Bryce Dallas Howard has revealed why her father, Ron Howard, had to propose to his wife of nearly 50 years, Cheryl Howard, three times.
The 42-year-old actor spoke candidly about her mother and father’s relationship during an episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, which aired on 5 February. Speaking to Drew, Bryce specified that while her parents met at John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California, they didn’t get married right away.
In fact, according to the Argylle star, Cheryl rejected her partner’s first two proposals, for the sake of focusing on her education.
“While they had an incredible relationship in high school and everything, he proposed three times and she said no two of them,” Byrce explained. “Because she was like, ‘I wanna go to school first. I’m not ready to be on your train yet.’”
Elsewhere in the interview, Bryce went on to describe her childhood, while acknowledging how long her parents have been together.
“I grew up very, very, very, very, very sheltered and protected. And it’s really my mom, my mom and my dad have been together since they were 16,” she said. “And she’s a force of nature.”
Bryce then described some of the things her mother achieved when she was younger, like soloing her “first plane when she was 16”.
“When there wasn’t a sport for girls in her school, she cut off all her hair and told everyone her name was Charlie and she played football. And then when they found out, she started a track team. She’s a very, very, very tough, distinctive, singular lady,” she added. “She’s a writer. She writes esoteric science-fiction.”
As she continued to describe some of her mother’s best qualities, she then described how Cheryl shaped the person that Ron is.
“She’s just so unapologetically herself, and I think she, in a way, raised my dad to be that way,” Bryce added. “Because they’ve been together since they were 16, and she’s just kept him so honest and real.”
The Happy Days star and his wife first tied the knot in 1975, and they’ve been together ever since. Along with Bryce, the pair share three other adult children: 42-year-old twin daughters, Jocelyn Carlyle and Paige Carlyle, and 36-year-old son Reed Cross.
Over the years, Ron has also spoken candidly about his nearly 50 years of marriage. Speaking to People in 2019, he specified that when he was first introduced to his now-wife while in high school, there was an instant connection. “I met her, and there was never anybody else,” he explained.
He then shared the secret to his and his wife’s long-lasting marriage: “communication.” He also specified that there’s not specific “technique” for how he and Cheryl make their relationship work.
“There’s no tactic other than communication is really important. You have to learn to communicate and have difficult conversations in constructive ways,” he said. “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.”
