Ron Howard Didn’t Give Money to His Kids Taught Them to Clean the House – He Moved from LA to Farm for Their Sake

• Ron Howard was dedicated to his career but willing to do anything for his children’s sake – even take them away from Hollywood to a farm.
• He refused to spoil them. His children were in economy seats when he and his wife flew first class. He also taught them regular chores and how to be independent.
• Today, the director is a happy father and grandfather who doesn’t regret how he raised his family and believes he did the right thing.

Ron Howard is an American director best known for writing and producing “A Beautiful Mind,” released in 2001. The movie earned him the Academy Award for Best Director and also won Best Picture in 2002. He received nominations for “Frost/Nixon” in the same categories in 2009.

The director is now 69 years old, but he is, first and foremost, a father and a family man. He met his wife, Cheryl, when they were juniors at John Burroughs High School in California. They knew instantly that they would be together. Howard once said:

“I met her, and there was never anybody else.”

The couple married in 1975 and celebrated their relationship and their life often. Fans are witness to their many pictures on social media, where it’s clear that their love hasn’t faded one bit. The director explained that the secret to their relationship is “communication.”

On November 1, 2020, Howard posted a special picture with Cheryl as they shared a pizza. He explained that they were celebrating their first date and wrote, “Cheryl & I went to a movie and pizza, so tonight, as times have changed, we’ll #Netflix a movie and devour this take-out pizza.”

He also added more information about their date on Instagram that same day, revealing:

“We went to see a re-release of Stanley Kramer’s It’s a Mad Mad Mad World and then got some pizza at now-defunct Barnone’s in Toluca Lake. Quite a start, right? Today we are celebrating with this kind of socks we ordered (Cheryl’s w/my mug got held up) and a trip to our local take-out pizza place. We’ll be driving in the same ’70 VW Bug I picked Cheryl up in 5 decades ago. It runs great. So do we.”

In a 2017 post, Howard revealed they were both 16 during their first date. In another post, the director added a picture of him and Cheryl on their way to prom, with a link to his book, “The Boys,” and wrote:

“On this day, 1970, my wife Cheryl & I had our 1st date. This is a picture of us on our way to the prom in ’72. She made that dress, btw. Cheryl’s been the love of my life ever since.”

In an interview with Graham Bensinger, the director was asked about his early days with Cheryl and if his parents were resistant to the relationship. Howard explained that his parents initially worried he would get distracted by falling in love.

They weren’t wrong because the then-teenager was pretty enamored with Cheryl. But his parents placed a lot of rules and were strict, though they were always like that anyway, according to Howard.

At the time, the young man found the rules “frustrating,” as his parents only allowed him one or two dates a week. But he wanted more time and tried to negotiate with them. To get around the restrictions, he and Cheryl started attending church, and his parents couldn’t complain about that.

Later, Howard lied, telling them he was joining the cross-country team and would sneak out with Cheryl during his “training.” He would jog to her house and be with her.

Howard also took Bensinger for a drive around his neighborhood, recounting the awkwardness of his childhood crush. He explained that they still weren’t together, although they had a date.

Therefore, he tried to figure out where she lived by “haunting” the streets in their area. He used to listen to James Taylor’s song “Fire and Rain” while trying to find Cheryl.

All he wanted to do was see her walking the streets and offer her a ride home. However, that never happened, and when Bensinger asked if he told anyone back then, Howard said, “No!” He only told Cheryl about that after they were officially together.

When his driving plan wouldn’t work, he finally plucked up the courage to call her. Howard told Bensinger:

“Even awkward teenage 16-year-old stuff can sometimes lead to four kids and six grandkids and 47 years plus of happy marriage.”

Later in the interview, Bensinger told Howard he had “one of the worst proposal stories in history,” although the director said he was a romantic. He had allegedly already asked Cheryl to get married several times before.

However, Cheryl would refuse each time, telling them to wait until she got her degree. They were 21 and had been together since they were 16. The director asked Anson Williams from “Happy Days” if he thought they should get married. The actor said:

“Howard, you’ve been married the whole time anyway. What are you waiting for?”

Even Williams saw that Howard was a one-woman man because although he appeared in “Happy Days” himself, he wasn’t living the life of a heartthrob.

