Eric Braeden Picks His Wife of 42 Years, Whom He Met at College, a Wildflower Bouquet after a Jog

"The Young and the Restless" star actor Eric Braeden has been praised for his endearing attitude, which cannot be replicated, by his wife of over three decades, Dale Gudegast.

Eric Braeden is a famous Hollywood actor known for his performance as Victor Newman on the popular television series "The Young and the Restless."

In the series, actress Melody Thomas Scott plays the character Nikki, the actor's on-screen wife.

Behind the scenes, however, Melody has been married for 36 years to her real-life husband Edward J. Scott, who was also once an executive producer of "The Young and the Restless."

In her autobiography, which she titled "Always Young & Restless: My Life On and Off America's #1 Daytime Drama," the actress declared that she met Edward at a time when the stars were aligned for the pair.

Meanwhile, her on-screen beau Eric is absolutely in love with the actress's memoir, and he explained that he had not taken a break from reading it since he started.

The book, which contains stories about how Melody suffered childhood abuse, also touched Eric, who declared he wished he could have protected her back then by knocking her abusers out cold.

ERIC BRAEDEN'S OFF-SCREEN WIFE

Away from his on-screen romance with Melody, Eric has been married to his longtime wife Dale Russell Gudegast for over 28 years, and the pair are also parents to his son Christian.

On June 21, 1942, Dale was born in Los Angeles, California. The mother-of-one who attended a private high school is also the sister of late actress Sigrid Valdis, making her an aunt to Robert Scott Crane, Ana Marie Crane, and Melissa Smith Ateyeh.

Dale rose to fame as an actress in the series "Holiday in the Sun" in 2001. In the Steve Purcell-directed series, she starred as a chauffeur in a series containing famous actresses like Megan Fox and Ashley Olsen.

Dale's career in the entertainment industry has been lowkey compared to that of her husband, who has won multiple awards, including a People's Choice Awards and an Emmy.

Unlike soap opera actors, the actor has also appeared in a few primetime television productions like the miniseries "Lucky/Chances" and "The Nanny."

However, he credited his appearance in the former to his respect and friendship with co-creator and co-producer Fran Drescher and his wife, who thought it was a funny show.

Eric also uses every available opportunity to thank his wife for her contribution to his career, managing to keep the home in pristine order. She also has plans to write a book on her marriage and life.

ERIC AND DALE'S LOVE STORY

The pair's love story started when they met at Santa Monica College, where Dale was majoring in art, and Ẹric was studying economics and philosophy.

The pair started as friends before graduating into lovers, and Eric subsequently asked Dale to marry him. Their wedding ceremony was held on October 8, 1966, with only a few friends and family in attendance.

At the time, Eric was still relatively unknown in the movie industry, and not long after their marriage, they welcomed their son Christian Gudegast on February 9, 1970.

Just like his father, Christian is also a talented individual. The couple's son has made a name for himself in the entertainment industry. While studying at UCLA in 1992, he won the Best Student Film Award for his thesis "Shadow Box."

Christian, who is a writer, producer, and director, is also credited as a screenwriter in movies which include "Soldier of Fortune," "Beyond City Limits," "A Man Apart," as well as "London Has Fallen" and "Den of Thieves."

Speaking about his longtime run in "The Young and the Restless" series, Eric credited his wife Dale for encouraging him to sign for more years after he finished the first season of the series.

The actor was not interested in continuing in the series that brought him fame because the dialogues in soap operas are too much, which was a turn-off for him. But his wife saved him when she encouraged the father-of-one to look at it as a challenge he could overcome.

The famous star, who is devoted to his longtime wife Dale as well as his son and their grandchildren, also revealed he is not gearing to stop acting anytime soon.

Meanwhile, Dale, who has a designer pillow business, lauded her husband for being as endearing as no else and the kind of man that would pick her a wildflower bouquet on his run near their apartment in Los Angeles.

WHERE ARE THE ADORABLE COUPLE NOW?

Eric Braeden and his wife Dale still live together in their stunning 3,500-square-foot Santa Monica mountain home. The actor who recently gave a tour of their home explained the decision to live in Los Angeles was relatively easy to make as he fell in love with the first time he drove through the area.

Although he picked the location, the beautiful interior design of the house is credited to his wife. The house features a pool and a fountain, and Eric declared he is quite fortunate because the property feels like home.

Having appeared in "The Young and the Restless" for 41 years, the actor explained that he feels very loyal to both his character and the fans of the show who have supported him since the beginning.

He explained he has always looked for meaning in acting but has realized that the most important thing actors do is entertain and make people happy.

The actor is also grateful for the cast and characters who have worked alongside him for years and, most importantly, his on-screen romantic partner Melody Thomas Scott, who plays Nikki.

He disclosed that he loved and adored her because she had endured playing his partner for years even though he is not the easiest guy to get along with sometimes.

Eric, who turned 80 on April 3, 2021, revealed he is very proud of his age and has been keeping fit by starting his mornings doing exercises.

Eric and Dale, the proud parents of Hollywood filmmaker Christian Gudegast, have also become grandparents courtesy of their son's three kids.

The famous actor declared he loves his life, his colleagues, and his family and friends. He also explained fans should look out for more of him on screen as he is not retiring anytime soon.