Ralph Macchio Names His 'Only' Crush During His Rise to Fame
Before the release of "Karate Kid: Legends," longtime actor Ralph Macchio opened up about his love life.
Macchio has been around Hollywood since 1980. He truly became a star in 1983 because of his performance in "The Karate Kid." Well before his breakout role as Daniel LaRusso, he met his soulmate, Phyllis Fierro.
When Macchio was just 15 years old, he was introduced to his future wife. They eventually got married in 1987 and had two children together, a daughter named Julia and a son named Daniel.
Macchio will be featured in AARP's June/July issue to celebrate 40 years as "The Karate Kid." During this extensive interview, he revealed that he never had a celebrity crush in the 1980s. That's because he only had eyes for his wife.
"I got to work with beautiful dynamic actresses like Elizabeth Shue and Marisa Tomei so people are like, well who was the one? And I know this is lame, but my girlfriend-wife was the one. We met at like 15, 16—and I wasn't looking anyplace else," Macchio said.
Macchio recently gave his wife credit for helping him have a "one foot in, one foot out" approach to his acting career.
"Without her and without the foundation and the family we established, 'one foot in, one foot out' would have been very, very difficult on my own," Macchio said. "Because there would not be balance."
Suffice to say, Macchio doesn't have any regrets about meeting his wife at such a young age.
Ralph Macchio Names His 'Only' Crush During His Rise to Fame first appeared on Men's Journal on May 29, 2025
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