‘Temptation’ Star Jurnee Smollett-Bell on Love, Marriage and Setting Up Her Single Friends (Video)

In Temptation, Tyler Perry‘s latest film, Jurnee Smollett-Bell plays a marriage counselor who is tempted to cheat on her husband by a suave social media mogul who comes to her firm for relationship help.

And while her character has lots of troubles with her marriage, Smollett-Bell in real life has been happily married for two and a half years now to musician Josiah Bell.

“We were best friends before we started even dating, so we had this really great foundation. I think one of the challenging things about any lasting relationship is that you have to be so vulnerable,” she says. “I think as human beings we try to hide our flaws and try to present this perfect person, this person we wish we were to our spouse when that causes so many troubles.”

VIDEO: ‘Temptation’ Star Jurnee Smollett-Bell on Her Wakeup Call from Tyler Perry

Smollett-Bell says that being with someone also in the entertainment industry is both a good and challenging thing.

“I do think it’s easier because for him to understand what I do because he’s an artist,” she says. “But it’s also challenging because our hours are so different.”

For example, on the day of her interview at The Hollywood Reporter’s video lounge, Smollett-Bell got up at 4:45 a.m. to do interviews, and her husband went to bed at 4 a.m. because of his schedule as a musician.

While Smollett-Bell admits that she’s “not an expert yet” at relationships, she does have a plan in the works to help out some of her single friends. 

“I’m going to throw a house party and tell all of my couple friends to bring a single friend, and everyone should just speed date in the middle of the house,” she tells THR.

Temptation opened on theaters on March 29.

Watch THR‘s interview with Smollett-Bell above.