Dick Van Dyke sheds light on 46 year age gap marriage with Arlene Silver

Dick Van Dyke and Arlene Silver are keeping the magic alive — and making it look easy — even after 13 years of marriage and a 46-year age gap that had everyone doubting them from the start. 

But according to Van Dyke, 99, there’s a simple reason why their love story keeps thriving. “We get along so well,” he shared with People in an interview published on April 21. “Everybody said it wouldn’t work.”

Clearly, "everybody" underestimated this dynamic duo. 

The two first crossed paths backstage at the 2006 SAG Awards, where Silver, now 53, was working as a makeup artist. 

Although Van Dyke admitted he was “too scared” to talk to her at first — confessing, “I never said hello to a strange girl in my life” — something about her made him take the leap. 

“She walked by, and for some reason, I just jumped up and said, ‘Hi, I'm Dick.’ There’s something about her [that] got me.” And the rest, as they say, is history.

Their friendship blossomed into a romance a few years later after Van Dyke’s longtime partner Michelle Triola passed away in 2009. 

By 2012, they made it official with a wedding that surprised and delighted fans everywhere. Silver reflected on their bond with just as much heart, saying their relationship works because they “care about each other so much.” 

She sweetly added, “It’s eerie how well it works. People the same age don’t last. He’s made me feel like I can do anything.”

Even after all these years, Van Dyke — who is also a proud dad to Christian, 74, Barry, 73, Stacy, 69, and Carrie, 63, from his marriage to the late Margie Willet — still seems just as smitten. 

And honestly, it’s easy to see why. 

Silver once praised her husband as “the most joyful person” she’s ever met. She added, “He’s always happy and just positive. He influences everybody else to be more joyful [and] playful.” Plus, it doesn’t hurt that he encouraged her to sing on stage in front of 1,500 people — no small feat!