Hollywood legend Ron Howard and his wife Cheryl will celebrate their 51st wedding anniversary this summer.
Although the pair had a “very modest” wedding back in 1975, their love has only grown over the past five decades.
Cheryl & Ron Howard Are High School Sweethearts
GettyRon and Cheryl Howard tied the knot on June 7, 1975. The pair met in high school and quickly fell in love.
“I was just so sure,” the “Andy Griffith” star told PEOPLE about meeting his future wife in an interview last summer.
They’ve been together ever since meeting in school, but the Howards know that a successful marriage takes a lot of work and effort on both sides. However, the director adds that some of it is sheer chance.
“Some of staying together for that amount of time is luck. You have to grow together,” Ron Howard told the publication. “You can recognize when you’re veering off a little bit and try to work on it, sure. People talk about marriage requiring work and commitment, sure. I don’t think you can will it into existence.”
“I think as individuals it kind of has to work out for you that this is still the one, and that your bond is something you value and want to keep building on,” the director added. “I don’t think you can really fake that very well or should. But in that world of not letting stupid stuff or life’s ups and downs sabotage your bond, your relationship, that really gets back to communication. It’s a practice.”
The Howards Welcomed Four Children During Their Marriage
During their marriage, the Howards welcomed four children together: renowned actress Bryce Dallas Howard, twins Paige and Jocelyn, and one son, Reed.
While speaking to PEOPLE, Ron Howard shared that Jocelyn recently inspired him.
“One of my daughters is a yoga teacher and she always talks about ‘life is a practice,'” the 72-year-old told the outlet. “I think relationships require that. Communication is not always easy for either side. They say women communicate more easily — that’s probably true. Guys tend to withhold maybe a little bit. But forget all that: You just have to learn to believe you can problem-solve together.”
“And it ain’t perfect. Never is. Still isn’t,” Howard added. “But when you do practice that process, it works.”
He and Cheryl absolutely have disagreements. However, they’ve learned to solve the problem by recognizing who the issue is most important to and going from there. He emphasizes learning and listening in any disagreement.
“When you stop and shine a light on really what’s bothering both or one of you, you can usually get to the bottom of it and recognize, oh, there’s not a giant adjustment involved here,” the “Happy Days” star continued. “This can be sorted out. Sometimes it’s big and you have to say we agree to disagree but it doesn’t mean we’re not in love and married and doing this together.”
