Couple-Care is a captivating ESSENCE.com series highlighting inspiring partnerships in our community. Each pair discusses how “couple-care” sustains their relationship, as well as the self-care lessons they’ve learned from each other. In this print iteration of the column, “Rooted in Love,” three aspirational duos—Will & Heather Packer, Wes & Dawn Moore and DeWanna Bonner & Alyssa Thomas—pull back the curtain on what keeps their love strong.
For Will and Heather Packer, the adage “Work hard, play harder” isn’t just a saying; it’s a lifestyle. Will is a producer, known for such films as Takers, Obsessed and, more recently, Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist. Heather’s expertise in marketing and consumer psychology fuels their flourishing enterprise—which includes the brand they cofounded, the Packer Family Foundation. Their daily lives are an endless whirlwind of meetings and dazzling red-carpet appearances, recently punctuated by their exciting new roles as minority owners of the Atlanta Falcons. Needless to say, they are both constantly on the go.
The couple, together for 15 years, shares a serendipitous love story that’s intertwined with the legacy of the ESSENCE Festival of Culture. Their fateful meeting in New Orleans in 2009 not only sparked their connection but also inspired Will’s NAACP Image Award–winning film Girls Trip. As Will promoted Takers that year, Heather’s company sponsored a riverboat cruise for Black actors attending the festival. On board the Steamboat Natchez, the two struck up a conversation that flowed like the river itself, lasting for hours and marking the beginning of their journey together. “We were both supposed to be on the boat, because that is where we were going to meet our soulmate,” Will says of the memory. “We were both destined to be on that boat.”
Four years later, Will proposed on the main stage at the ESSENCE Festival—and the Packers have been joined at the hip ever since. Like yin and yang, the two are polar opposites—yet they fit together like perfect puzzle pieces, complementing each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
The Packers seem to have found the fountain of youth. It’s not just Heather’s introduction of retinol to Will’s skin care routine that keeps him looking youthful; it’s their knack for keeping the music playing—a metaphor for embracing life to the fullest. They radiate a timeless energy and zest that keeps them vibrant and connected, whether they’re walking the red carpet or savoring the quiet beauty of everyday moments away from the spotlight.
“We’re both in our early 50s now,” Will says. “So you get to a certain age, you gotta start thinking about that next phase, right? Everybody gets older. Your body starts to deteriorate and break down—but you want to live the best version of yourself in that next stage of life with your partner, with the person that you love.”
Below, Will and Heather dish on their self-care routines, the power of couple-care and their secrets to lasting love.
Their favorite couple-care memory
Heather: We have a lot of small, spontaneous moments—like, last night I was planning to cook dinner, and it was the most beautiful sunset. And he said, “You know what? Stop cooking. Let’s hop on the Jet Ski and go out and watch the sunset.” And I’m like, “Done!” We hopped on the Jet Ski, went out and just literally sat in the water, out in the Gulf—and watched the sunset. It was absolutely beautiful.
Their individual self-care routines
Heather: I like to hike, and I love being one with nature—so we support each other’s personal time, because that personal growth is important. I enjoy getting in the kitchen and experimenting with recipes. And he always appreciates my cooking. I also like to meditate, and that’s something that obviously I do alone. Or read. I also like my bath time.
Will: I’m a runner, so I’ll get out and do that. I like to run and have my quiet time—like just out, on the trails, in the parks and along the roads. I like biking and working out—that is something that I do for self-care. It is usually about finding ways to mentally unplug. I’m also a big, avid sports fan. We both are. We both love football.
Their couple-care routine
Heather: We get massages together. We have a standing massage appointment here at the house.
Health is wealth. When you’re pouring into yourselves, you’re pouring into each other. It’s a positive cycle.”
—will packer
The self-care lessons they’ve learned from each other
Will: You got me started on facial cleansing. I was not a big wash-your-face guy—it just wasn’t my thing. So my face was filthy till I met my wife! Now she has me on a skin care regimen. So my side of the shower looks like an incredibly attentive woman’s side of the shower. I got a bunch of little bottles and oils and creams, and yeah, I learned—“You do this in this order,” and stuff like that.
Heather: He’s dedicated to getting up and working out, methodically, like every day or five days a week. He’s very, very disciplined in that. I am not as disciplined as he is when it comes to that. I work out—but not like him. So that pushes me. It’s hard for me to, you know, watch him get up and go to the gym and work out every morning and not do something myself. So he gives me that energy and inspires that dedication to my physical health.
The products they’ve introduced to each other
Heather: Ole Henriksen is one of my favorite brands of facial products. He doesn’t know. I just put it in there.
Will: There’s a bunch of bottles that I’m told to use, and she tells me exactly how to use them. You’d have to ask her the names.
Why couple-care is so important to their relationship
Will: Health is wealth. When you’re pouring into yourselves, you’re also pouring into each other. Because we have a thing that we say: that we keep the other one happy. If I keep her happy, right—
Heather: And I keep him happy—
Will: —then she is going to make sure I’m happy. If I make sure she’s happy, if I have a happy partner, she is going to make sure that I’m happy. And vice versa. And so it means—when you talk about couple-care, it means that you’ve got to pour into your partner, and they can then pour into you. Because if she’s empty, not feeling good, not healthy, she can’t do anything for me. She’s got to make sure she’s good first. So I gotta do what I can to try to support her and get her right. And then she’s going to do the exact same thing for me. It becomes a positive cycle of mutual care.
