Working partners

YOU'VE heard about the 'Curse of Hello!', but the 'Curse of Hollywood' can deal an equally fatal blow to wedded bliss. Acting couples who star together in a movie have fallen victim to cupid's poisoned arrow in much the same way as those celebrities who displayed their nuptials in Hello! and then ended up in the divorce courts.

The most recent victims of Hollywood's kiss of death are Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, who announced their split following their appearances as a troubled couple in Eyes Wide Shut. The film was not a critical success and some observers suggest this took its toll on the celebrity couple's ten year partnership.

The flop of movie Shanghai Surprise spelled the end of another Tinseltown twinning - that of Madonna and Sean Penn.

But it seems Madonna - or Madge as she has been re-named affectionately by her British husband, film director Guy Ritchie - does not adhere to the notion of 'once bitten, twice shy'.

For the grande madame of pop has just announced that she will be starring in Ritchie's next film, a remake of the Italian love story Swept Away.

Of course, some famous twosomes have managed to keep love alive while working together. The most notable examples are daytime TV darlings Judy Finnigan and Richard Madeley, who are carrying on their successful broadcasting partnership on Channel 4 following their departure from ITV's This Morning.

And it's not just the stars who choose to work with their other halves. Plenty of ordinary people do it too.

To find out the secret of their success, we spoke to four York couples about working together.

The upside of working with your other half is that you get unbeatable teamwork, says John Jones, who has run his interior design business with wife Julie for 18 years.

"The main advantage has to be that you have got two people working for the same goal and who trust each other" says John, who owns York House Interiors in Hull Road.

He says an important rule is to have a clear guide over who does what in the business.

"Julie is very good on ideas and I'm more of the organiser," he admits. "You have got to have demarcation, otherwise you step over into each other's boundary."

The main downside to working together, says John, is that you are in each other's pocket.

"When you get home, you have nowt left to talk about," says John.

However for another York couple, not seeing enough of one another was the main reason why they decided to hook up in business.

Barbara Stickney says she and husband Barry were "like ships that pass in the night" until they took over the running of the Phoenix pub, George Street, York.

Barry adds: "We had worked together before, then I went to work somewhere else and so did she and we came to the conclusion that we were better off working together, so we took a pub again."

Barbara says she can't think of one disadvantage of working with her husband of 12 years. "You see one another more and running the business is something you can do together...and anyway, I'm quite partial to him!"

Barry reveals the secret of their working harmony: "She thinks she's the boss, so I let her be."

As for duties, it's a bit of give and take, says Barry. "I do the cellar work, but I'm showing her how to do it too. I do the books, she does the cleaning...although I do mop the floor sometimes and I always wash up after tea."

Having clear roles in their business life has proved a winning strategy for Barry and Beryl Otley.

Their Get Ahead company, which they run from their farm off the A59 just outside York, embraces several business outlets including Beryl's millinery company Get Ahead Hats.

Barry's main interest is his agriculture advisory company Get Ahead Consultancy.

The couple, who have been married for 40 years, share an office, equipment and admin staff, which has clear financial benefits, but there are others too.

"We work very much as a partnership," says Beryl. "We can be very honest with each other. We know each other's faults and weaknesses and complement each other.

"I do things far too fast, and he tells me to slow down, and by the same token Barry is very steady and I remind him not to miss getting into something.

"He keeps me in touch with modern ideas such as email and websites...all that kind of stuff."

Beryl says she can't think of any disadvantages, bar the fact they might want to talk about something when the other is too busy.

But she says any couple thinking of going into business together should consider a few key points.

"Identify before you start who does what, and have a clear job description," advises Beryl. "Write down what your strengths and weaknesses are - and be honest."

Sam and Maria Rish broke new ground in their nine-year relationship last year when they went into business together.

The result was Rish restaurant in Fossgate, where the couple act as front of house managers.

Mum-of-four Maria admits working with her husband has been much harder than she imagined.

"Even when you are in business with somebody you love there are still frustrations and arguments.

"We have to be very careful not to take it home and not to make it personal, to remember that it's to do with the restaurant and not us as a couple."

But Maria has no regrets, and the move has one huge bonus: she gets to see lots more of Sam, who used to work very long hours in his previous job as a restaurant manager.

"I don't feel shut out of his world like I used to when he worked 60 hours a week," she admits.

"I don't get fed up now because we like to see each other.

"In fact, the less we see each other the worse we get on."