Real-Life Couples of ‘The Andy Griffith Show’: Cast Marriages and Love Stories

Over the past 60+ years, The Andy Griffith Show has enthralled audiences with its depiction of a simpler time that has turned the concept of small-town life, even after all of these years, into something audiences feel they can still reach out and touch. Mayberry itself remains such an idyllic community serving as the home for such beloved characters as Sheriff Andy Taylor, his boy Opie, Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife, Floyd the Barber, Otis the Drunk and, of course, Gomer Pyle.

At the same time, the actors who brought those Mayberry citizens to life led their own lives, all of them complex and varied, including real-life romances. And while Andy Griffith, Ron Howard, Don Knotts, Hal Smith, Elinor Donahue, Howard McNear, Jim Nabors and George Lindsey shared a warm camaraderie on set, their real-life connections didn’t always wrap up with neat little bows, instead were made up by the highs and lows of life that affect us all, from long-lasting partnerships to bittersweet separations.

Join us as we look at the real-life relationships of The Andy Griffith Show cast, those eight actors married or in long-term relationships a cumulative total of 15 times.

The real-life romances of Andy Griffith: three marriages and a love story for the ages

Andy Griffith and Barbara Bray Edwards

Andy Griffith (Sheriff Andy Taylor) was married three times, the first to actress and singer Barbara Bray Edwards. The duo met while they were studying music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill back in the early 1940s. She was an aspiring opera singer who sang soprano, while he was focused on both drama and music. They married on August 22, 1949 and, early on, worked together as they toured a music, dancing and monologue act.

They adopted two children, Sam and Dixie Griffith, and seemed like the perfect family—until they weren’t. Pressures—the specifics of which aren’t known—took their toll and they divorced in 1972 after nearly 24 years together.

Andy Griffith and Solica Cassuto

Following his divorce in 1972, it wasn’t long—in fact just a year—before Andy Griffith married his second wife, a Greek singer and actress named Solica Cassuto. One of the big differences between her and Barbara Edwards is that Solica was not involved with Griffith’s career in the same way. They divorced in 1981 after eight years of marriage.

Andy Griffith and Cindi Knight

While he was shooting the 1978 TV movie Murder in Coweta County, Andy Griffith met future wife Cindi Knight, who had a small part in the film. After the two got married in 1983, she more or less stepped away from acting and focused instead on their relationship and home life. When he developed health problems in later years, she was reportedly there for him in every way and they were together until his death in 2012 at age 86.

Ron Howard’s marriage to Cheryl Alley: a Hollywood love that lasted

Ron Howard (Opie Taylor) has had a remarkable Hollywood success story,  not only in transitioning from child actor to adult (as Richie Cunningham on Happy Days) and director, but in terms of his marriage and being with the same person since 1975. He met Cheryl Alley while they were students at John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California during the early 1970s. They were both 21 when they walked down the aisle and have four children: Bryce Dallas Howard, twins Jocelyn Carlyle and Paige Howard and Reed Cross Howard.

As to the longevity of their marriage, Ron commented, “People say, ‘How’d you do it?’ There’s no technique. There’s no tactic other than communication is really important. You have to learn to communicate and have difficult conversations in constructive ways. Beyond that, there’s an element of luck because people either grow together or they don’t, and I don’ think you can force that.”

Don Knotts’ journey through three marriages

Don Knotts and Kathryn Metz