Mary Poppins star Dick Van Dyke has wed his longtime make-up artist, who is 46 years his junior.

The 86-year-old actor exchanged vows with Arlene Silver, 40, on 29 February, according to RumorFix.com.

And Van Dyke has confirmed the happy news, stating, "We're looking forward to a long and happy marriage. (The ceremony was) kinda on the spur of the moment, we just decided Leap Day would be the best time to do it."

He tells the website he met Silver at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2006: "I was in the green room and she passed through and I was bowled over by her beauty."

He then hired her as his make-up artist.

Van Dyke has wed once before, to Margie Willett. They divorced in 1984 after 36 years as husband and wife. The marriage produced four children.

Here are some more lovestruck couples who have overcome the odd few years between them:

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• Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie - 12 years

  It's easy to forget that there's quite a big gap in age between Brad and Ange, probably because he looks so much younger than his 46 years

• Madonna and Jesus Luz - 28 years

  The 10-year age gap with Guy Richie obviously wasn't enough for Madge, because her next flame was just 23 years old - while she was aged 51. It seemed like a fling at first, but they lasted a fair old while before splitting up in early 2010

• Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon - 10 years

  There's a decade in age between Mariah Carey and her hubby Nick Cannon, she's 39 and he's 29 - but that's not much of a gap at all by modern celeb standards

• Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones - 25 years

  Quarter of a century is a fair old age gap in anybody's book, but Mickey and Cath seem happy enough together - and she was comfortable enough with the reputation that their marriage earned her to mock it in Intolerable Cruelty

• Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster - 26 years

  For years Rod was known as the oldest swinger in town, but Penny has firmly tamed his roving ways and he seems devoted to her

• Ronnie Wood and Ekaterina Ivanova - 42 years

  But just to prove that age-gap relationships don't always work out well, Ronnie Wood famously left wife Jo for Ekaterina Ivanova - who is a whopping 42 years his junior. They've long-since broken up, which left Ekaterina free to enter the Celebrity Big Brother house and flirt with Basshunter

• Sam Taylor-Wood and Aaron Johnson - 23 years

  Sam and Aaron are more than 20 years apart, but they haven't let the hefty age gap stop them getting engaged and conceiving a child together

• Stephen Fry and Steven Webb - 27 years

  Stephen Fry had just split up with his partner of 14 years Daniel Cohen when he apparently began consoling himself in the arms of a much younger beau. His rumoured love interest was 25-year-old Steven Webb

• Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes - 16 years

  Plenty of people have been cynical about TomKat's marriage, but we're not goiong to cast any aspersions. Our lawyers wouldn't let us anyway, but they seem happy enough together