Cindy Crawford works — and plays — well with husband Rande Gerber.
Married for 25 years, the supermodel-entrepreneur, 58, admits she and her husband are “very different” in how they work, but it works!
Now, together with him, she is launching Casamigas Jalepeño Tequila, the newest addition to the Casamigos brand cofounded by Gerber, 62, George Clooney and Mike Meldman.
Courtesy Cindy Crawford & Rande Gerber
“We definitely have our lanes. This is interesting because, technically, I’m actually working for Rande on this one,” Crawford tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “Even though I’ve been around the whole time, Rande is really the marketing genius behind Casamigos and he understands the brand, I think, better than anyone.”
The idea for their newest tequila began “before the pandemic,” says Crawford. “We were away for the summer sitting on our dock at our house in Canada, and we were like, ‘We should do a jalapeño…’ I always like a skinny spicy or just spicy [margarita] so this just felt organic.”
For more of Crawford’s exclusive interview, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE on newsstands Friday
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As for secrets to their happy marriage, Crawford says there are two key points. “First of all, Rande and I were friends first. Definitely, we had chemistry, but we had a friendship, and I think that that is a great foundation to build a marriage on because even when you’re going through stressful times, the way you treat a good friend is with respect and understanding and compassion,” she says. “I feel like that’s helped us weather 25 years and some storms.”
Secondly: “We don’t fight ugly. I think sometimes people say things in the heat of the moment that are hard to take back, and we don’t really do that,” Crawford adds. “We try to fight about just what we’re fighting about and not character assassinate each other.”
Now the empty-nesters (they share kids Presley, 24, and Kaia, 22) are focused on their future — and spending quality time together.
“We have this whole new chapter in our life where our kids are basically launched and it’s good if you still like each other at the end of all that, but you also have to recommit to, ‘Okay, what’s this chapter of our life look like?'” Crawford explains.
“I think it can be really exciting, but it does have to be a conscious effort. It would be really hard if one person just wanted to play golf every day and the other person wanted to travel the world. I think you do have to have those ongoing conversations as relationships evolve and grow and change.”
The couple have been spending time in Florida and “trying out new things. We raised our kids in Malibu, and now that they’re gone, it’s a little like we’re rattling around in this big house and the ghosts of the kids are everywhere,” Crawford says. “Every room I walk in, I’m like, ‘Oh, remember when they played Play-Doh there? Remember when we got the dog?'”
On a typical day, the two will hit the gym together, grab lunch, work a bit and then it’s dinner with friends. “Sometimes we’re just jam-packed with work, and then other times we’re dipping our toe in retired life,” she says. “I think we’d drive each other crazy and ourselves crazy if we didn’t work at all, but we’re lucky we love what we do.”