Celebrity
Dick Van Dyke, 96, Worried People Would Call His Wife, 50, A ‘Gold Digger’
He feared an “outcry” after going public with his partner.
Dick Van Dyke has been married to his wife Arlene Silver for 10 years now. After sharing a romantic dancing video with the wife on Valentine’s Day and for their wedding anniversary, the 96-year-old “Mary Poppins” star share candid thoughts about his marriage in an interview with Closer Magazine.
The couple has over 46 years of age gap between them, with Arlene being just 35 when she first met the actor in his 80s. Van Dyke shared his concerns, “I thought there would be an outcry about a gold digger marrying an old man.”
“But no one ever took that attitude,” he continued in relief.
The couple also recalled the day he first met his wife at the 2007 Screen Actors Guild Awards. Silver recognized the man at the first meeting and was working as a makeup artist at the event then. She shared, “He said, ‘Hi, I’m Dick.’ The first thing I asked him was, ‘Weren’t you in “Mary Poppins”?’ We got along immediately as friends, so it didn’t feel like he was so much older than me.”
It wasn’t until five years later did they finally tie the knot.
The actor delves into the possible reason they match so well, “We share an attitude. She can go with the flow. She loves to sing and dance, which we do almost every day. She’s just delightful.”
Arlene continued gushing over her husband as if they were newlyweds!
“He is the most perfect human being. I’ve never met anyone so happy, so genuine, so amazing. He’s just like a happy pill,” shared the wife.