EXCLUSIVE: How Henry Winkler's 'Life Was Saved' by Therapy
'Happy Days' veteran Henry Winkler turned to therapy to transform his life.
Sept. 16 2026, Published 3:48 p.m. ET
Henry Winkler turned to therapy to transform and "save" his life after he reached a point where he could no longer cope with the "rancid garbage" he felt had accumulated in his mind, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The 80-year-old Happy Days veteran began seeing a therapist about a decade ago, when he was around 70, after realizing the coping mechanisms he had relied upon were no longer working.
Therapy Helps Rebuild Life and Relationships
Henry Winkler turned to therapy to transform his personal life.
Winkler, who is also now renowned for his dramatic role in the hitman black comedy Barry, has described feeling as though he was "treading water" and acknowledged he had shut people out, including his wife, Stacey Weitzman, 78.
A source told us: "Therapy became enormously important for Henry at a time when he felt he had exhausted his usual ways of dealing with things. In that sense, it helped save the life he knew and gave him a healthier way of approaching himself, his relationships and everything he had been carrying."
Speaking on In Depth With Graham Bensinger, Winkler said: "About 10 years ago, maybe 12 years ago, I was pretty good at either figuring things out or making it or smoothing things out in my mind or rationalising.
"And I just couldn't do it anymore."
Weitzman previously said she felt she was not being "let in," while Winkler acknowledged he "didn't let anybody in."
He added: "I was not being able to just (say), 'Oh, well, OK, I'll move that aside and I'll just move forward.'
"I needed to now empty myself out of all of the rancid garbage I had allowed to infiltrate."
Marriage Strain Prompts Personal Change
The television veteran admitted he previously shut his wife out.
Winkler said one of the changes has involved learning to listen without automatically offering his own perspective "unless it's asked for".
He added: "I was out of balance. I was out of my f------ mind."
Another source said: "Henry has been very open about how much he needed to change. What therapy appears to have given him was an opportunity to stop constantly trying to rationalize everything and instead examine why he was feeling and behaving the way he was."
Winkler, who says he is still "getting there," used an unusual food analogy to describe his progress.
He explained: "I was Swiss cheese. I was filled with holes. And I had to constantly be anxious about stepping in one of those holes. And my job is to become a chunk of cheddar, not a hole in sight."
'Happy Days' Fame Leaves Career Uncertain
Henry Winkler used a vivid Swiss cheese analogy to describe progress.
Winkler became internationally famous playing Arthur 'Fonzie' Fonzarelli in Happy Days between 1974 and 1984.
But the end of the hugely successful sitcom left him struggling with uncertainty about his career.
Speaking on the Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast, he said: "After Happy Days finished, I'm sitting in my office (and) all I'm getting are Fonzi-like (offers.) I have no idea – 'Am I ever going to do anything that is as powerful?' And I went dark. I went dark."
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The acclaimed character actor later starred in the dark comedy 'Barry'.
Winkler has said his acting career subsequently stalled for "eight or nine years" as he struggled to move beyond the character that had made him famous.
He said: "The greatest thing you learn is to pivot.
"You're going on a way and you're thinking, 'Oh, I've got to stay. I can't do anything else. I don't want to do anything else.' You have to learn to pivot. And when you pivot, the universe opens up and all of this generous stardust falls on you."
