Nikki Reed Talks Marriage, Making Music With Husband Paul McDonald

Nikki Reed Opens Up About Marriage
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Nikki Reed attends the 2012 Do Something awards on Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012 in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

How do Nikki Reed and husband Paul McDonald keep their marriage going strong? By making music together.

The "Twilight" actress told People that she and McDonald, a former contestant on "American Idol," are writing an album together and will play a few shows at the upcoming South By Southwest music festival. Reed credited McDonald with expanding her taste in music and said making music together "centers" them.

"I do love the fact that the careers that we both have chosen kind of take you away from reality very easily," Reed said. "I think it's really nice that we can do this together."

Reed said the key to making their marriage work is spending time together -- which they've done a lot of while working on their album.

"I feel like especially being in this crazy, weirdo world that we're in, where we're making movies and people are on tour, it's just so easy to lose track of what's important," she said. "I feel like it's really important to just be with each other and make the other person a priority."

Reed and McDonald married in October 2011 after seven months of dating. The couple released a single, "Now That I've Found You," in November 2011, and earlier this month performed new songs at an event for J.C. Penney.

Check out photos of Reed and McDonald in the slideshow below.

Nikki Reed/Paul McDonald
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(01 of28)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 18: Actress Nikki Reed (L) and husband singer Paul McDonald attend the iHeartRadio '20/20' album release party with Justin Timberlake presented by Target at the El Rey Theatre on March 18, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(02 of28)
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BEVERLY HILLS, CA - MARCH 07: (L-R) Actress Nikki Reed and singer/songwriter Paul McDonald attend Joe Fresh at jcp launch event on March 7, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images for jcp) (credit:Getty Images)
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(03 of28)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 08: Actress Nikki Reed and musician Paul McDonald join mPowering Action, a global mobile youth movement at Grammy Week launch, featuring performances by Timbaland and Avicii at The Conga Room at L.A. Live on February 8, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images for Tribal Brands) (credit:Getty Images)
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(04 of28)
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LAS VEGAS - DECEMBER 2: Actress Nikki Reed (L) and singer/songwriter Paul McDonald arrive at the Zappos.com Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon on December 2, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Isaac Brekken/Getty Images for Rock 'n' Roll Marathon) (credit:Getty Images)
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(05 of28)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 12: (L-R) Singer Paul McDonald, actors Nikki Reed, and Peter Facinelli arrive at the premiere of Summit Entertainment's 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2' at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on November 12, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(06 of28)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 10: Nikki Reed and Paul McDonald attend 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2' - Fan Camp Concert at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on November 10, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(07 of28)
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NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 06: Actress Nikki Reed and musician Paul McDonald celebrate Fashion's Night Out at Michael Kors on September 6, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Michael Kors) (credit:Getty Images)
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(08 of28)
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SAN DIEGO, CA - JULY 13: Actress Nikki Reed and musician Paul McDonald attend WIRED Cafe At Comic-Con held at Palm Terrace at the Omni Hotel on July 13, 2012 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for WIRED) (credit:Getty Images)
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(09 of28)
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SAN DIEGO, CA - JULY 11: Actress Nikki Reed and Paul McDonald attend 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2' VIP Comic-Con Celebration Sponsored by Fandango at Float in the Hard Rock Hotel on July 11, 2012 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Summit Entertainment) (credit:Getty Images)
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(10 of28)
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UNIVERSAL CITY, CA - JUNE 03: Actress Nikki Reed and singer/songwriter Paul McDonald arrive at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards held at Gibson Amphitheatre on June 3, 2012 in Universal City, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(11 of28)
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CARSON, CA - MAY 12: Actress Nikki Reed and singer Paul McDonald arrives at 102.7 KIIS FM's Wango Tango at The Home Depot Center on May 12, 2012 in Carson, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(12 of28)
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HOLLYWOOD, CA - MAY 09: Actress Nikki Reed and musician Paul McDonald arrive at the NYLON Magazine Annual May Young Hollywood Issue party held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on May 9, 2012 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(13 of28)
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NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 10: (L-R) Actress Nikki Reed, singer Paul McDonald, TV personality Olivia Palermo and actress Kristin Chenoweth attend the Rebecca Minkoff Fall 2012 fashion show for TRESemme during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2012 at Lincoln Center Theater on February 10, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for TRESemme) (credit:Getty Images)
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(14 of28)
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 05: (L-R) Musician Paul McDonald, actress Nikki Reed, and singer Pia Toscano attend The Rolling Stone Volkswagen Rock & Roll Fan Tailgate Party at The Crane Bay on February 5, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for Rolling Stone's Volkswagen Rock & Roll Tailgate) (credit:Getty Images)
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(15 of28)
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 04: Musician Paul McDonald and Actress Nikki Reed attend Rolling Stone's Bacardi Bash: 150 Years of Rocking The Party at The Crane Bay on February 4, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for Rolling Stone's Volkswagen Rock & Roll Tailgate) (credit:Getty Images)
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(16 of28)
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Paul McDonald and actress Nikki Reed attend Ubisoft's 'Just Dance Three' Launch Party at The Beverly on October 4, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(17 of28)
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Actress Nikki Reed and Paul McDonald attend the 'Real Steel' Los Angeles Premiere at Gibson Amphitheatre on October 2, 2011 in Universal City, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed(18 of28)
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Singer Paul McDonald and actress Nikki Reed arrive at the 2011 MTV Movie Awards at Universal Studios' Gibson Amphitheatre on June 5, 2011 in Universal City, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Nikki Reed(19 of28)
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Actress Nikki Reed arrives at the 5th annual "Scream Awards" at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, California on October 16, 2010. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS (Photo credit should read GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Paul McDonald(20 of28)
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"American Idol" Season 10 finalist Paul McDonald performs during the 2011 "American Idols Live!" tour at the Prudential Center on August 14, 2011 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Nikki Reed(21 of28)
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Actress Nikki Reed attends 'Cirque du TACORI' at the Viceroy Hotel on October 12, 2010 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images For InStyle) (credit:Getty)
Paul McDonald(22 of28)
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Singer Paul McDonald arrives at Fox's "American Idol" season 10 finale results show held at Nokia Theatre LA Live on May 25, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Nikki Reed(23 of28)
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Actress Nikki Reed arrives at The 8th Annual Teen Vogue Young Hollywood Party at Paramount Studios on October 1, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images For Teen Vogue) (credit:Getty)
Paul McDonald(24 of28)
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"American Idol" contestant Paul McDonald arrives at Paley Center for Media's Paleyfest 2011 event honoring "American Idol" held at Saban Theater on March 14, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Nikki Reed(25 of28)
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Actress Nikki Reed arrives at the Blackberry Torch launch party on August 11, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Paul McDonald(26 of28)
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"American Idol" 2011 contestant Paul McDonald arrives at Idol Prom: The "American Idol" Season Ten Top 24 Debut event at the Roosevelt Hotel on February 24, 2011 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Nikki Reed(27 of28)
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Actress Nikki Reed arrives at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards held at the Gibson Amphitheatre on August 7, 2011 in Universal City, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Paul McDonald(28 of28)
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"American Idol" contestant Paul McDonald attends Fox's "American Idol" Finalist Party on March 3, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)

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