Helen Gurley Brown's Secrets to a Successful Marriage

After 50 years of marriage, Helen Gurley Brown's husband, David Brown, died yesterday. While he was a notable writer, editor, and producer, his toughest, most rewarding job may have been his successful marriage to the woman who brought sex to the masses.

Despite the make-yourself populism Helen peddled to women each month in Cosmo, she credited her success to her husband in 2008, saying, "I owe him everything. I wouldn't be who I am or achieved what I did."

Of course, what made them each successful was not the other but their partnership. David convinced Helen to write Sex and the Single Girl; he published Cosmo for the first few years while she edited it. It was a marriage of collaboration and mutual respect, so let's look at some of Helen's secrets for making it work.

• Choose wisely: "Marry a decent, good, kind person who will cherish you."
• Always say yes to sex: "If only one of you is in the mood, do it. Even if sex isn’t great every time, it’s a unique form of communication and togetherness that can help you stay together with a good degree of contentment."
• Depend on each other: "Marriage is insurance for the worst years of your life. During your best years you don't need a husband."
• Communicate, maniacally: "If you listen to your mate maniacally well, you can’t go wrong."
• Except when it comes to orgasms: "There's enough trouble having a man in your life without saying, 'Look, I didn't have an orgasm last night.'"