With a thriving career in the music industry, it’s remarkable how Gospel legend CeCe Winans and the love of her life, Alvin Love II has sustained their union for over four decades.
Both celebrated 41 years of marriage on June 23, 2025. They had met through her late brother Ronald when the Winans was just 17 years old. The Come Jesus Come and Goodness of God singer recently gave fans some insight into the keys to a lasting marriage in a YouTube Shorts video and during a Better Together interview on TBN.
The multiple Grammy Award-winner opened up about the spiritual foundation that has kept her marriage strong, along with the practical wisdom she now shares with young couples.
For Winans, the secret to marital longevity isn’t found in self-help books or couples therapy alone—it’s something much deeper.
“We would have been divorced a long time ago if Jesus was not the center of our marriage,” she reflected with characteristic honesty. This is not just a spiritual platitude—it’s a lived reality that has shaped how she approaches conflict and growth in her relationship.
Winans highlighted a pattern familiar to many married couples: the tendency to focus on a spouse’s faults rather than examining one’s own heart.
“Every time I submit to Jesus, He always tells me about me,” she shared. “I’ll go to Jesus to talk about Alvin, and the Lord is like, ‘No, it’s you. It’s you again.’ I’m like, ‘No, it couldn’t be me again. I know I’m right!’”
This kind of divine redirection, she believes, has been crucial to the success of their marriage. It requires both partners to submit not just to each other, but to a higher authority—God—who provides clarity and perspective beyond individual viewpoints.
Winans doesn’t shy away from discussing the real challenges marriages face. She spoke candidly about the spiritual warfare she believes targets married couples, stating:
“The enemy has released an attack over marriages because marriage reflects God’s glory.”
From her perspective, this elevates marriage beyond mere personal fulfillment to something with cosmic significance.
“It’s not even about you and what you feel,” she explained. “Sometimes we make marriage so shallow. It’s like—no, your marriage matters to God.”
With this understanding, trials in marriage become battles worth fighting—not reasons to walk away.
“All of heaven is on your side when you choose to love God’s way,” she said.
One of the most practical insights Winans offered was about shifting from an individual mindset to a team mentality. She noted that friction in marriage often arises when partners begin to operate as separate entities rather than as a united front.
“We had to really say to each other, ‘Hey, we’re on the same team,’” she explained. “We’re not fighting against each other—we’re on the same team. We’re fighting for our marriage, for our children, for our community—and we’re doing it together.”
This team approach, she noted, requires daily decisions that might feel unfair or difficult in the moment but serve the greater good of unity. It’s about taking “one for the team” and understanding that individual sacrifices contribute to collective success.
There was a time, Winans admitted, when divorce seemed like an option. During one particularly difficult season, she recalls the word “divorce” coming out of her mouth. In that moment, however, she felt the Holy Spirit ask her a piercing question:
“What’s most important—My will, or your feelings?”
Choosing to prioritize God’s will over her emotions, she believes, enabled her children to grow up in a home with both parents present. But the decision wasn’t just about her immediate family—it was about legacy.
“When you take one for the team, you’re taking one for the neighborhood, for the community,” she said.
To Winans, marriage isn’t merely a personal achievement—it’s a ministry.
“The bond of marriage is so beautiful. It’s so powerful. It’s such an incredible ministry—and you don’t have to be on a stage,” she said.
That ministry extends to children and communities, creating ripple effects far beyond the couple themselves.
Her approach to marriage combines deep spiritual conviction with practical, daily choices. She emphasizes the importance of actively fighting for your relationship:
“You have to fight for it daily. You have to declare it. You have to resist the forces trying to tear it apart.”
Her advice extends beyond married couples.
“Even in your friendships, you can practice fighting for other people,” she said. “The loyalty, the idea of—‘I’m not going to fight against you, I’m going to fight for you.’”
What emerges from Winans’ perspective is a powerful view of marriage as both deeply personal and widely impactful. Individual marriages matter—not just to the couple involved—but to children, communities, and future generations. Understanding this bigger picture provides motivation to persevere and grow, even when it’s hard.
“God created our marriage to be successful,” Winans affirms. “He didn’t create it so we could fail. But He doesn’t do our part—we have to do our part.”
For CeCe Winans, “our part” involves daily surrender to God’s will, a commitment to fight for each other instead of against each other, and the belief that marriage is a form of ministry—one that reaches far beyond the four walls of any home.
In a culture where marriages often falter and divorce rates remain high, Winans offers both hope and practical wisdom. Her 41-year journey is a living testimony to the power of faith, teamwork, and the daily choice to love God’s way.