Henry Winkler Recalls 'Arguing' with Now-Wife Stacey's Then-4-Year-Old Son After the Child Called Him 'Fonz' When They Met
He recalled "arguing" with her son, Jed, and a funny realization that his future bride had when they arrived at the movie theater for their fateful night out
The couple wed in 1978 and went on to have two more kidsHenry Winkler is looking back on his very first date with his wife of nearly 50 years, Stacey Weitzman.
While making an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers on Monday, June 9, to discuss his new show Hazardous History, the 79-year-old Happy Days alum fondly shared some memories from the first time that he took his wife out after they met in 1976.
Notably, Winkler recalled two conversations that took place on that fateful night when he took his future bride to see a movie.
"We go to the movies, and I said, 'It would be better if we sat toward the back of the theater.' And Stacey said, 'Why?' And I said, 'It's hard to describe. It would be better if we sat at the back of the theater,'" Winkler shared, adding that she still did not understand.
He explained to host Seth Meyers that their night out came amid the height of his fame on Happy Days, where he played the iconic character Fonzie.
What happened? "We sat down in the middle of the theater, and all of a sudden, the entire theater stood up to come over and say hello. And Stacey turned to me and said, 'Oh.'"
While it was shocking at first, the actor noted that his wife was quick to adapt.
The other conversation occurred just as the date was getting started and involved Weitzman's son from a previous marriage, Jed Weitzman, who was 4 years old at the time.
"I picked her up, and her 4-year-old son answered the door and said, 'Fonz.' And I said, 'My name is Henry. Would you like it if I called you Ralph?' And so I'm arguing with a 4-year-old about typecasting," Winkler recalled.
Of course, the first date went well and led to years of a happy life together. He and Stacey exchanged vows in 1978, and they went on to have two more children together — daughter Zoe Winkler and son Max Winkler.
Henry also developed a close bond with Jed. That bond was strengthened when they found one more thing that they shared in common — dyslexia.
'In third grade, he had to write a report and couldn't do it,' Henry told PEOPLE in 2023. 'I said to him everything that was said to me: 'Go back to your room. You're being lazy. Live up to your potential. You're so verbal.' I then had him tested and we read everything they said. I went, 'Oh my God, Stacey, this is me. I have something with a name.' "
He shared more about the diagnosis in his 2023 memoir, Being Henry: The Fonz…and Beyond .
'I didn't find out I was severely dyslexic until I was 31. For all the years before that, I was the kid who couldn't read, couldn't spell, couldn't even begin to do algebra or geometry or even basic arithmetic," he wrote within the book's pages.
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All these years later, he and Stacey are still going strong.
In 2019, the actor told PEOPLE the secret to his long-lasting love story: "We enjoy fly fishing together. We enjoy grandchildren together. We enjoy going to the movies together. We truly enjoy each other every day."
Stacey also weighed in at the time, saying, 'The most wonderful thing is to really be able to grow with someone.'
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"We're not the same people we are when we got married," she continued. "But certain of the tenets you hold dear are still intact.'
Of course, their relationship isn't perfect.
'It does take work,' she reflected. "There are glitches in the road, and you get a little off kilter, but if you have the ability and the stick-to-itiveness based on love, then your friendship and your relationship only gets better."
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