Dick Van Dyke, 99, makes heartbreaking confession about life as he gets ready to turn 100 years old
“Every single one of my dearest lifelong friends is gone, which feels just as lonely as it sounds,” he shared, revealing the often unseen burden of longevity.
Wife keeps him youthful
He credits his wife Arlene, 54, as the person who keeps him vibrant and grounded.
“Without question, our ongoing romance is the most important reason I have not withered away into a hermetic grouch,” he wrote, according to the Independent.
Their relationship, spanning over a decade despite a significant age difference, has become one of the most stabilizing forces in his later years.
“Arlene is half my age, and she makes me feel somewhere between two thirds and three quarters my age, which is still saying a lot,” the Diagnosis: Murder star shared.
‘Giant playground’
Despite age, loss, and frustration with the world, the multiple award-winning legend holds onto the joy that made him a beloved figure for nearly a century.
“No one is genetically miserable. No matter our current circumstances, we all have the capacity for a joyful life,” he wrote, per Men’s Journal. “I’ve made it to 99 in no small part because I have stubbornly refused to give into the bad stuff in life: failures and defeats, personal losses, loneliness and bitterness, the physical and emotional pains of ageing.
