Dick Van Dyke Shares Love Story With Wife Arlene and How He Stays Sharp at 98 (Exclusive)

It’s not lost on Dick Van Dyke and his wife, Arlene Silver, that there’s a 46-year age gap between them. But when she became the first and only woman he’d ever hit on, Van Dyke had no clue she was half his age. Fortunately for her, he was young at heart. And the heart wants what the heart wants.

At a spry 98 years old, the legendary actor vividly recalls meeting Arlene for the first time. It was a chance meeting in 2006 while backstage at the SAG Awards. Van Dyke was sitting on a couch when, as if stepping out of the pages of a magazine, Silver came across his line of vision. The Mary Poppins star was taken aback by her beauty, so much so that he did something he had never done before.

“I never approached a strange woman in my life,” Van Dyke recalled alongside Silver in an interview with ET’s Kevin Frazier at the couple’s home. “And she walked by and I jumped and I said, ‘Hi, I’m Dick.’ I had no idea she was half my age. Beautiful.”

Van Dyke says he later found out Silver, 52, was a makeup artist.

“She had one [business] card left, which I took and hired her,” he added.

But their romance wasn’t immediate. They established a friendship that ultimately blossomed into a romance. By then, their age difference wasn’t a deterrence — not for him, her or any of her friends. 

“We were friends for so long that when I told people that I know, they were happy about [our relationship], and I was scared,” Silver admitted. “I mean, the facts, our age difference. But it’s so irrelevant. I think when you see us together, it’s like you don’t think about it.”

Van Dyke quipped, “I was fortunate that I didn’t grow up.”

The legendary actor confidently says of the relationship, “We were meant to be.” She moved in with him in 2011, and they tied the knot in February 2012. 

“I’ve never met anyone like him,” she says. “He’s always happy and just positive. Always singing, and I would never sing in public. He got me to sing. He got me to sing up on a stage and sang in front of 1,500 people for the first time. He’s just the most joyful person. He influences everybody else to be more joyful, playful.”

He’s brought tons and tons of smiles on people’s faces, a byproduct of a storied career that includes six Emmys, a SAG Lifetime Achievement Award, GRAMMY and Tony Award. He has undoubtedly etched his name in Hollywood lore thanks to a marvelous career that’s spanned more than seven decades with iconic credits that include The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bye Bye Birdie, Diagnosis Murder and, of course, Mary Poppins.

Van Dyke’s legacy will, yes, include the brilliance he displayed on the big and small screen, but also his impassioned love for the arts. It’s why the Van Dyke Endowment Fund for the Arts has committed a whopping $3 million to fund Malibu public schools facing critical funding for theater. And through that commitment, Malibu High School is now home to The Arlene and Dick Van Dyke Theater.

“What is important about the theater to kids?” Van Dyke asked rhetorically. “They get a certain attitude of confidence being on that stage.”

Look sharp, act sharp, be sharp. It’s a way of life for Van Dyke, who credits going to the gym three days a week for his dexterity. 

“I’ve often tried to think what did I do to live this long and I can’t figure out,” he said. “The only thing is I’ve always exercised. We still go to the gym three days a week and work out. And I believe that’s the secret. Most people at 98 years old don’t really feel like working out and they seize up, you know? You get stiff and I’m still, you know, move pretty well. And I think that must be the secret because I don’t really watch my diet or anything. Stayed skinny. That helps.”

Being hilarious, too.

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