Henry Winkler thinks that listening to each other is the "secret" to a long and happy marriage.
Henry Winkler has been married to Stacey Weitzman for 45 years
The 77-year-old actor - who is best known for playing The Fonz in classic sitcom 'Happy Days' - has been married to Stacey Weitzman, 75, since 1978 and admitted that the key to a successful marriage lies in choosing the "right person" but also believes that the "centre of the relationship" is not in the heart or the head, but the ear.
He told Fox News Digital: "What’s the secret? First, it’s picking the right person. In 45 years, there are ups, there are downs. You need the right person who can face those ups and downs with you. There is also the will to be together – I believe in that very strongly. I’ve rethought this, and it always comes back to that. The centre of the relationship is the ear — not the heart, not the head."
The Emmy Award-winning star met Stacey when he was at the height of his fame in the ABC sitcom - which followed the lives of a Wisconsin family in the 1950s - but revealed that despite his celebrity status, she was not fazed by the attention their relationship inevitably brought.
He said: "I said, ‘I don’t know how to describe it to you. I remember we sat down in the middle, and the entire theatre stood up to come to say hello. She turned to me and said, ‘Oh!’ Then we drove to West Hollywood for dessert at a restaurant that no longer exists. I’m driving and waving.
"She said, ‘Who are you waving to?’ I said, ‘I have no idea. They’re waving at me. So I’m waving at them.’ It is what it is. I was working as an actor, which was a dream of mine since I was old enough to reason. My fame came from that. I was working very hard and doing really well. I went from being given just six lines to being known by the world. I was entertaining people and making them laugh. … I had no control of that!"
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