When Dick Van Dyke was 53 years old, his wife Arlene Silver was barely even a thought. It's really weird to think about, to have lived an extensive life before your partner had one. Sure, if they're full grown adults with fully developed brains (not just when they're 18), it's a little different. They can make that decision to pursue romance for themselves. But still, 46 years between Van Dyke and his ol' lady is kind of crazy, the optics and all.
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He's willing to confront all of it though. Recently, the 99-year old and his wife Arlene Silver, 53, spoke to PEOPLE about their 13 year marriage. Apparently, everything between the two is going swimmingly, old age and all. "We get along so well," Van Dyke says. "Everybody said it wouldn't work." Then, Silver adds, "Yeah. I mean it's like eerie how well it works. People the same age don't last."
Dick Van Dyke Addresses The Age Gap in His Marriage to Arlene Silver
The Mary Poppins star recalls the first time he met her at the SAG Awards in 2006. At the time, she was 34 and Dick was around 80 years old. "I never said hello to a strange girl in my life. I was too scared," Van Dyke says. "But I was at a show backstage and she walked by, and for some reason, I just jumped up and said, 'Hi, I'm Dick.' There's something about her and got me, and I was right."
Silver adds her two cents by saying that Dick makes her feel like she "can do anything." Moreover, she notes that they don't really do a ton given his age and condition. However, she prefers it that way. With their Vandy Camp event on the way, Arlene hopes to convey that feeling to people. "We just love being home. We love Malibu, and it's our favorite place, our house especially. So this is like our, you're at our house," Silver says with Van Dyke. "We're so grateful. Our house did get hit by the Franklin fire, but in the scheme of things, we got very lucky."
