Hollywood golden couple William Daniels and Bonnie Bartlett have the kind of happily ever after that is unheard of in the cutthroat entertainment industry.
The acting titans will be celebrating their 75th wedding anniversary on June 20, a milestone worthy of applause and one that solidifies their standing as Tinseltown’s most enduring marriage.
Boy Meets World icon Daniels, 99, and his Little House on the Prairie star wife, 96, have weathered their fair share of storms throughout their union, including the devastating loss of their child and an ‘open marriage’ shortly after marrying.
Now the couple have opened up like never before in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, revealing the secret behind their marriage and how Bartlett’s initial aversion to his 5ft 7in height could have halted their Hollywood love story.
‘I wouldn’t be with anyone else in my life than this woman sitting next to me,’ the Boy Meets World star lovingly told the Daily Mail.
It’s an anniversary the couple couldn’t have predicted they have reached and one they are aware is incredibly rare.
Boy Meets World star William Daniels and his wife Bonnie Bartlett shared the secrets behind their nearly 75-year marriage in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail. Above, on season five of St Elsewhere
The couple spoke with the Daily Mail as they prepared for the milestone anniversary on June 20
William is known for his role as the paternal teacher, Mr Feeny, above, with Ben Savage in 1993
‘It just happened,’ Bartlett said. ‘You don’t plan for it. You really don’t plan for it. I’m not at all romantic or anything like that. I’m a big believer in today, you know? And then all of the sudden it’s 75 years. It’s kind of amazing, I must say.
‘It is amazing, especially in our business.’
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In a true boy-meets-girl moment, their love story began at Northwestern University in Illinois, when Daniels first laid eyes on Bartlett in the back of their classroom while she read from a play.
‘I’m very good at the heavy stuff, and so what happened was that he was listening, and he didn’t think that these actors were very good. And then he heard me,’ she said.
‘And I looked, and in the back of the room, there was this blonde, and I thought, “Oh my goodness. She looks interesting.” And so I waited for her as the class filed out. And as she passed me, I said, “How about a cup of coffee?” And she said, “You’re too short.”‘
Fortunately, Bartlett – who at the time was a half inch shorter than Daniels but is now slightly taller than him – overcame her initial apprehension after his height.
‘I didn’t mean it as an insult, I just meant, “oh, no, no, you’re too short, I’m too tall for you,”‘ she said. ‘And he said, “Oh, come on,” and we’ve been together ever since.’
The couple have been married since 1951. Above, at the 1986 Emmys
Their love story began when they were freshmen in college, when Daniels spotted his future wife in class
They wed in 1951 and welcomed son William Jr in 1961, but he tragically died 24 hours after she gave birth. They went on to adopt two sons.
Bartlett opened up briefly about the heartbreaking loss in a 2024 interview with People, calling it a time of ‘great pain and sadness.’
‘That’s the best thing that ever happened to us. And it happened after losing a child, after great pain and sadness, and then we got these two wonderful boys, and they have been a joy the whole marriage. I can’t imagine life without them,’ she said.
During their marriage, they played each other’s spouses in three different projects, including St Elsewhere and Boy Meets World.
Like any relationship, their marriage has had its ups and downs with issues they candidly discussed in their memoirs.
Bartlett previously told Fox News that they had ‘a little bit of an open marriage’ shortly after tying the knot, one she described as being ‘very painful’.
When asked about the open marriage by the Daily Mail, she clarified they never had a specific discussion about an arrangement but said their lives ‘did go in different directions’ at times.
‘It’s funny, the press will pick up on something and make more of it than it was,’ she said. ‘There was never any discussion as to what we were going to do, but in 75 years, the two of you together, you know, it would be abnormal if you… weren’t attracted occasionally to other people,’ she said.
She admitted: ‘So there have been times, yeah, both of us, on both sides, yeah, and that is in the book,’ she said.
‘It was non-spoken. Bill and I never sit down and make rules. We never sit down and talk about these things. We just don’t. We just live our lives. And if he’s away for a year, he’s away for a year.’
‘Our lives just went on, but we never got unhinged…. We never got unhinged, but our lives did go in different directions occasionally.’
The couple played each other’s spouses in three different projects, including Boy Meets World, where their characters – Mr Feeny and Dean Bolander – wed.
It is a show that remains near and dear to his heart.
‘I wouldn’t be with anyone else in my life than this woman sitting next to me,’ Daniels adorably told the Daily Mail
Bartlett and Daniels have been open about the ups and downs they have had in their marriage
‘I love them all,’ he said of the cast. ‘And we see them as much as possible, which you know, is not always a lot.’
‘But we do see them,’ Bartlett said.
‘We do see them. And I look forward to seeing them,’ he said.
‘He really loves those kids,’ Bartlett said.
Nowadays, Daniels – who was also the voice of KITT in the TV series Knight Rider – is fulfilling Cameo requests from fans still eager to hear from their beloved Mr Feeny.
‘Birthdays, Mother’s Days, graduations, pep talks. He gets so many of those. You can tell that people have problems, you know, in life, and they write to Mr. Feeney to see if he can help him,’ Bartlett said.
‘They like to hear from him. I think it does help. They want them, he’ll give it, it’s great.’
Bartlett, meanwhile, is also known for the beloved TV series, Little House on the Prairie, in which she played Grace Snider Edwards.
The story has undergone the reboot treatment, a show Bartlett expressed interest in appearing in.
‘I haven’t seen it, but I know that I talked to my agent about it and said, “you know, if they want me, I’ll go on at any time, just one shot or whatever”… But I haven’t seen it yet. And I understand it’s more realistic.’
‘I love them all,’ Daniels said of the Boy Meets World cast. Above, the group in the 1990s
Daniels, with the cast in 2023, says he looks forward to seeing them
The love for Mr Feeny continues to this day, with numerous fans seeking his wisdom on Cameo
A deadpan joke Daniels made about marriage advice prompted his wife to laugh
The beloved Hollywood couple, however, face physical challenges when it comes to continuing their acting career.
‘Physically, you know, we’re a little bit, hampered, I guess? My vision isn’t good and… I can walk, I mean, I can walk.
‘Bill has trouble, some trouble walking, and his memory isn’t as good as mine, but we’re fine, and we’re happy, and we have this wonderful family of ours right near us.
‘Our son Michael and his family. And they’re right near us and they take care of us, as well as we have two ladies that take care of us. One does business and one does care and we have awfully good help.’
Through thick and thin, it is the family that has kept them together.
‘All of that family is wonderful, and that’s what really keeps you together, because you become… in our case, it’s not only a family, it’s a business. So we are all in it together.’
Daniels, however, couldn’t help but crack a joke when asked for his advice on having a long, successful marriage.
‘Don’t,’ he stated deadpan, prompting his wife to laugh.
