Terry Crews Reveals How He and His Wife of 36 Years Decided to Be 'Stronger Together' After Their Relationship Was 'Over' (Exclusive)

Terry Crews and his wife Rebecca King-Crews know a little something about what it takes to make a relationship work.

Terry, 56, just celebrated his 35th anniversary with his wife, and in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE at Media Row in New Orleans, the actor revealed how he and Rebecca, 59, continue to make things work — and it's not without some bumps in the road.

"Me and my wife have been married 36 years and, at year 20 though, it was over. And we totally rebuilt our relationship," Terry says. "And we decided we were going to be stronger together. It was a decision that we decided to make."

"A lot of times, people feel like love is about feelings — it's work. It's work. It's really work. You have to get better at it, it's a skill," he continues. "There's a lot of things I had to relearn."

He and Rebecca's reconciliation despite their challenges — and their rededication to making their marriage work — is an "amazing thing," Terry says. "I think we'll always be a testament to the fact that you can, if you both are in [it], that you can decide to [make it work]."

"It's wild because there was a point when, when I wanted to quit, she didn't want to, and then when she wanted to quit, I didn't want to," he continues. "And I was just glad we didn't want to quit at the same time."

With Valentine's Day approaching, the America's Got Talent host also reveals what he's planning for Rebecca, who he wed in 1989 and shares five children with: Naomi, 36, Azriél, 34, Tera, 26, Winnie, 22, and Isiah, 19.

Given how long they've been together, Terry says he and his wife have "done almost all the things" to celebrate the romantic holiday. Now, "everything has to be hand-done."

"I truly believe in a homemade meal that I cook, that I do, I set the table," he says. "It's about the human touch. It's about the effort."

He's not looking for anything in return though. "Just her. I don't need anything. Literally, if she's there, that's all I need — I'm serious."

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This summer, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine alum and his wife spoke to PEOPLE about the "key" to their marriage lasting, as Terry admitted, "A lot of things that I did wrong early in our marriage didn't involve love. It involved control."

He's since learned that "you can't love someone and control them at the same time," a realization that has "been the key" for his marriage.

"My advice is that the key principle in any relationship is forgiveness," Rebecca said. "You cannot hold grudges and stay together."