Dick Van Dyke is known for his illustrious career, but like many Hollywood stars, the Mary Poppins alum has had a varied and somewhat colourful love life. Join HELLO! as we look into his relationship history from his first wife Maggie Willet to his current wife Arlene Silver.
Margie Willet
Dick was just 20 years old when he met his first wife Margie. They met growing up in Danville Illinois but were "too broke to get married."
"We were too broke to get married, but a radio producer offered to pick up the tab and send us on honeymoon if we got hitched on his show. So in 1948 we exchanged our vows in front of a minister and two radio microphones while 15 million people listened!" he told The Guardian.
© Getty ImagesDick described Margie as earthy and artistic but had "no fondness for Hollywood"
"She was shunted aside at showbiz events by people wanting to chat to me. She wore her hair short and eschewed makeup, and we were often mistaken for brother and sister. Once, when I appeared on a magazine cover, Margie snapped up six copies and the cashier asked if she was my mother."
Margie and Dick went on to have four children, Christian, Barry, Stacy and Carrie Beth, although Maggie miscarried twins before having Christian.
Their marriage was fraught with difficulties as Dick battled an alcohol addiction and Margie popped anti-depressants. "When I pledged to quit and entered a rehab clinic, Margie checked in as I checked out. I thought she’d come to pick me up, but it turned out she was hooked on antidepressants. I had no idea. What a pair," he told the outlet.
Dick then went on to have an affair with Michelle Triola and the couple divorced in 1984. Margie died of pancreatic cancer in 2007 and Dick admitted he lost 'part of himself'. "Even though we were long divorced, with her death I lost a part of myself," he told Country Living.
© Getty ImagesMichelle Triola
Dick began an affair with Michelle in 1975. At the time Maggie was in and out of rehab and Michelle worked as his secretary. "She was feisty, smart and, unlike Margie, knew the showbiz world inside out. Margie and I divorced in 1984, and Michelle and I went on to have 35 very happy years together. We talked about marrying, but I could never get her to put a date in the diary," he told The Guardian.
Unfortunately Michelle was diagnosed with lung cancer and died in 2009 at 76 years of age. "Her doctor said she could still hear," Dick wrote in his memoir My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business, "so I sang and talked to her until the hospice nurses told me she was gone."
© CBS Photo ArchiveArlene Silver
Dick met his second wife, makeup artist, Arlene in 2006 at the SAG awards ceremony. "There was something about her beautiful eyes," he told People. The pair became friends initially but eventually their friendship deepened into something more. "She was startlingly beautiful and I introduced myself.
We became firm friends and it just grew from there," he said of Arelene, 46 years his junior.
"My oldest child, Christian, was the only one in the family who had doubts, but after we exchanged our vows in 2012, he said, “Dad, I get it.” We don’t feel the age gap. I’m emotionally immature and Arlene is very wise for her age, so we meet in the middle." After their one year wedding anniversary Dick declared their marriage as the smartest thing he had ever done. "It's one of the smartest moves I ever made. She makes me happy," he told Parade. In 2012 he credited Arlene for his youthful vigour. "Having a beautiful young wife half my age to take care of me — that works! My positive attitude, I get that from my wife," he told Yahoo.
