Louis Theroux has worked tirelessly for the last two decades, cultivating a career as one of the world's top documentary makers.
But the 52-year-old Oxford graduate's adventures frequently see him spend long periods away from the home he shares with wife Nancy Strang and their three children Albert, 15, Frederick, 13, and six-year-old Walter.
And that, he has admitted, can put a serious amount of pressure on a relationship.
In his 2019 book, Gotta Get Theroux This, he talked about the friction that grew between them as he travelled the world enjoying 'buffet breakfasts and heated swimming pools' while Nancy was at home coping with 'childcare, tantrums and laundry'.
When they first met, Nancy was a high-flying BBC producer he would pass in the corridor on her 'endless outings to smoke cigarettes'.
"I began seeing her around the White City building. And I remember thinking 'wow, she’s beautiful'. She looked sort of like a French chanteuse," he told Clara Amfo on her This City podcast.
"And she was sort of fashionable, but sort of not aggressively stylish. People didn’t really say 'hipster' in those days, but she had a touch of hipster."
Louis plucked up the courage to speak to her at a BBC Christmas party, and in 2003 they moved in together. Their first son arrived in 2006, Frederick followed in 2008 and Walter in 2014 after two heartbreaking miscarriages.
And according to Louis, as their responsibilities increased, the arguments became more frequent, with Nancy feeling like she'd given up everything for the family while Louis' life continued unaltered.
He said: "In certain respects, we communicated better when I was away. With the imposed calm of distance and the interface of the written word, she would express her frustrations at the life she found herself backed into.
“'I’m really lonely, Louis. I feel I’m basically being a single parent. I’m in half a relationship.'
"For my part, I toggled between viewing myself as being unfairly victimised and put upon for making a living and – on the other hand – seeing Nancy’s side and wanting to do my best to support her and not wanting to be the stereotype of the guy whose wife is angry with him all the time."
Adding to their problems, he admitted, was that he 'slightly undervalued' Nancy for loving him, considering anyone who cared about him to have some kind of 'character flaw'.
He was also staunchly against marriage, in part due to his belief that weddings were 'attention-seeking and phoney'. In another part, it was down to his own 'inability to commit'.
So it was against this backdrop that Nancy threw Louis a 40th birthday lunch party at their house in 2010. That morning, Nancy was 'tense' as they tried to get everything done in time. As Louis put the chairs out, his annoyance grew.
"I began feeling put upon," he confessed. "I was three or four chairs in, the sun was beating down, and I began wondering whose idea this party had been. Had I actually wanted a family party for my fortieth birthday? Had Nancy asked me or had she just decided that was what we were doing?"
Not thinking much of it, the throwaway thoughts spilled out of his mouth and an argument ensued. But while to Louis it was just a row, for Nancy it was the 'moment she detached'.
He continued: "I should have known something was up when Nancy was complaining less than usual about my going away. For some reason, she was surprisingly relaxed about the two two-week trips to Israel to film in the Occupied Territories. Then the real warning sign, which completely went over my head, was her saying: 'You know, if you ever want to pursue an outside physical relationship, I would be OK with that.'"
The pair embarked on couples' counselling and after a few months, Louis surprised them both by proposing at the top of a skyscraper in Los Angeles and they married at Marylebone Registry Office on Friday 13 July 2013 - nine years ago today.
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