Mary Poppins star Dick Van Dyke, 96, hits gym with much younger wife

The Mary Poppins star and his wife, Arlene Silver – who is 46 years his junior – have been spotted hitting the gym together in Malibu.

Mary Poppins icon Dick Van Dyke, 96, was in high spirits as he stepped out in a “Spoonful of Sugar” sweatshirt in Malibu, California, this week.

The age-defying actor was accompanied by his wife Arlene Silver, 50, as they headed to lunch after finishing up a fitness class at a nearby gym.

The couple celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary back in February by going viral with a romantic Valentine’s Day video — but still looked like loved-up newlyweds as they shared a laugh while strolling along in the sun.

In addition to the sweatshirt referencing his most famous film role, Van Dyke kept things casual for the lunch date, donning a pair of Adidas sweatpants he presumably wore for his workout.

The couple looked relaxed as they left the gym. Picture: Backgrid

Van Dyke was all smiles. Picture: Backgrid

The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star is famous for keeping fit and healthy despite his advancing age, telling Closer Weekly that he still hits the gym three times a week.

“I’ve always been an exerciser and still am … I get in the pool and exercise. At my age, they say to keep moving. Put me on solid ground and I’ll start tapping,” he declared in an interview with the magazine back in 2019.

Van Dyke revealed he does water aerobics, lifts weights and walks on a treadmill. He also credited his fit physique to “good genes.”

They first got together when Van Dyke was 81 and Silver just 35. Picture: Backgrid

He maintains a healthy lifestyle. Picture: Backgrid

Meanwhile, the smitten star said much-younger Silver also keeps him on his toes.

“I sometimes forget that we’re doing a great experiment here — 46 years’ difference. And we work at it to some extent,” he explained. “There’s got to be some understanding, find out what old habits don’t work anymore. It takes some adjusting and fitting in, but that’s part of the fun of it.”

Van Dyke first met Silver at the 2007 Screen Actors Guild Awards. At the time, he was 81 and she was just 35.

Van Dyke and Silver at the SAG Awards in 2012. Picture: AP Photo/Matt Sayles

Silver spoke with Closer in a separate interview earlier this year, recalling the moment she first laid eyes on her now-husband.

“He said, ‘Hi, I’m Dick.’ The first thing I asked him was, ‘Weren’t you in “Mary Poppins”?’ We got along immediately as friends, so it didn’t feel like he was so much older than me,” she told the publication.

The devoted wife further cooed: “He is the most perfect human being. I’ve never met anyone so happy, so genuine, so amazing. He’s just like a happy pill.”

The pair were friends for several years before their relationship turned romantic.

Van Dyke said he was relieved his fans were supportive of the relationship, adding: “I thought there would be an outcry about a gold digger marrying an old man, but no one ever took that attitude.”

Emily Blunt and Dick Van Dyke at the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2019. (Photo by Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in the 1964 classic Mary Poppins. Picture: Headpress

Back in February, the couple showed off their fun-loving relationship in a video posted in honour of Valentine’s Day.

The pair were seen dancing to a cover of the 1958 Doris Day song Everybody Loves a Lover performed by Silver’s band, Arlene & the Vantastix.

Silver is Van Dyke’s second wife. The four-time Emmy winner split from his first wife and mother of his four children, Margie Willett, in 1984 after 36 years of marriage.

Van Dyke was also in a relationship with actress Michelle Triola for more than 30 years until she died in 2009.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Mary Poppins star Dick Van Dyke, 96, hits gym with much younger wife