Henry Winkler’s Wife of 48 Years Calls Him Out Over His ‘Biggest Lie’
Henry Winkler’s Wife of 48 Years Calls Him Out Over His ‘Biggest Lie’
Victoria EdelMon, September 14, 2026 at 5:09 PM UTC
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Stacey Winkler (left) and Henry Winkler in 2020Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty -
Stacey Winkler reflected on the lie she thinks her husband Henry most often tells
Stacey said that Henry often pads his numbers when fly fishing
Henry, who has been married to Stacey for 48 years, was shocked by the accusation
Henry Winkler and his wife Stacey got into a playful argument.
Henry, 80, and Stacey, 78, appeared on an episode of In Depth with Graham Bensinger that appeared on Patreon on Sept. 9. In a clip of the interview shared to Instagram, Bensinger wrote over the footage, “Henry Winkler’s wife calls out his biggest lie.”
The journalist, 40, explained in the caption, “Henry Winkler thought he was an honest fisherman. Then his wife revealed that after 48 years of marriage, she believes he has been rounding up his fish size all along.”
In the footage, Bensinger said to Stacey, “You have alleged before that he pads his numbers.” She smiled.
“Well,” Stacey began, but Henry interrupted: “Wait a minute, really?”
“Henry,” Stacey said, but the Happy Days star continued to question her.
“I write down in my book exactly — sometimes I don’t even write down the exact number,” he said, searching his body for his book. Stacey claimed, “Sometimes you round off.”
Henry Winkler (left) and Stacey Winkler in 2019Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty
“I don’t round off, that I do only in charity,” Henry said, and Stacey laughed. “I don’t round off on fish,” he insisted.
“The biggest charity is your fish size,” she joked. “You are about your fish size like other people are about other sizes.”
“I have learned something,” the Barry actor said. “We have just celebrated our 48th wedding anniversary. I have just learned something I have never known.”
“That you pad your numbers?” Stacey asked.
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“I don’t pad my numbers. That my wife believes I pad my numbers,” he said, adding, “Shocking. I’m shocked. I’m hurt.” Stacey laughed again at her husband.
Undeterred, Henry also commented on the post, “NOOOO I DO NOT !!!”
Henry is a dedicated fly fisher, and during his interview with Bensinger, he took him fishing in the Snake River in Swan Valley, Idaho. “You name it, they’re in this river,” he said. “I think there are 5,000 fish per mile. And sometimes it is impossible to get one.”
Asked about how he found a passion for the outdoors, Henry admitted, “I am not totally sure. All I know is that the first time that I went fly fishing, which I because I’m so dyslexic and I don’t have good eye-hand coordination, I didn’t know if I could do it and I was intimidated by it.”
Henry Winkler (left) and Stacey Winkler in 2016Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty
He said fly fishing was a “revelation,” and though he “wasn’t very good at it,” he “knew” he needed to do it again. Stacey soon began joining him on his fishing trips, too.
Henry and Stacey met in 1976 at a Los Angeles store, after Henry had found major success with his role as Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli on Happy Days. “It was nice, he was adorable,” Stacey remembered to Bensinger about their first interaction.
Henry returned to the store to ask Stacey on a date, and even though she had been warned away from dating actors, she said yes. On one of their early dates, Stacey learned about Henry’s fame as the entire theater came over to talk to him.
They married in 1978, and Henry became stepfather to Stacey’s son from his first marriage, Jed Weitzman. The couple welcomed Zoe and Max together.
Reflecting on their marriage in 2019, Stacey told PEOPLE, “The most wonderful thing is to really be able to grow with someone. We’re not the same people we are when we got married. But certain of the tenets you hold dear are still intact.”
She continued, “It does take work. There are glitches in the road, and you get a little off-kilter, but if you have the ability and the stick-to-itiveness based on love, then your friendship and your relationship only gets better.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