Finally, one day, while he and Cheryl were on the on-ramp reaching the Ventura freeway, Howard blurted, “Well, do you wanna get married? Seriously. What do you think?” There was no ring, no preparation, but Cheryl said yes.

Howard explained that when he met and fell in love with Cheryl, he had a sense of “focus, confidence, and excitement about something that had nothing to do with show business.”

They married on June 7, 1975, after five years of dating. They have four children, including actress and director Bryce Dallas Howard, twins Jocelyn Carlyle and Paige Howard, and son, Reed Cross.

On how long their marriage lasted, both Howard and Cheryl were surprised and Howard commented:

“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.”

In his biography “Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon…and Beyond” written by Beverly Gray, the author described both Howard and Cheryl as shy, awkward kids, but she sat next to him in one class and didn’t know who the equally timid boy next to her was.

Her parents hadn’t allowed her to watch television, so she never saw Howard on “The Andy Griffith Show.” Additionally, her father was a landlord to actors, so she didn’t think much of the industry.

Cheryl revealed that in their first conversation, they talked about her dog. Howard asked her out an hour later. Twenty years later, they returned to their old classroom and took pictures together.

Despite their infatuation and how much they tried to fool each other’s parents to continue dating, Cheryl supported his dreams. She was even in his short film, “A Deed of Daring-Do,” which Howard submitted to the Kodak Teenage Filmmakers Contest. Cheryl has cameoed in all of his movies since then.

When they became parents, Cheryl wanted her kids to be raised with different values. Her family didn’t have much money, and Howard’s parents were originally from a small farm town and lived frugally.

Howard revealed to Bensinger that they had a big house and employees at home but didn’t live lavishly. That’s probably why they made the harsh decision to move away.

Changing Their Scenery for the Family

At one point, it became necessary for Cheryl to move the kids from Los Angeles. Bensinger asked Howard why they made that decision, and the director revealed that they noticed that L.A. was “emotionally constricting.”

They also heard stories about kindergartners fighting each other about their famous parents. Bensinger also interviewed daughter Bryce for the same special, and the actress explained that one of her friends in preschool gave her a script to give to her father. She added:

“Being raised in Los Angeles, so much of the culture of the city is centered around the entertainment industry. They didn’t want to raise us in an environment that felt that singular.”

Howard echoed his daughter’s words, commenting that Cheryl didn’t want the kids exposed to that scrutiny daily. She felt strongly about it, but the director was building his company, and moving away meant traveling constantly. However, they did it. They left L.A. the same year Howard launched Imagine Entertainment.

His co-founder, Brian Grazer, was shocked by their decision because he had “assumed” they would stay in Los Angeles for the company. “That’s where Hollywood is,” he shrugged. Grazer tried to convince Howard to come back. After an earthquake, Grazer told Howard that home prices were “going to crash” to try to entice him.

When Bensinger asked Bryce if the move affected her, she shook her head because her memories of living in L.A. were limited. Her parents never took her or her siblings to premieres or parties.

They moved to the East Coast and lived on a farm, surrounded by nature and animals. Bryce explained that her mother wanted her kids’ childhood to be the opposite of their privilege. The actress explained:

“My mom was very strict, and she was strict for good reason. My parents weren’t gonna give us their money. They don’t believe in that. They knew that when we were 18, we were going to need to take care of ourselves.”

Elaine Lipworth for the Daily Mail said she met Bryce on a flight from Los Angeles to New York and saw her and her siblings sitting in economy class while her parents were in first class. She was in the aisle opposite Lipworth, who was carrying her baby, Chace.

Years later, the actress told Lipworth, “They would never throw the kids in first class – we knew we were lucky just to be traveling.”

The Howard family had goats, sheep, little horses, and chickens on their farm on the outskirts of Connecticut, so they only had a few visitors. They taught their children practical things like financial knowledge, cleaning the barn and house, and repairing things like the roof and toilet.

The actress said that when her parents visit her home with her husband, Seth Gabel, they see him doing handiwork and complain because they taught her to do that as well. Bryce continued:

“My mother and father provided a safe environment for us to confront our fears and overcome them. When I was five, I was afraid of snakes. My mom would say, ‘You should be cautious around snakes, but you don’t need to be afraid of them. So we’re going to go to the pet store, and you’re going to get a pet snake.'”

