“It’s all about communication and giving each other time to go do the things that we’re passionate about,” the country star tells PEOPLE of his marriage

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the country star, 44, opened up about his 14-year-long marriage to wife Caroline, the secrets on how they make it work, and why quarantine has made their relationship stronger than ever.

“Obviously quarantine has certainly put its share of new things to navigate,” says Bryan. “Caroline and I are used to spending quite a bit of time apart, and now I’m just here every day. But the main thing with us is properly inserting alcohol in parts of the relationship — it does a really, really good job for us. I’m playing!”

On a more serious note, “It’s all about communication and giving each other time to go do the things that we’re passionate about,” he adds. “But the communication is so critical. When you get your wires crossed … I know it sounds cliché, but never go to bed mad. You really have to abide by that stuff.”

“Sitting and letting something small turn into a big event is not how you make it,” the American Idol judge says. “[Once you] have a family, you’re doing this with your family – it’s a lot. But you’ve walked down the aisle and you’ve said in front of God, ‘This is who I’m going to be with forever.’ You have to work so hard at it.”

“It never gets easier, but when you can share a wonderful life together, it makes it all worth it,” he admits. “We have a great time too — whether we’re Mom or Dad, or we’re able to go somewhere by ourselves — we’re really, really still so blessed that we’ve been able to navigate all this and my career, and then have a great marriage through it all.”