Ron Howard achieved early fame as a child star on The Andy Griffith Show and as a teen on the hit ABC sitcom Happy Days, where he played Richie Cunningham. By the time his wedding day to his high school sweetheart rolled around at the height of his Happy Days fame in 1975, Howard was undoubtedly a wealthy man.
But in a new interview with People magazine, Howard, 71, revealed that his wedding to Cheryl Alley was “a small, very modest” affair. The reason? His future father-in-law wanted to foot the bill.
“It was important to Cheryl’s dad that he pay for it, so therefore it was important to Cheryl to not let it get out of hand,” Howard explained to the outlet.
Howard noted that the guest list for the church wedding included his co-stars from The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days. “My mom and dad had a small kind of champagne punch reception back at their house. The whole thing was super modest,” the Oscar-winning film director added. “But you know what? By God, it worked.”
In his 2021 memoir The Boys, Howard previously noted that the total price for the nuptials was just $800, including the cost of the bride’s wedding dress.
Fifty years later, Howard’s net worth is reportedly more than $200 million.
Ron Howard Proposed to His Wife 3 Times
While Howard’s walk down the aisle was no-fuss, he may have stressed out a bit over the actual proposal. During a 2024 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, the couple’s eldest daughter, Bruce Dallas Howard, revealed that her father proposed to her mom three times before she accepted.
“While they had an incredible relationship in high school and everything, he proposed three times and she said no two of them,” Bryce said. “She was like, ‘I wanna go to school first. I’m not ready to be on your train yet!’”
In June 2025, Ron Howard marked his 50th anniversary with an Instagram photo of him and Cheryl on a beach at sunset. “Grateful for 50 amazing years and the family and experiences it has yielded,” he captioned the post. “What an adventure down river through calm soothing waters and some tricky rapids as well. Our key….love and respect each other enough to just keep paddling. Thank God for you, Cheryl.”
