Dallas star Patrick Duffy, 76, and Linda Purl share their formula for happy relationship

Patrick Duffy and Linda Purl, two television favorites from the 1970s and 1980s, say their shared approach to movement, laughter, and a love of nature has helped them thrive both on and off-screen.

Duffy, 76, who became a household name on Dallas as Bobby Ewing, and Purl, 69, remembered by many for her role on Happy Days, have been partners since 2020.

The couple now costars in the new film Hollywood Grit, where they play co-owners of a jazz club.

Ahead of the release, the pair opened up about the routines that keep them feeling energized.

Duffy, who underwent hip replacements, admitted he never expected to find himself scaling mountains just days after surgery.

"I've had both hips replaced and quite literally about two days after I would get home, which was three days after having the hip replaced, I would be on the mountainside climbing a mountain with her, with the doctor's permission," Duffy told Daily Mail.

He explained that when his doctor told him to "get out and walk," he imagined a quiet stroll around the block.

"No, no, no. We get in the car, we go to the base of a mountain and we get out and she encourages me to the extent."

Purl's drive, he added, is impossible to miss.

"Linda is reticent to say how much workout that she does do. She cannot sit still. Just before this, she was out climbing a mountain this morning. Wow."

Duffy joked about their contrasting styles, "I was happily sitting and she was happily traversing up the mountainside or she swims laps in the pool. She's always working, always moving, always doing something physically. And it shows, it definitely shows for a woman who's pushing 90, she looks great!"

Purl, for her part, described physical activity as her source of happiness.

"I find it's my joy. It's where certainly some healthy percentage of my joy is a connection to nature. I like to ski. I like to hike or bike ride. We're in LA now, so there are fire trails everywhere and try to take advantage of those."

She added that even on days she isn't motivated, she commits to going.

"I've never, not once been sorry that I did do the class or did hit a hill or something."

Duffy says Purl has reshaped his fitness outlook.

Once a self-described "gym rat," he now focuses more on cardio and outdoor activity. "I want to maintain the mutual lifestyle of the great outdoors with her. So she's been a great influence on me in that respect."

Both make hydration a priority, carrying water bottles daily. For Duffy, it's had an unexpected benefit: drinking more water means drinking less alcohol.

Their final key, Purl said, is humor.

"We laugh a lot. We just do," she said, pointing to comedian George Burns as an example of the power of laughter in long life. "So I think it was, who knows, genes, luck, resilience, but laughter. So that's just something that's a great part of our life."