Dick Van Dyke, 98, talks about 46-year age gap with wife Arlene Silver, 52, as he claims he had ‘no idea she was half my age’ when they first met

Dick Van Dyke reflected on the 46-year age difference with his wife.  

The legendary Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star, 98, said he had no idea his wife Arlene Silver was half his age when he met her backstage at the SAG Awards in 2006.

Van Dyke – who is the oldest Emmy winner in history – was sitting on a couch when Arlene walked by and he found himself stunned by her beauty.   

‘I never approached a strange woman in my life,’ Van Dyke said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.

‘And she walked by and I jumped and I said, “Hi, I’m Dick.” I had no idea she was half my age. Beautiful.’

The legendary Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star, 98, said he had no idea his wife Arlene Silver was half his age when he met her backstage at the SAG Awards in 2006

The Dick Van Dyke show actor said he later found out Arlene was a makeup artist.

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

‘I had never seen the Dick Van Dyke Show, I never saw anything he was in,’ Silver said while speaking about meeting her husband for the first time.

But they didn’t start dating right away. They developed a friendship and by the time things turned romantic between them, their big age difference didn’t matter to them or to any of Arlene’s 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. We don’t think about it, we just meet in the middle,’ Silver added.

Van Dyke, ever the funny man, chimed in: ‘I was fortunate that I didn’t grow up.’

They moved in together in 2011 and tied the knot in 2012. ‘We were meant to be,’ Van Dyke gushed.

And Arlene feels the same. ‘I’ve never met anyone like him,’ she said. 

‘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.’

She continued: ‘He’s just the most joyful person. He influences everybody else to be more joyful, playful,’ she affectionately explained.

Van Dyke was sitting on a couch when Arlene walked by and he found himself stunned by her beauty

‘I never approached a strange woman in my life,’ Van Dyke said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight

‘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 with his children, (clockwise from top) Chris, Stacey and Barry doing ‘lead-ins’ for the special broadcast of The Wizard Of Oz in 1961 

In 2022, Van Dyke called Silver the ‘best wife’ in an interview with the Malibu Times.

‘She is the best wife. She’s made me the happiest man in the world. Our life is so good together,’ he said. 

Van Dyke was previously married to Margie Willett from 1948 to 1984. They welcomed four children: Christian, Barry, Stacy and Carrie Beth.

He was also in a 30-year relationship with Michelle Triola Marvin from 1976 until her death from lung cancer in 2009.