Dick Van Dyke opened up about staying “youthful” in a new interview with Yahoo, published on Thursday, February 16. When speaking about his time on The Masked Singer, and him being the oldest contestant on the show, the interviewer mentioned how the reality show’s judges were impressed with the 97-year-old actor’s energy.
Dick responded by giving his wife Arlene Silver, 51, credit for helping to keep him on the right track. “Having a beautiful young wife half my age to take care of me — that works!” he joked. “My positive attitude, I get that from my wife.”
Besides shouting out his beautiful wife, the actor also revealed that he still is dedicated to his workout routine and he may have just been genetically predisposed to youthful energy. “Genes, I guess, for one thing,” he said. “And one other thing is, I wrote a book called Keep Moving. I still go to the gym three days a week and work out. And I advise everybody to do that, because that’s what ages people — it’s just a stiffening up and not exercising their muscles and their lungs. Exercise is the answer.”
Dick and Arlene have been married since 2012. They first met while attending the SAG Awards in 2006. Before Arlene, the Bye Bye Birdie star was married once before to Margerie Willett from 1948 until they divorced in 1984 after separating years before. They had four children together. After his separation from Margerie, Dick did begin a relationship with Michelle Triola Marvin.
At 97, Dick has shown no signs of any intentions to slow down, and he hasn’t been shy about showing himself keeping very active. He revealed that he planned on making it to 100 in a June 2021 interview with CBS This Morning.
He’s also been seen taking part in workout routines with his wife, and it’s clear that she tries to motivate him to keep working out. Dick also made an appearance in his wife Arlene’s music video for her song “Everybody Loves A Lover,” and he showed off some of his dance moves and sang along with her for a romantic moment.