Dick Van Dyke On 46-Year Age Difference With Wife Arlene (Exclusive)

Dick Van Dyke has had many ups and downs throughout his life, but one person continues to keep him steady: his wife, Arlene Silver.

Speaking with PEOPLE for this week’s cover story, in honor of his upcoming 100th birthday and his new book 100 Rules for Living to 100, the legendary entertainer opened up about his marriage to Silver, 54. Van Dyke shares four children with his late ex-wife Margie Willett, and was previously in a relationship with Michelle Triola, who died from lung cancer in 2009.

Despite their age difference, the actor said that his relationship with Silver — and their complementary personalities — make the perfect match.

“We thought it might be [a problem] in some regard, to some extent, but it hasn’t really,” Van Dyke explains. “I’m infantile to start with. I think I’m about 13, so that’s been a problem and she’s quite mature for her age, so I don’t think we haven’t had any problem with age at all.”

Van Dyke and Silver met backstage at the SAG Awards in 2006, where Silver was working as a makeup artist.

“One thing I had never done was ever approach a strange woman in my life,” Van Dyke says. “She walked by, and without thinking, I jumped up and said, ‘Hi, I’m Dick.’ [I] asked her to sit down and found out she was a makeup lady and I hired her on the spot.”

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After marrying in 2012, Van Dyke and Silver collaborated several times across the stage and screen. In 2023, they appeared on an episode of soap opera Days of Our Lives together. They also throw an annual Halloween show at Vandy Manor.

“I can’t even list everything she does. She’s constantly busy. She has a big following online with her own show. She sings, she dances,” Van Dyke says. “When I learned all that and then I found out she likes Halloween, that did it. She had to be a part of the family, and now we’re pretty famous for our Halloweens.”

But as Van Dyke reflects on his life and career — which also happens to be the subject of his new book — it’s Silver who helps him keep his youthful spirit.

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“She’s responsible for keeping me in the moment,” Van Dyke says. “She’s kept me happy every day of my life, every day. She’s a joy. She can get me singing or dancing and she carries so much responsibility … I’m just lucky.”

100 Rules for Living to 100 is now available from Grand Central Publishing, wherever books are sold.