Tamera Mowry on the 'Easier' Aspects and 'Harder' Challenges of 13-Year Marriage with Husband Adam Housley (Exclusive)

The actress tells PEOPLE the secret behind her lasting marriage to Adam Housley

After more than a decade of marriage — and nearly two decades together — Tamera Mowry and her husband have a good handle on their relationship.

The actress, 45, has been married to Adam Housley since 2011, and she tells PEOPLE that in their 13 years of marriage, a lot of things have gotten easier — but new challenges continue to arise.

"What's gotten easier is that we truly know each other, so we can communicate with our eyes closed," she says at the 49th Annual Gracie Awards in Beverly Hills on May 21. "I can sense when something's off, even though he may not be saying it. So we communicate verbally, but also non-verbally, if that makes sense."

As for what's gotten "harder," Mowry admits that her children "are getting older," and it was "easier" when they were little, "because you are parenting the mind."

"You have to make sure, especially in this day and age, that their mental health is good, because they're faced with so many things that we weren't faced with," she says of children, Aden, 11, and Ariah, 8.

Related: Tamera Mowry Enjoys Mother's Day with Her Two Kids Who 'Made Me a Momma': 'Forever Grateful'

As long as she has Housley, 52, by her side, the Sister, Sister star says she feels in control.

"I believe that I have an amazing partner in my husband, and also, I have a wonderful village, so I have faith that we've got this," she shares.

Days earlier, on May 16, Mowry and Housley celebrated their anniversary, and the actress shared a lovely tribute in her husband's honor on Instagram as she shared a carousel of photos from their wedding.

"To know you is to love you and I’m so grateful I said Yes!" she began the caption. "My love for you is deeper than when we said, 'I do.' Which I didn’t know was even possible. Is our marriage perfect? Absolutely not. But what does ring true is that I have married the love of my life 💍 You are more than just a husband and father. You are my best friend! I couldn’t imagine having it any other way. You’re still the ONE! Man, I gotta good one! Love you to infinity and beyond! ♾️."

Housley commented on the post, "Love you more than stars in the sky. Here’s to 40 more years filled with our kids, adventure, family, fun and friends."

Related: From 'Sister, Sister' to Motherhood: See Tia & Tamera Mowry Through the Years

He also shared his own post, calling Mowry "the love of my life."

"Now with two amazing kids and so much ahead, there is nobody I’d rather spend it with in the world," the former journalist wrote in the lengthy caption. "Tamera I love you every minute of every day…even when you leave the cabinets open and the water running. ;) Here’s to 40 more years together with my best friend and amazing wife."

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Mowry met Housley when she was a student at Pepperdine University in the early 2000s after a professor introduced them. He proposed in 2011 after they'd been together for six years, and they wed that same year in a "beautiful" ceremony in Napa, California, she told PEOPLE at the time.

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