William Daniels — the 99-year-old (!!!) actor behind the beloved Boy Meets World character George Feeny — is about to celebrate 75 years of marriage with his wife, Bonnie Bartlett, on June 30, and the couple is spilling the secrets to their success, which includes a brief stint of opening up their relationship! Yes, really!
Both William and Bonnie admitted they tried to have an “open” marriage a few years after they got married in June 1951. Previously, she confessed to having an affair with a “slightly boring” actor around 1959 that only “lasted a few months.” William also had been with a producer in the ’70s, leaving Bonnie so “devastated” that she realized she “could no longer tolerate any kind of open marriage.” So, the pair closed their marriage back up!
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And looking back on that time, William and Bonnie told Page Six on Thursday that their ability to “adjust” things in their relationship has been the key to success! Even if it meant opening and closing their marriage at times! The Little House on the Prairie alum explained:
“Well, we’ve been together actually 78 years because it was three years in college. We met at Northwestern [University]. Right, Bill? And so we’ve really been together a long time. Life is all adjustment. You’re constantly adjusting. It suddenly got hot here [in Los Angeles], and it got hard to breathe and to move around. You have to kind of adjust to the heat. And that’s what life’s all about — is adjusting to whatever your circumstances are and however you move along. And certainly a marriage is full of adjustments.”
Bonnie, who says she is more of an “introspective” person, added that there needs to be some “wiggle room” in a marriage. When asked for his relationship advice, William replied, “Don’t,” as in “don’t” do it! LOLz! He is only kidding, though! Bonnie insisted her hubby, who leans into “the humor and the fun” of life, is “being funny” and trying to make everyone “laugh.” Laughter has also been a huge part of keeping their marriage thriving! Bonnie shared that William makes her laugh “all the time, every day” before expressing how “lucky” they are also in life:
“We’re so lucky we have two wonderful, wonderful sons. And one of them — Michael — lives right near us, and he helps us a lot. A lot. And he has a family, and we see them. We see him and his wife, and we see all the kids, and it’s wonderful. It’s wonderful.”
Aww!
Well, cheers to William and Bonnie on almost 75 years of marriage! That is an incredible feat! What are your reactions, Perezcious readers? Drop ’em in the comments (below)!
[Image via William Daniels/Instagram, David Livingston/WENN]
