The couple—who helped spark national autism conversations decades ago—open up about pushing each other to get care.
Long before celebrities were using social platforms to talk openly about health, Holly Robinson Peete and Rodney Peete were already doing it the hard way. More than 20 years ago, they became two of the first public figures to share their family’s experience with autism—writing books, making documentaries, and stepping into advocacy at a time when almost no one in entertainment was speaking about it. Now, three decades into marriage, the couple has found themselves navigating a new and surprisingly shared health conversation: realizing they were both dealing with the same bladder symptoms—symptoms they had each been quietly dismissing.
For Holly, now 61, the signs showed up first—and like many women, she chalked them up to menopause. Rodney, 59, had the opposite pattern: he brushed off everything. The former NFL quarterback spent years playing through injuries, so used to tolerating pain that Holly once filmed him “walking like a cowboy,” only for them to learn he needed a knee replacement.
This year, the pair is teaming up as ambassadors for Sumitomo Pharma America’s Time to Go campaign, which aims to break the stigma around overactive bladder (OAB) and encourage people to speak up about symptoms and ask about treatment options. In 2024, the FDA approved GEMTESA—a drug they both use for their symptoms—for men with OAB who are also being treated for BPH. The Peetes spoke with The Healthy about why health has become their biggest marriage argument, how their day-to-day lives changed after finally seeking care, and what they’ve learned after thirty years of doing life—and health—together.
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The Healthy: Overactive bladder and prostate health are things people rarely talk about openly. What made you both feel comfortable sharing your story publicly?
Holly Robinson Peete: About four years ago, I was hanging out with girlfriends, and we were talking about health and wellness. I mentioned how often I had to go, all the time, and I said, “Yeah, that’s just menopause.” One of my girlfriends said, “No, no—this might be overactive bladder.” I had never heard of it. I went to the doctor, got the diagnosis, and started using Gemtesa. It really helped alleviate my symptoms.
In the meantime, I noticed Rodney had the same symptoms. A lot of men—especially Black men—don’t like to go [to the doctor]. They have fear, they mistrust the doctor, or they just don’t go. It took some effort, but he finally did.
When he got diagnosed, they suggested the same medication, and we’ve both had our symptoms alleviated. Rodney does a live radio show for three hours—he has to sit there—and now it’s not stressful. Our everyday lives have improved as the symptoms have improved.
The Healthy: What were those conversations like for you as a couple?
Rodney Peete: It’s not always an easy conversation. When you’re over 50, the big thing that comes up is prostate health. You have to get checked. But it’s so beneficial to have someone in your life who keeps you in check. For me, that’s Holly. She makes sure I stay on top of my health because so many things are preventable if you get ahead of them. My friends and I—men my age—we’d even joke at dinner about who goes to the bathroom the most. We’d bet on it!
The Healthy: What helped you have a productive conversation about not ignoring these things?
Rodney Peete: What helped me was seeing Holly go through it. You think it’s a male thing or a female thing, but symptoms can overlap. She was being treated, and she said, “You’re having the same symptoms.” I’ve always been the guy who thought I could just deal with pain. If I didn’t think it was serious, I wouldn’t go to the doctor. After I retired from football, I had a knee issue for years. Holly finally put her foot down—she filmed me walking like a cowboy and said, “This is how you walk.” I was embarrassed. I got my knee replaced, and it was the best thing I’ve done. Now I walk around with no pain.
The Healthy: You’ve been married 30 years. How has prioritizing health changed the way you approach aging and longevity as a couple?
Holly Robinson Peete: Some of our biggest arguments are about health. People say couples fight about money, but for us, it’s health. Rodney is a football player who never complained. He’d come home with his thumb in a sling and say it was just a sprain—then I’d read in the paper he was out two weeks with a broken thumb! He always downplayed pain because it was tied to his career. When he retired, I tried to break him out of that: “You don’t have to get back in the game anymore. But you do have to live life.”
The Healthy: What specific nutrition or fitness habits have made the biggest difference?
Holly Robinson Peete: He goes to Pilates several times a week and loves it. Stretching and flexibility have been great for him. I’m focusing on bone density, so I’ve been doing a lot of Power Plate exercises. I need to get better with resistance training because that really helps. But those are the two main things we’re doing.
The Healthy: What’s a self-care ritual each of you refuses to skip, no matter how busy life gets?
Holly Robinson Peete: Taking my makeup off at night—I do not skip that. The few times I did, I woke up looking like the surface of planet Jupiter. My face does not like makeup after a certain time. I cannot fly with makeup on. I’ll board looking one way, and by the time I land, the flight attendant is like, “Ma’am: who are you?” And I’m obsessed with face ice baths. I used to just stick my face in a bowl of ice, but now I have this ergonomically shaped bowl—basically still just a bowl—with a little scuba-like piece for your mouth so you can breathe and stay under longer.
The Healthy: Shaquille O’Neal recently told us he wakes up every day and sticks his head in a bowl of ice.
Holly Robinson Peete: It’s really helpful. It reduces inflammation, wakes you up—everything. It’s not easy.
The Healthy: What projects should we have on our radar?
Holly Robinson Peete: We have some projects we’re pitching that we’re not quite ready to talk about yet. But we’ve learned we work well together. The reviews are in—people seem to like us as a team. So we’re developing more projects together now.
The Healthy: More celebrities are speaking openly about health issues that were formerly private. What made you want to add your voice to that movement?
Holly Robinson Peete: Well, 20 to 25 years ago, we started talking publicly about autism in our family—before almost anyone in entertainment was. Maybe two NFL quarterbacks were speaking about it, but as far as being active in advocacy and sharing our story, we were very early. It wasn’t easy to talk about our son at first; Rodney didn’t want him to be a “poster child.” But we saw how much sharing helped other people. To this day, parents of kids the same age as ours tell us they followed our story because they didn’t see anyone else talking about it.
We wrote the books. We made the documentaries. We’ve always been that couple.
Rodney Peete: People think celebrities—or even us—have perfect lives. And we don’t. When you’re vulnerable, it resonates. People realize they’re not the only ones. Same with [overactive bladder]—men need to know they’re not alone, and talking about it doesn’t make you any less macho. It’s a health issue that many people deal with.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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