Norma from 'The Wonder Years' Has Turned 72, Feels 'Hole' in Her Life after Husband Died before Her Eyes

• Alley Mills took a long time to meet the right man, Orson Bean, but she was in it for life when she did!
• Sadly, his life was taken unexpectedly after being with the actress for over two decades.
• Over a year since Bean's death, Mills was still dealing with the loss.

Alley Mills was an actress well-known for playing the role of Norma Arnold on the sitcom "The Wonder Years." During the nighttime show, viewers were entertained by her as the show's mother, but she never got to play the same role in real life.

For daytime viewers, the star appeared for 13 years as Pamela Douglas on the soap opera, "The Bold and Beautiful." In 2020, her husband, Orson Bean, died at age 91 due to a car accident.

Mills took a break from the soap opera when the incident happened. The star, who was a blonde-haired, peace-keeping mother as Arnold, was born on May 9, 1951, and turned 72 in 2023, while her late husband was 23 years her senior.

On May 16, 2023, she appeared on Facebook's Michael Fairman TV, where the host noted how Bean would've been proud of her Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series nomination for "General Hospital."

The celebrity agreed and revealed she even had his picture on her work table. She also shared that she talked to her late husband and would ask him what jobs to take, including her return to television as Heather Webber in "General Hospital."

Mills appeared to be emotional as she spoke about her late husband. In the following chapters, the couple's unique yet tragic love story with an unending love will be told in detail.

How Did Alley Meet Orson, and Why Did She Take So Long to Get Married?

In a past interview, Mills revealed that she waited until age 40 to get married. She only married at that age because she had a knack for picking the "wrong man" a couple of times until she met Bean.

They became best friends immediately after meeting the actor and remained very close until his death. The actress said Bean was a great man and had expected him to live until age 105.

When they met in March 1992, none were winning in the romance arena. For the past twelve years, Mills dated three men, and all the relationships only lasted for two years, and after her 1991 breakup with David Birney, there was no one else.

The star explained why she was single before Bean, noting how men in Hollywood were too shallow and vain for her. Bean was married twice, in 1956 to Jacqueline de Sibour and in 1965 to Carolyn Maxwell, and he had four children.

The actor courted Mills in an old-fashioned way, and they met in Los Angeles when the actress and her mother, Joan Kerr, went to see a play he was starring in. After the play, the actress went out for drinks with some of her friends who were part of the cast.

Bean called her a week later, and they went on their first date; he brought her flowers, and she was touched. After the date, she asked him to come to her place, and they would "neck" before he revealed he was going home, and she'd look at him strangely.

It took the pair a while - two months - before they slept together. The courtship had hiccups mainly because the actress feared that if they became close, he could leave her, and that's something she couldn't handle.

However, what didn't bother the pair was their age difference; Mills brushed it off, saying she wasn't not going to be with him just because of it. In October 1992, the "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" star tossed a black box with a diamond ring in his girlfriend's lap.

By December 2021, [Alley] Mills was still grieving and felt the feeling would never leave her.

At the time, the couple was on a flight from Michigan to Los Angeles, and he said his offer was "unconditional." Bean told her if she didn't want to wear the ring, she could leave it in a drawer but could consider it as an engagement ring!

Mills wore it immediately, and that's how they got engaged! Sadly, after being together for almost three decades, the actress' life changed drastically when she suddenly lost the love of her life.

How did Alley become a widow?

On February 7, 2020, Bean was in Venice, California, at night when a car struck and killed him. Police in Los Angeles said a pedestrian was walking around Venice Boulevard and Shell Avenue when a car clipped him, and he fell.

Bystanders saw a second driver coming and tried to warn them, but they also hit the same pedestrian, and the second accident was sadly fatal. Mills, who had been married to Bean for 27 years at that point, happened to be at the scene.

The tragedy occurred outside the Pacific Resident Theatre, where the actress and her husband were company members. When Bean was killed, he crossed Venice Boulevard to get to the theater where Mills was working.

Losing her husband unexpectedly left Mills broken, and she's still yet to stop grieving. Bean remained in her heart, and she never stopped missing him as he'd left a significant gap in her life.

Alley Had to Survive without Orson and Decided Not to Marry Again

By December 2021, Mills was still grieving and felt the feeling would never leave her. However, she'd learned lessons on how to navigate her sadness, and the most helpful thing was being able to focus on how grateful she was for having had him for all those years before admitting:

"I will, of course, forever feel the hole in that of now missing my best friend and partner, Orson..."

"The Wonder Years" actress was also grateful that the "Desperate Housewives" star left her with friends and a loving family. He also bestowed upon her a better grasp of gratitude no matter where she landed.

Mills described Bean as "the love of my life until he died," and she had no intention to tie the knot for the second time. May the late actor continue resting in eternal peace and remain his widow's guide through life.

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