'Everybody said it wouldn't work': Dick Van Dyke, 99, shares rare insight into the unexpected spark that defied a 46-year age gap with his wife Arlene Silver
Hollywood icon Dick Van Dyke has opened up about his relationship with his second wife, Arlene Silver, and why he chose to ignore warnings from friends when they first began dating.
Van Dyke, 99, and Silver, 53, have been married since February 2012, and the movie legend says their bond remains unshaken despite their significant age difference.
"Everybody said it wouldn't work," Van Dyke, who is just months away from his 100th birthday, told People.
"We just get along so well."
Silver agreed, saying: "Yeah, I mean it's like eerie how well it works. People the same age don't last."
Van Dyke also recalled their first meeting backstage at the 2006 SAG Awards, where Silver was working as a makeup artist.
"I never said hello to a strange girl in my life. I was too scared," he said.
"But I was at a show backstage and she walked by, and for some reason, I just jumped up and said, 'Hi, I'm Dick'. There's something about her."
In a previous interview with Entertainment Tonight in 2024, the Mary Poppins star said he didn't initially realise the age gap between them.
"I had no idea she was half my age," he said. "Beautiful."
"I was fortunate that I didn't grow up," he added. "We were meant to be."
Before marrying Silver, Van Dyke was married to American television personality Margie Willett from 1948 to 1984.
The couple had four children: Christian, 74, Barry, 73, Stacy, 69, and Carrie Beth, 63, all older than his current wife.
Van Dyke was later in a long-term relationship with actress Michelle Triola, which lasted 35 years until her death in 2009.
Though the pair never married, her passing became a significant turning point in Van Dyke's relationship with Silver.
"Arlene would come by after work and bring me food. She was such a support, I fell in love," he told People in 2013.
Now based in Malibu, the couple narrowly avoided losing their home in the devastating January wildfires.
They've since turned their focus to helping others by raising money for the Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation (LAEPF) Community Brigade through their monthly event, Vandy Camp, held at Aviation Nation Dreamland.
In March, funds from the event supported relief efforts for the Palisades Fires.
Showing no signs of slowing down- something he credits to having a much younger wife- Van Dyke stated that he would like to keep working and eventually win an Oscar.
Already, he has been the recipient of five Primetime Emmys, a Tony, a Grammy, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"I've got one of everything except an Oscar," he said.
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