Inside Snoop Dogg's 27-year marriage to high school sweetheart Shante Broadus

Snoop Dogg has nothing but praise for his wife of 27 years, Shante Broadus .

The 52-year-old rapper has been happily married to his childhood sweetheart since 1997 after they met at Long Beach's Polytechnic High School.

Explaining why they are so compatible, Snoop said: "She understands me. She's a great mother, a tremendous grandmother, an excellent wife and a great friend.

"She knows how to push all of my buttons to make me act a [expletive] fool or to make me act cool, and I love it," he added to People .

Despite finding their 'person' in each other, their long-lasting union hasn't gone without its ups and downs.

Snoop and Shante briefly split in 2004 before rekindling their relationship. To reaffirm their love to each other, they decided to renew their vows in 2008.

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"In relationships like this, it's a rocky road in the beginning because success is new to both," he explained.

Snoop admits that in the early days, there were parts of his life he didn't want his wife involved with, but he soon learned his lesson.

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He said he felt like, "'Some things I want you to be a part of some things I don't want you to be a part of to protect you.' But not knowing that she should have been there the whole way to protect [me]."

He continued: "You learn as time goes by, 'OK, you are in control. You run this, you run that, because I make bad decisions.' The good to my bad is her."

Praising his wife for teaching him "patience", Snoop added: "Over the years she's grown with me to know what I do and how I do it and to give me the space to do it.

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"The things that she helped me with is patience, understanding what family is, making time for family and not making excuses."

It isn't just Shante who brings something to their relationship, Snoop admits he is a "loving, caring, providing husband".

He explained: "My wife ain't never worked a day in her life, and that's what I love is that I'm in a position of where you don't have to work. I am the work, and you are my backbone."

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Snoop knows the reason he has been married for so long is because he and Shante "are meant to be together".

"How do I stay married for so long? I've got a strong wife with a strong backbone and a good heart – she's loving and she's caring and we are meant to be together," he stated.

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"When we said we'd marry, we married 'til death do us part," he added. "Ain't that what it say? Not 'til arguments do us part or fighting or finances, but till death do us part."

Sharing his advice for marital bliss, Snoop said: "Find out what your companion loves the most and concentrate on doing it the most. That's real love."

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Snoop and Shante share three children, sons Corde, 30, and Cordell, 27, as well as daughter Cori, 25, and multiple grandchildren, and as long as they are all happy, so is Snoop.

"Family is everything," he said. "What makes me the happiest in my life right now is for my wife to be happy, and everybody in my family to be healthy, and to be on one accord, which is love."