They got her a baby snake, which she named Joseph, and afterward, the actress’s fear of snakes disappeared.

The Beautiful Relationship Continues

Howard and Cheryl are still together after over four decades, and people always ask them how they achieved it. The director believes “there’s no technique” besides proper communication.

He explained that people should learn how to talk constructively. The rest he considers luck because people can “either grow together or they don’t.”

Fortunately, Cheryl is more than supportive; they have been compatible since the beginning. That’s why their family has grown so beautifully, and their four kids have given them six grandchildren.

Howard revealed to Bensinger that he is “very proud” of his children and how they live. “They’re very principled,” he said. “They’re creative. They’re engaged. They’re good problem solvers.”

Meanwhile, the kids adore their parents, and Bryce once said she was “obsessed” with them. When she and actor Seth Gabel married in 2006, they went on a honeymoon tour of the Greek Islands with Howard and Cheryl who are avid travelers.

Howard shares many pictures of their adventures with pride in his words. In 2021, they went to London and posted several photos together, while Howard also thanked his fans for loving his book “The Boys.”

“As the holidays approach, it’s nice to hear many are giving our book The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family as a gift. Thank U! In it, my brother Clint & I write about growing up as kid actors, our unusual family & I recall Cheryl & me meeting & falling in love back in the 11th grade. It was gr8 2 look back. Check it out wherever you go for books or on audio.”

In another post from 2022, the director promoted “Thirteen Lives” while sharing another adorable shot of him and Cheryl with Big Ben in the background. They also find time to remain active during their adventures. They went hiking in Queensland, and Howard wrote:

“Cheryl & me taking an afternoon off to hike in the rain forests of #queensland Fun & beautiful Back to work tomorrow.”

He also posted another goofy picture of their time in Queensland, as the director did his best to spend valuable time with his wife during his breaks. In 2020, he posted another selfie, celebrating 45 years of marriage. He wrote:

“45 yrs ago today, Cheryl & I wed. Our journey has been one of many blessings & lessons experienced both together & as individuals. In these often heartbreaking times, we will continue to listen & learn & hope our country will grow, unify, flourish & set a positive example for the world. #BlackLivesMatter”

Aside from being the perfect example of a wonderful couple, Howard and Cheryl are also proud grandparents. Bryce and her husband have given them two children, Beatrice Jean Howard-Gabel and Theodore Norman Howard-Gabel.

Their youngest child, Reed, has a son with his wife, Ashley Howard. Meanwhile, daughter Jocelyn has three children. But she likes to keep them from the spotlight, so it’s rare to see them even on social media.

Howard’s first grandchild was Bryce’s son, Theodore, and he adored becoming a grandfather. “I love being with him. I didn’t remotely understand how profound the experience of being a grandparent is until you become one,” he gushed in 2007 when the baby was born.

His latest grandchild is Elodie Vivian, who was born in 2020. Howard took to Instagram and thanked the midwives who helped his daughter, Jocelyn, at the Connecticut Center for Women’s Health and Midwifery. He also praised the staff who worked hard to protect moms and newborns.

Bryce once revealed that her children adore their grandparents just as much as they love them. They have sleepovers at their house all the time. She also praised her father for being a fantastic granddad and having special relationships with her kids. The actress continued:

“I have my own precious memories of myself as a child with him, and to see my children playing with him and doing things with my dad that I did as a kid makes me so happy!”

As an actress, Bryce told People that she hopes to work with her father someday, adding, “I don’t know how many roles I can ask my dad to play in my life, but so far, father, best friend, role model, mentor and grandfather to my children are working out quite well.”

Meanwhile, Howard’s other twin daughter, Paige, got married in 2022. Her big sister Bryce celebrated with a beautiful caption on Instagram: “Congratulations to the newlywed couple @paigecarlylehoward & @timmyabou!! Although it took a whole pandemic to reach this special moment, I can’t imagine a more perfect day celebrating you two. Tim, I am filled with gratitude and joy to call you my brother!!⁣”