebrity years--they were married in 1992--weeks can go by when they don't see each other. "It's important to have frank discussions about what the other wants," Styler says. "To be in a relationship that is like a little lifetime, that's a challenge."

Sting has spent his storied career touring the world, currently on the last leg of his Symphonicity tour, in which he performs his hits with a full orchestra. Styler has produced a number of films and documentaries but is now returning to her first love, acting. She says, "It's exciting. I've said, 'Okay, producing: back burner. Actor and director: front."

So, when they do reunite, it's quite something. "We don't get bored," Styler says. "Being apart juices the relationship," Sting explains. "When we see each other, it's romance. I don't think pedestrian sex is very interesting. There's a playfulness we have; I like the theater of sex. I like to look good. I like her to dress up. I like to dress her up." What's the most romantic thing they've ever done for each other? "Romantic? We like tawdry."

In case there is any ambiguity, Sting, 59, and Styler, 57, have still got it, thanks very much. Each does yoga daily (Styler is releasing her latest instructional DVD for Gaiam, Weight Loss Yoga, in March), and they are proof that sun salutations keep one more than limber. Styler's legs look like those of a 20-year-old Rockette, while Sting's toned torso is giving off a little bit of Baryshnikov.

And why not look good when you're a famous rock star and his famous actress-producer-environmentalist-yogini wife? "We like fashion," Sting says, wrapped in a Rick Owens coat, while Styler wears an artfully ripped Balmain T-shirt and Yohji Yamamoto coat. "We enjoy it; it's fun. We like going to shows. You know, Trudie could actually buy the United States out of recession if I let her. We're holding that back as a last resort."

Of their kids--Fuschia Kate and Joe, from Sting's marriage to actress Frances Tomelty, and Mickey, Jake, Coco, and Giacomo--he says, "No one's sitting around waiting for the trust fund to kick in because there isn't one. I told them, 'There's no money left. Forget it.'" Wry smile. "We've spent the fucking lot."

While Sting and Styler like the good life, they like to get things done too. The Rainforest Fund, founded after the couple went on their first trip to the Amazon in the late '80s, is now 21 years old. "We don't want to get on a soapbox and preach about how everything's going to shit," Sting explains, "but we have a very established infrastructure, people in the field, programs we finance. In order to raise those funds, we put on entertainment, which is what we do."

The fund's benefit concert, held every two years, is entertainment on an epic scale. The last, in May, saw Lady Gaga duet with Elton John. Sting, in drag, belted one out with Shirley Bassey. "That was my first time in drag," Sting notes. "I have a new respect for women." ("He eschewed the heels," Styler adds. "He took a look at them and thought he wouldn't make it across the stage.") But showmanship pays: Since its inception, the organization has raised more than $28 million for conservation.

Onstage and off, Sting and Styler give new meaning to hosts with the most. Every summer, at their estate and vineyard in Tuscany, Il Palagio, they host a retreat for writers, scientists, and thinkers of all flavors. "It was my idea, because I'm a very curious person," Styler explains. Last year, Bob Geldof, environmentalist Zac Goldsmith, author Khaled Hosseini, Napster cofounder Sean Parker ("He was reading the Social Network script, saying, 'They don't make me sound very nice'"), and others gathered to make presentations and throw around ideas. "Then," Styler laughs, "you can have as much wine as you want."

Both appreciate the art of living. "We're epicureans; we believe in the good life," Sting says, polishing off his gin. Styler adds, "Eating's pretty major; we have feasts at our house." Which, of course, prompts a question: What is their greatest indulgence?

Sting: "Trudie."

Styler: "Sting."

"Romantic? We like TAWDRY."

"I could lose her. He'd have to be VERY RICH and very handsome, but ..."

"I don't think pedestrian sex is very interesting. ... I like the THEATER of sex. I like to look good. I like her to dress up. I like to DRESS her up."

Read more: Sting and Trudie Styler Interview - Quotes from Sting and Trudie Styler - Harper's BAZAAR
Follow us: @harpersbazaarus on Twitter | HarpersBazaar on Facebook
Visit us at HarpersBAZAAR.com