Ron Howard And Wife Cheryl Celebrate 50 Years Of Being Together: ‘There’s An Element Of Luck’

Ron has previously spoken about the "instant connection" that he felt for Cheryl. Last year, he told People magazine all about it:

"I met her, and there was never anybody else. People say, 'How'd you do it?' There's no technique. There's no tactic other than communication is really important. You have to learn to communicate and have difficult conversations in constructive ways."

He also added that, honestly, there's also a little luck involved:

"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."

While Cheryl doesn't work in Hollywood, she's definitely a creative in her own right. She is the author of the book In the Face of Jinn.

She explained: "As a child I was consumed with adventure stories, fairy tales, and real life accounts of people who had traveled around the globe. I didn't start writing until the age of 22 and English was never my strong point, but I do, dearly, love a good yarn. Especially, if afterwards, I'm just a little more aware of the world around me."

While Cheryl isn't an actress, she has appeared in a few of her husband's movies, including Splash, Ransom, and Angels and Demons.

Ron told the HuffPost that he worried their relationship wouldn't last since they were still in high school when they met. Luckily, he was wrong.

"I felt really lucky when we met. It's crazy. We were teenagers, it shouldn't have worked. We got married young, that shouldn't have worked either, and yet it really and truly has."

He's also never shied away from celebrating his wife on Instagram:

"[Cheryl] has made so many good things possible, and so many difficult things manageable. I'm forever grateful."

Each of their four children has pursued careers in acting, and their eldest daughter, Bryce, has enjoyed a particularly successful career. In fact, Ron told Closer Weekly that said he's learned a lot as he watches Bryce pursue her own career as a director.

"I'm going back now, you know, 17, 18 years since she began professionally in the business. I honestly and I'm embarrassed to admit it, I didn't realize how much more difficult the business was for females than males. And to witness it through the eyes of a daughter who's actually had a lot of good breaks and done incredibly well and still see the ways in which an artist is sort of tested, challenged, as they make their way through the industry."

He also added, "Even without any nightmares or horror stories, but just the struggle. It is profoundly different than what I've observed among my counterparts or anything that I felt or really went through.​ And so that's been sobering, but I've felt it for years, which is one of the reasons why I'm excited that those ratios are beginning to balance out."

"That there is a new etiquette and a new understanding of relationships, interactions, in the workplace that make the environment, that do level the playing field a little bit more and make the environment healthier and more productive, and remove these other sort of aspects that only limit creativity and personal expression."

Of their four children, Bryce Dallas Howard is the child whom most people will recognize. In addition to starring in several films (including the Jurassic World series), she's also directed five movies and an episode of The Mandalorian.