Dick Van Dyke and his wife, Arlene Silver, are candidly discussing their 46-year age gap.
During an interview, Van Dyke, 98, reminisced about meeting Silver, 52, at the SAG Awards in 2006, where she worked as a makeup artist.
“I never approached a stranger in my life,” Van Dyke shared from his and Silver’s home in an interview published Tuesday, July 16. “But she walked by, and I jumped up and said, ‘Hi, I’m Dick.’ I had no idea she was half my age. Beautiful.”
The Mary Poppins star, previously married to the late Margie Willett from 1948 to 1984, continued, “She had one [business] card left, which I took and hired her.”
Initially, the couple began as friends, but their relationship evolved, and they married in 2012.
“I had never seen The Dick Van Dyke Show, I never saw anything he was in,” Silver confessed with a laugh, recalling her first encounter with the iconic actor.
Dick Van Dyke (L) and his wife, makeup artist Arlene Silver, at the Professional Dancers Society’s Gypsy Award to Julie Andrews.
Reflecting on their relationship, Silver told, “We were friends for so long that when I told people I knew, they were happy about [our relationship], and I was scared.”
“I mean, the facts, our age difference. But it’s so irrelevant. I think when you see us together, you don’t even think about it,” she continued.
“We don’t think about it; we just meet in the middle,” Silver said, with Van Dyke adding, “I was fortunate that I didn’t grow up… It was meant to be.”
The couple’s relationship blossomed, with Silver revealing, “It was so far-fetched, I thought, ‘There’s no way.’ We got along almost immediately.”
“I’d never met anybody like him,” Silver said of Van Dyke, calling him “the most joyful person” and “the best human being.” She admired his constant positivity and joy, noting, “He was always happy and just positive. Always singing.”
Despite her initial hesitance, Silver, who often sings with her husband, shared, “I would never sing in public,” but Van Dyke encouraged her. “He got me to sing up on a stage and sing in front of 1,500 people for the first time.”
Actor and dancer Dick Van Dyke, 85, and his 39-year-old girlfriend Arlene Silver attend the premiere of the comedy “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on June 12, 2011.
Van Dyke recently expressed his deep affection for Silver, telling in a 2022 interview, “She is the best wife. She’s made me the happiest man in the world. Our life is so good together.”
Silver had previously spoken to the *Huffington Post* in 2013 about their age difference, describing Van Dyke as “a lot of fun” and “not immature in a bad way. He’s immature in a good way with the wonder of a child.”
“He’s just fun; he’s open-minded. He’s not stuck in his ways at all,” she added.
