Dick Van Dyke, 99, is celebrating over a decade of marriage with wife Arlene Silver, 53, proving that love doesn’t come with an age limit.
The iconic entertainer opened up about their 13-year marriage during the couple’s Vandy Camp benefit event in Malibu, hosted on April 20 to support the Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation.
“Everybody said it wouldn’t work,” Van Dyke said of their relationship, referencing the couple’s 46-year age gap. But the actor says their strong connection is what truly matters: “We get along so well.” Silver echoed the sentiment, adding, “It’s eerie how well it works. People the same age don’t last.”
The couple first met in 2006 at the SAG Awards, where Silver was working as a makeup artist. Van Dyke recalls nervously introducing himself for the first time. “I never said hello to a strange girl in my life. I was too scared. But for some reason, I just jumped up and said, ‘Hi, I’m Dick.’”
They married in 2012, and according to Silver, they’ve barely been apart since. “I’m his security blanket,” she joked. “He makes me feel like I can do anything.” Van Dyke chimed in, “And you can.”
Despite the unconventional start and public doubt, their relationship has thrived. “We love being at home in Malibu,” Silver said. Even after their home was hit by the Franklin fire, the couple feels lucky and grateful.
Now just months from his 100th birthday, Van Dyke continues to show that age-gap love stories can be enduring, inspiring, and stronger than ever.
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