Ashley Tisdale says having kids highlights the "flaws" in a marriage.

The 40-year-old actress and her husband Christopher French welcomed daughters Jupiter in 2021 and Emerson, 10 months ago but Ashley believes having children makes a couple notice things about each other that "bothers" them.

She told PEOPLE: "We definitely had a really good foundation of years to just learn about each other before having kids, which I think is so important because just kids change everything.

"One of the things I noticed is that it brings out the flaws more in each other, the flaws that you've always known about your person. You're like, 'Oh, it's fine.' But then when you have kids, it is, 'Oh my God.' It bothers you more for some reason.

"But then there's some people I know that literally get married and have kids, and they're really great, too. So, I don't know. Everyone is different."

However, Ashley believes she and Christopher, who dated for eight months before getting engaged in 2013 and tying the knot in 2014, have such a strong marriage because they communicate about everything.

She said: "No matter what in life, things change. I think the biggest thing is to always just try to stay on the same page throughout that."

"Communication is key on everything. That's a big one for us.

"The best thing is that me and Chris, I think, found each other at the right time."