Eric Braeden & Dale Russell Gudegast

After garnering renown for his destructive boy role in the American old-time TV show The Young and the Restless, Eric Braeden can be considered a veteran actor. His character on the show was one that audiences loved to despise, so it’s surprising to learn that he’s a very caring husband in real life. Braeden is a family man who has been married to his college sweetheart, Dale Russell Gudegast, for as long as he can remember.

They were earning degrees at Santa Monica State College when they met. Braeden and Gudegast were casually dating at first, but it soon developed into a serious relationship. When they realized how great they got along, the lovebirds soon hit it off, with romance settling in and marriage swooping in no time. Braeden proposed to Gudegast in the mid-1960s. She said yes, and the couple got married in 1966. They became grandparents when Christian Gudegast, their son, fathered three daughters. The couple examplifies the proverb, “behind every successful man, there is a supporting wife.”