Ron Howard Thought His Marriage 'Shouldn't Have Worked' but It Is Still Strong after 49 Years

Film director Ron Howard and his wife, Cheryl Howard, are celebrating their 49th wedding anniversary. In an interview, Ron shared why their marriage of over four decades has surpassed his expectations and reminisced about being smitten with Cheryl since their high school days.

Ron and Cheryl, high school sweethearts, are celebrating 49 years of marriage. The couple got married on June 7, 1975. While in an interview on "The View" Ron relished this milestone, revealing what attracted her to his wife.

The couple met when Ron was a junior at John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California. The Oscar-winning director shared there was an instant connection when they first laid eyes on each other.

When asked if it was his charisma that landed him the gorgeous Cheryl in high school, Ron replied that he wasn't even a "cool kid" back then. As much as he was popular, the actor was introverted and awkward, and sometimes people would make fun of him.

He narrated, "And I found this girl and she was just so full of life. She was flying airplanes. She was, you know, going to night school to get ahead and all of these things. And she just had so much authentic energy for life and joy." An emotional Ron added that his wife still has so much vigor for life and happiness.

Over the years, Ron Howard has spoken lovingly about his wife and their marriage. In October 2013, the actor visited the HuffPost Live studio to discuss one of his projects. The host, Josh Zepps, asked about his marriage to Cheryl.

Ron shared that their union has fruitfully succeeded despite the high likelihood that it would not. He explained what a lucky man he was to have found the actress.

The actor also expressed his disbelief at how far they have come, "I felt lucky when we met. It's crazy. We were teenagers, and it shouldn't have worked. We got married young, that shouldn't have worked either, and yet really and truly has."

When speaking about the secret to a long-lasting marriage in June 2019, Ron said this about his wife, “I met her, and there was never anybody else.” After celebrating their 44th anniversary that month, he revealed the secret to their long-lasting marriage is communication.

The movie star explained, “People say, ‘How do you do it?’ There’s no technique. There’s no tactic other than communication is important. You must learn to communicate and have difficult conversations in constructive ways.”

The father of four added that beyond that, it was only luck because people either grow together or do not, and he shared his belief that no one can force that. Moreover, Ron expressed that he felt blessed to have Cheryl as his rock throughout his life.

He described how his wife has been incredibly encouraging, particularly throughout his career. He also noted that their harmony has endured through many ups and downs in their remarkable life together.

The producer stated, "She’s unbelievably supportive and has always been. Our compatibility has endured through all kinds of experiences.”

Now, Both 70 years of age, Cheryl and Ron love celebrating their milestones together, which is apparent by the actor's social media posts. In 2020, Ron celebrated the couple’s 50th anniversary of their first date.

He reminisced about the good old days on Instagram, writing, "November 1, 1970, Cheryl & I went on our date. We went to see a re-release of Stanley Kramer’s 'It’s a Mad Mad Mad World' and then got some pizza at now-defunct Barnone’s in Toluca Lake.”

The post was accompanied by a picture of his socks which were printed with Cheryl’s face. Ron revealed they were celebrating their special day with the socks they ordered and were going on a trip to their local pizza joint.

He added they would be making their trip in the same car they drove half a century ago. The vehicle is the ’70 VW Bug that the Oklahoma native used to pick up his future wife, stating: “It runs great. So do we.”

Ron and Cheryl's love for one another extends to their children. the couple have four children — Bryce, Reed, Paige, and Jocelyn, whom they have all raised outside of the prying eyes of Hollywood in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Cheryl and Ron welcomed their eldest daughter, Bryce, who is an actress and a filmmaker, on March 2, 1981. They welcomed their twin daughters, Jocelyn, and Paige, on February 5, 1985. The pair later celebrated the arrival of their son, Reed, on April 12, 1987. The two are also grandparents to six grandchildren.

Unlike her beloved husband, Cheryl is a California native, born on December 23, 1953, to Charles Alley and Vivian Schmidt. Reports previously stated that she was raised in California and attended the same high school as Ron.

While the father of her children is a Hollywood star, Cheryl Howard is a talented writer. She has written books that include “Grandma,” “In the Face of Jinn,” and “Tell Me a Story.”

On her website bio, she shared that she was consumed with adventure stories, real-life stories, and fairy tales of well-traveled people when she was a child. Cheryl revealed she started writing at the age of twenty-two and that English was never one of her strengths growing up.

Most notably, she also dabbled in acting and appeared in films such as “Splash” and “Angels and Demons,” including many more. Per IMDb, Cheryl’s latest acting stint was in 2020’s “Hillbilly Elegy.”

On the other hand, Ron is a former child star, having played Opie on “The Andy Griffin Show,” which ran from 1960 to 1968 at the tender age of five. He later starred as Richie Cunningham on “Happy Days” from 1974 to 1980. Ron later found a new passion for working behind the camera.

The “The Da Vinci Code” star revealed he is an actor who dreamed of being a director. His latest film documentary is called “Pavarotti” which tells the life story of the famed opera singer.