Felicity Huffman was afraid to marry husband William H. Macy.
The 52-year-old actress admitted as much in an interview with the Tribune Live. Huffman and Macy dated on and off for 15 years before they wed, and the star said she feared being married would cause her to lose her sense of self.
"I was so scared of marriage that I thought I would've preferred to step in front of a bus," she confessed. "Bill Macy asked me to marry him several times over several years. And I was finally smart enough to go: 'I'm going to marry this guy or really lose him for good.'"
"I thought I'd disappear," she reflected of her identity as an individual. "Men's stock when they get married goes up. Women's stock goes down. Another thing, 60 percent of first marriages fail, 80 percent of second marriages fail."
Huffman said she learned to embrace the "comfort" and "safety" of a relationship built on trust. She and the 64-year-old actor wed in September 1997, and have two daughters together, 15-year-old Sophia and 12-year-old Georgia.
Huffman is best known for portraying Lynette Scavo on ABC drama Desperate Housewives, and recently appeared with Macy in Jennifer Aniston-starring Cake. The actress will portray Barb Hanlon on upcoming ABC series American Crime.