Dick Van Dyke’s famous first wife he split from following turbulent affair

Before he became a household name, Dick Van Dyke met his first wife, Margie Willet, as a teenager in West Plains, Missouri. The couple went on to tie the knot in 1948 and welcome four children: Christian, Barry, Stacy, and Carrie Bet.

However, after 24 years together, their marriage ended as a result of the Mary Poppins actor’s extramarital affair that spanned across the last eight years of their relationship. 

Dick had an affair with his agent’s secretary, Michelle Triola, and their relationship lasted 35 years. However, the pair never married during this time, and Michelle tragically passed away in 2009.

The 99-year-old met his current wife, makeup artist Arene Silver, at a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards dinner back in 2006. Despite remaining friends for years, the pair pursued a romantic relationship after Arlene helped Dick mourn his deceased partner. 

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The couple married in February 2012 and have remained together ever since. “Arlene would come by after work and bring me food. She was such a support, I fell in love,” he told People in 2013.

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Dick’s relationship with his first wife

The actor opened up about the breakdown of his first marriage in his 2016 memoir, Keep Moving. Dick detailed a period in 1972 when he was admitted to hospital for three weeks to receive treatment for alcoholism. A few weeks later, his wife, Margie, checked into the same hospital for her addiction to prescription drugs. 

Unlike her husband, Margie wasn’t a fan of the spotlight and spent the following years residing at the family’s ranch in the desert. It was during this period when Dick turned to Michelle for comfort. 

“She was easy to talk to, she understood me. At the time, Michelle was suing actor Lee Marvin, with whom she had a six-year relationship. I was drawn into a relationship. I was involved with a woman other than my wife. It was unbelievable. I was writhing in guilt. By 1976 I had to do something. I needed to be honest,” he penned.

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Dick also opened up about losing Margie to pancreatic cancer in 2008. “Even though we were long divorced, with her death I lost a part of myself,” he wrote.

In an interview with The Guardian in August 2016, Dick shared that he was just 20 years old when he began dating Margie. “We exchanged our vows in front of a minister and two radio microphones while 15 million people listened!,” he shared.

“Our addictions were symptomatic of deeper problems in our relationship and we were drifting apart,” he added.