Although Ron Howard’s rise to fame began on The Andy Griffith Show, there was one person who wasn’t too impressed with his stardom when she first met him – his wife, Cheryl.

According to MeTV, Howard’s wife Cheryl hadn’t seen any episodes of The Andy Griffith Show prior to meeting her eventual husband. The duo met in high school and she said his stardom almost hurt his chances with her. “My father, who rented apartments to actors, didn’t have a high opinion of the whole profession,” she explained. 

Despite her previous judgments towards actors, Ron Howard’s wife gave him a chance, something she’s grateful she did. They eventually got married. They have three children together. Two of their children, Bryce Dallas and Paige Howard, went into acting. “I’m just glad I met him,” she declared. “I couldn’t get along with anyone else.” 

Meanwhile, Howard said it was important to him and Cheryl that their children were raised away from the Hollywood scene. He said the last thing the couple wanted was to make their children think they needed to go into the acting business. “I would probably discourage them from getting into the business as children,” he noted. “But if I saw that it was their burning desire to try this, then I would do everything I could to help them become good.” 

Ron Howard then added that he and Cheryl made it a point to make other professions more “enticing” for their children as they grew up. They decided to not let their children start acting until they were 18 years old.

Ron Howard Said He Became Aware of His Daughter Bryce’s Acting Talents When She Was 13 Years Old 

During an appearance on In Depth With Graham Bensinger earlier this year, Ron Howard spoke about how he noticed his daughter Bryce’s acting talents when she was 13 years old. 

“I saw that she could do it,” he explained. “[I was] proud of her but a little terrified because the business is so much tougher for women than it is for men.”

Howard also said that he dreaded the fact that Bryce was going to have the talent to really make a run at it. He also recalled seeing his daughter in a college play and not realizing that the cast would be naked throughout the show. “Within seven or eight minutes into the show, nobody had any clothes on,” he declared. “It was experimental theater. And I was sitting next to my dad – I wasn’t sure what he would think.”

Ron Howard then revealed his father had nothing but raise for Bryce’s naked performance. “When it was over, he turned to me and he said, ‘I think that’s just great. That’s what college is all about. She’s never going to be afraid onstage again.’ That’s just the way he viewed things. So he was proud of her, of her courage as an artist.”