Ron Howard says the feelings he had for Cheryl as a high school student still return more than five decades into their marriage. The Oscar-winning director has been reflecting on the expressions and familiar routines that keep their relationship close.
Howard, 72, spoke with PEOPLE at the DOC NYC Visionaries Lunch at Gotham Hall in New York City on November 11. The conversation was published the following day.
The couple married on June 7, 1975, after meeting at John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California. In an earlier interview with The New Yorker, Cheryl recalled that they had been assigned to the same English class.
They are parents to Bryce Dallas, twins Paige and Jocelyn, and Reed, and their family has grown to include six grandchildren.
Cheryl’s Smile Takes Him Back
Asked what brings back the beginning of their romance, Howard pointed to “her smile and her eyes” and the familiar way Cheryl looks at him. “I’ve been very blessed to be her guy,” he added.
Howard has previously credited their marriage’s longevity to learning how to handle difficult conversations constructively. In a 2019 interview, he said communication mattered, along with the good fortune of continuing to grow together as people.
Weekly Movie Dates Are Back
Ron and Cheryl marked 56 years since their first date on November 1. That evening in 1970 began with a rerelease of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and ended with pizza at Barnone’s in Toluca Lake, according to Nine‘s coverage of Howard’s anniversary recollection.
For the fiftieth anniversary of their first date in 2020, Howard said they planned takeout pizza and a ride in the same 1970 Volkswagen Beetle he had used to pick Cheryl up.
The pandemic interrupted a moviegoing habit that had remained part of their relationship for years. Howard said the couple had also become caught up in the excitement of watching television at home, when new series felt especially compelling.
They have since returned to theaters at least once a week. Howard said some of the urgency around binge-watching had faded, even as he continued to admire the work being made for television.
A Kissing Chair Marked Their Golden Anniversary
For their 50th wedding anniversary in June 2025, Howard considered donating a bench to the Burbank park where he and Cheryl had spent time as teenagers. He settled on a seat designed for couples to sit close together, talk and kiss.
The resulting kissing chair stands in Johnny Carson Park. A City of Burbank report identifies Andy Scott as the artist behind the sculpture.
In his August 2025 PEOPLE cover interview, Howard recalled that his brother Clint had driven past and spotted a couple kissing in the chair. Clint photographed the couple and joked that the gift was working as intended.
Cheryl Became His Filmmaking Good Luck Charm
Howard’s cameo tradition began with a teenage Western entered in a Kodak filmmaking contest. Cheryl played a saloon girl despite having little interest in performing, and the film finished second. He recalled the experience during his October 10 conversation with PEOPLE’s Benjamin VanHoose at the Hamptons International Film Festival.
Her later appearances became a good luck ritual. After her original Solo: A Star Wars Story scene was cut, Howard raised the problem with producer Kathleen Kennedy. She suggested using a green screen, and Cheryl was added to another scene. Howard excludes documentaries from the tradition.
Cheryl’s own novel, In the Face of Jinn, was published in 2005 under the name Cheryl Howard Crew. She told The New Yorker that it took nine years to write. The added surname honored her grandmother, and research for the book included travel to India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Cheryl credited Ron with giving her room to develop as a writer as she worked through the long process.