United Kingdom, Feb. 9 -- Rick Astley believes the secret to his happy marriage is having "respect" for each other.

The 60-year-old pop star has been with his wife Lene Bausager - the mother of his grown-up daughter Emilie - since 1989 and he's insisted "respect" is just as important as love in a relationship.

He told The Telegraph newspaper: "We've been married for 13 years but we've known each other since 1987 and been together since 1989.

"A lot of a relationship comes down to respect. Respect is possibly even a bigger word than love - you can love someone, but if you don't respect them, you won't stay with them."

The couple currently live in Surrey, England but Astley admitted they are considering moving further into the countrysi...