‘Cheers’ star Ted Danson and his wife Mary Steenburgen wake up at 4:30 am for ‘date early bird specials’

“Cheers” star Ted Danson and his wife Mary Steenburgen’s date nights look a little different in their 70s.

During an interview with People, Danson explained that the couple, who will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary next year, prefer to spend time together in the early mornings compared to a romantic date night.

“Date nights are kind of, at my age, date early bird specials,” Danson, 76, told the outlet.

He continued, “The most fun is the early mornings, 4:30 in the morning, coffee in bed, playing Wordle, Connections, and Spelling Bee, talking and laughing and sharing.”

“To both of us, it’s like heaven on Earth,” said the actor.

Despite both of their busy schedules, Danson said that distance does not stop him from having his sweet mornings with Steenburgen, 71.

“Even if she’s working in a different time zone, we will wake up in time to be able to play our games and have coffee over the phone,” he said.

Danson told the outlet that part of the reason he cherishes these moments with his wife is because they did not meet until later in life. When they met, Steenburgen and Danson were in their 40s and both had been previously married.

Steenburgen shares a son and daughter with actor Malcolm McDowell, to whom she was married from 1980 until 1990. 

Danson first married Randy Danson in 1970 before splitting in 1975. He married his second wife, Casey Coates, in 1977, and they divorced in 1993; they share two daughters, Alexis and Kate.

“I had, about a year before, decided I want to become a more emotionally mature, honest human being,” Danson recalled prior to meeting Steenburgen. “I worked very hard at it or I don’t think Mary Steenburgen would’ve even seen me.”

Since Danson was dedicated to becoming his best self later in life, he told People that he’s pretty certain his relationship with the “Elf” actress would not have worked if they met earlier.

“Guarantee you the answer is no. I’ll just speak for myself,” Danson said. “I was not really fully emotionally baked until shortly before I met Mary… Thank God we didn’t meet earlier.”

Steenburgen and Danson tied the knot in 1995 after first meeting on the set of 1993’s “Pontiac Moon.”

In 2019, the actor told Closer Weekly he’s still head over heels in love with his wife.

“We wake up and celebrate literally every day,” the star told the outlet. “If we didn’t, we’d be idiots because we’re so lucky. We have great kids and grandkids, and we have each other. We’re madly in love.”

Danson credited his upbringing for inspiring him to have such a blissful union with the actress.

“I consider myself a family man, partially because my parents did it so damn well,” Danson said at the time about his parents’ nearly 40-year marriage.

Danson also revealed he and Steenburgen were ready to embark on a new chapter in their lives when they first met.

“We found each other when I was 45 and she was 40,” he explained. “We had lived a bit. Both of us stared down some demons within ourselves, and it was lucky that we met then.”