Published on: Nov 18, 2025 11:27 pm IST

Dick Van Dyke, nearing 100, attributes his longevity to his wife Arlene Silver, who is “half” his age. 

Dick Van Dyke, who will turn 100 next month, recently opened up about his secret to longevity. In his new book, 100 Rules for Living to 100, he reveals how his wife, Arlene Silver, who is “half” his age, helps keep him young. The Mary Poppins star first met the 54-year-old at the SAG Awards in 2006.

Dick Van Dyke credits his wife, Arlene Silver, for his secret to longevity(Getty Images) Dick Van Dyke credits his wife, Arlene Silver, for his secret to longevity(Getty Images) Dick Van Dyke credits wife Arlene Silver for his secret to longevity

In 100 Rules for Living to 100, Van Dyke details how he has maintained a zest for life through a collection of anecdotes and past reflections. Recalling his meeting with Silver, the comedian said he immediately “felt drawn” to her. At the time, she was working as a makeup artist.

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“She quickly became my soulmate and love of my life,” he said of Silver. Van Dyke admitted that their “ongoing romance” is “the most important reason I have not withered away into a hermetic grouch,” per Fox News. Their meeting was followed by an email from the Tony Award winner.

Shortly after Silver began working as his makeup artist, Van Dyke lost his ex-wife, Margie Willett, and his partner, Michelle Triola. Over the years, they developed a romantic relationship, tying the knot in 2012. In their book, they discuss their 48-year age gap, with the actor telling Silver, he “just figured like you’d keep me feeling young forever.”

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Elsewhere in the book, Van Dyke wrote, “Arlene is half my age, and she makes me feel somewhere between two-thirds and three-quarters my age, which is still saying a lot.” “Every day she finds a new way to keep me up and moving, bright and hopeful and needed.”

News / Trending / US / Dick Van Dyke, 99, says secret to long life is wife ‘half my age’: Here’s all on Arlene Silver

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