We’ve seen marriages between celebrities fall short of expectation and suddenly become a bitter affair. We’ve also seen celebrity marriages blossom and become the envy of other stars but never have we seen a marriage with large age disparity stay as magical as a fairy tale as that of Arlene Silver and Dick Van Dyke.
Professional Makeup Artist, Arlene Silver, who has taken up several makeup projects in big movies such as Hacienda Confidential and a host of amazing others may not have made the headlines for major celebrity magazines if not for her marriage to star actor Dick Van Dyke.
You may not dream of marrying a man forty-six years older than you, but the spur of the moment decision is one Arlene Silver will never regret. Before we tell you all about it, let’s examine how it all started.
Life Before Dick Van Dyke
Arlene Silver was born on September 21, 1971, in New York, USA. As of present, she is 49 years old. However, she met and married Dick Van Dyke when she was 40 years.
Arlene spent most of her growing up years in the Bronx before moving to California where she completed her college. After college, Arlene developed her flair for fashion and makeup.
This passion rode her all the way to work in the makeup and art department on the sets of various films, earning her a name as a professional makeup artist.
How Arlene Met Dick Van Dyke
In 2006, Arlene Silver met her husband at the Screen Actors Guild Awards dinner where she was working as a make-up artist. Something about Arlene’s aura that Dick couldn’t place a finger on drew him all the way to her.
He sat next to Arlene at the Awards and introduced himself to the lady he would later term his child-bride. The first thing Arlene asked him was, “Weren’t you in Mary Poppins?”
Dick Van Dyke revealed that he had never approached a complete stranger before, but he was so smitten by Arlene that he broke precedence. Talk about love at first sight and the million and one things it can make a man do.
Arlene also confessed that when she met Van Dyke, she wasn’t familiar with all his works. She hadn’t even seen Mary Poppins, the musical film that made him famous. Well, she had asked him about Mary Poppins and that was as good an icebreaker as any you can think of.
Dick Van Dyke’s Previous Relationships
Dick Van Dyke is Arlene’s husband as you may already know. He was born on December 13, 1925, and is a famous actor, dancer, singer, and comedian whose career has spanned over several decades. He started his career in 1947 and is famed for working alongside Julie Andrews in the award-winning film, Mary Poppins.
Prior to marrying Silver, Van Dyke was previously married to Margie Willet in 1948. With Margie, he had four children with – Christian, Barry, Stacy, and Carrie Beth. Sadly, after a long period of estrangement, Dick divorced Margie in 1984. Their divorce was a result of Van Dyke’s infidelity and alcoholism, and her problems with prescription drug abuse.
Van Dyke, who must have a strong thing for female celebrities, went ahead to date another actress Michelle Triola. They both had a romantic relationship that lasted for over thirty years until Michelle’s death robbed it away from them. Michelle died in 2009 of lung cancer at the age of 76.
Arlene Silver, unlike Dick, had never been married. In an interview with HuffPost, Arlene joked that she had to go through a lot of frogs to get her prince. She also recounted how she was single for 6 years in LA.
The Building Block
Every man courting a woman has to find a way to draw her closer. In Dick’s case, he employed Arlene Silver as his makeup artist. The stylish employer-employee relationship, or boss-secretary relationship, if you like, paid off.
Arlene and Dick grew from a casual work relationship to a rock-solid friendship that culminated in the fairy tale marriage that we have today.
Many would say that Michelle’s death aided in bringing Arlene and Dick together and they wouldn’t be wrong. Van Dyke became totally dependent on the help Silver rendered to him. He just knew he had to marry her.
Silver’s Marriage to Van Dyke
Arlene Silver and Dick Van Dyke’s marriage was a spur of the moment decision that happened in a Malibu chapel on the 29th of February 2012. Arlene was forty years at the time and Van Dyke eighty-six years old. They hosted a big reception in September of the same year themed, “Seafoam Circus” for family and friends.
Although age difference in marriage isn’t so much of a big deal in this time, many commentators decried the decision of Van Dyke to marry at such an advanced age. They questioned Silver’s motive for marrying someone forty-six years older than her. Arlene revealed that even her brother doubted the success of the relationship.
In response to naysayers, Arlene Silver asserted that age is nothing when love is involved, and boy, would you agree less? She also stated that Van Dyke is still very young at heart and she is having the best time with her husband.
According to the couple, the success of their marriage is based on the fact that they were best friends before anything else.
Arlene Silver’s Career and Net Worth
Arlene Silver is a professional Makeup Artist who has garnered accolades for her spectacular work in movies like, Carolina (2003), The Caretaker 3D (2010), The Men of Delta Farce Salute the Troops (2007), Hacienda Confidential (2007), Murder 101: If Wishes Were Horses (2007), Making Witless: The Cast on The Cast (2008), Merry Xmas (2015), Die Laughing (2008), and so many other short films.
As a makeup artist, Silver’s net worth was never calculated. However, she’s set to inherit some of Dick Van Dyke’s large net worth, reported at over $30 million.
Fun Facts About silver
You know now that Arlene Silver is a professional Makeup Artist and that she married a man 46 years older, but here are other amazing facts about Arlene’s personality:
Do you want to follow up on Arlene Silver and Dick Van Dyke’s marriage? Here’s Arlene Silver’s Instagram handle, follow her!
Conclusion
Arlene Silver is a perfect example of a celebrity marriage that ticks everything on the box right. Although she is forty-six years younger than her husband, Arlene’s marriage with Dick Van Dyke is one that would forever be referenced as a perfect union between celebrities with a wide age difference.
