Dick Van Dyke on new love in old age: ''It's not too late!''
He also says you should exercise!
Nobody holds the key to immortality, unfortunately. But, if there's anybody who might hold the key to vibrant old age, it's Dick Van Dyke. He's done it all and keeps on going. Every year he's either receiving an award, appearing at an event, or starring in a new project. While we may not all be fortunate enough to have Van Dyke's line of work, anyone can learn a lot from the guy.
He's aged so gracefully that he has literally written the book on it. Back in 2015, Van Dyke released Keep Moving: And Other Tips and Truths About Aging.
Around the time of his book's release, Dick Van Dyke was interviewed by People Magazine. During the conversation, the veteran actor offered even more aging advice while speaking about his most recent relationship.
At 86, Van Dyke married Arlene Silver, a makeup artist 46 years his junior.
“It’s not too late, any more than it’s never too late to start exercising,” Van Dyke told People about falling in love.
“I have a few friends who have always enjoyed living alone. But for some reason, that just isn’t the life for me. You gotta have somebody to love.”
He'd already had a very long life, and he'd learned plenty of lessons about love along the way.
"If you’re openly trusting, you’re going to get hurt a few times. But it certainly is a better life than walking around in a paranoid position with your fist up all the time,” he says. “I’d rather take the risk of being hurt and being trusting – which in turn makes you trustworthy.”
While Van Dyke valued his trustworthiness more than nearly anything, it turns out that singing was the most satisfying thing in his life.
“Singing is so great, there’s nothing like it. You can’t sing and be depressed at the same time. My wife is a good singer and dancer so there’s a lot of singing and dancing going on around here,” he told People. “I got up the other morning, she was in the kitchen doing the dishes and she had her tap shoes on, and she was tap dancing while she was doing the dishes!”