Ron Howard Reveals What Makes Him Fall in Love with Wife Cheryl ‘Over and Over’ After 51 Years of Marriage (Exclusive)

Ron Howard Reveals What Makes Him Fall in Love with Wife Cheryl ‘Over and Over’ After 51 Years of Marriage (Exclusive)

Ron and Cheryl Howard at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Canada, on Sept, 7, 2024Credit: Cindy Ord/Getty

Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE at the 2026 DOC NYC Visionaries Lunch at Gotham Hall in New York City on Wednesday, Nov. 11, Ron Howard shared the secrets of his marriage to his wife, Cheryl, more than five decades since they wed

“Her smile and her eyes, and that look that makes me fall in love again over and over and over again,” he tells PEOPLE of his partner. “I’ve been very blessed to be her guy,”

The high school sweethearts celebrated 51 years of marriage in June, and recently marked 56 years since their first date at a movie theater as teenagers

Ron Howard has revealed the little things that make him fall in love with his wife, Cheryl, all over again, more than five decades after they tied the knot.

Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE at the 2026 DOC NYC Visionaries Lunch at Gotham Hall in New York City on Wednesday, Nov. 11, the 72-year-old discussed the longevity of his marriage to Cheryl, also 72, after they celebrated 51 years of marriage earlier this year.

Ron Howard at the 2026 DOC NYC Visionaries Lunch at Gotham Hall in New York City on Nov. 11, 2026Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty

When asked if there was something his wife does that takes him right back to the beginning of their relationship, he had a sweet, simple answer.

“Her smile and her eyes, and that look that makes me fall in love again over and over and over again,” he tells PEOPLE.

Cheryl and Ron Howard at the Vue West End in London on July 18, 2022

“I’ve been very blessed to be her guy,” the Oscar-winning director adds.

Earlier this month, Ron and Cheryl, a writer, marked the 56th anniversary of their first date as high school sweethearts. The pair went to see a re-release of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World before grabbing pizza, and he tells PEOPLE that movie outings remain a regular part of their relationship today.

“Oh yeah,” he says, when asked if they still enjoy movie dates. “Like America and the world, we’ve started going back to the movies again. Our romantic life has often been built around going to the movies, and that kind of dried up after COVID.”

“I think two things happened,” Ron recalls. “One is that excitement about binge TV watching has dulled a little bit. There’s great work on television, but for a minute there, it was kind of the most urgent, exciting, creative thing that you could experience.”

“Then COVID hit, and now we’ve just rediscovered going back to the movies at least once a week and having a date,” he explains.

Ron and Cheryl Howard with daughter Bryce Dallas Howard in Malibu, Calif., on Feb. 21, 1982Credit: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty

Back in 2019, Ron told PEOPLE about how he and Cheryl met in English class during their junior year at John Burroughs High School in Burbank, Calif., almost 50 years earlier. “I met her, and there was never anybody else,” he said at the time.

The pair married on June 7, 1975, four and a half years into their relationship, and have four children together, daughters Bryce, Paige and Jocelyn, and son Reed.

Over the years, Ron has attributed his successful marriage to healthy communication — alongside a small helping of good fortune.

“You have to learn to communicate and have difficult conversations in constructive ways,” he told PEOPLE in 2019. “Beyond that, there’s an element of luck because people either grow together or they don’t and I don’t think you can force that.”

Ron and Cheryl Howard during the ‘Miss Potter’ premiere in New York City on Dec. 10, 2006Credit: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage for The Weinstein Company

To celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2025, Ron told PEOPLE in a cover story that he and Cheryl donated a “kissing chair” to a park where they spent time together as teenagers. “I got the idea of an old-fashioned sort of love seat where couples could sit and talk and smooch a little bit,” he explained of the sweet tribute.

His brother Clint Howard later drove past the chair and spotted a couple kissing on it. “He said, ‘Hey, it’s working,’ ” Ron recalled.

Ron also shared a heartfelt tribute to his wife on Instagram to mark the milestone, alongside a snap of the two together in front of a sunset.

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“Grateful for 50 amazing years and the family and experiences it has yielded. What an adventure downriver through calm, soothing waters and some tricky rapids as well,” he wrote.

“Our key... love and respect each other enough to just keep paddling,” he continued. “Thank God for you, Cheryl.”

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Source: Entertainment