It’s time to tighten your headbands, get ready for your ’80s montage, and cue up Joe Esposito’s “You’re The Best” because Ralph Macchio – aka Daniel LaRusso from The Karate Kid franchise – is set to reprise his role in season 5 of Cobra Kai, set for September 9, 2022. But who has been in Ralph’s corner for more than three decades? It’s been his wife, Phyllis Fierro, so here’s the scoop on Ralph’s long-term spouse.
Who Is Ralph Macchio’s Wife?
Ralph’s wife is Phyllis Fierro, a nurse practitioner who was on the front line during the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘It’s tough, um, a lot of what she does is dealing with the families and, uh, palliative medicine,” said Ralph during a Jan. 2021 stop on The View. “She’s a nurse practitioner and dealing with, um, that — that end-of-life scenario or how to manage, um, you know being apart and go through this. It is — it is hero work, and I am so proud of her and — but she’s doing well. And we are — we are hanging in there.”
Ralph echoed these sentiments when he spoke on The Drew Barrymore Show (h/t Heavy), saying that his wife is “one of the heroes of the family. That’s for sure… In her line of work, which is often dealing with the families of the patients that are — as well as the patients themselves, you know, it’s — that she bridges that gap of helping manage those very difficult decisions, you know. So it is, it’s hero work, you know, it really is.
When Did Ralph Macchio Meet Phyllis Fierro?
For over thirty years, Ralph has proven that “love at first sight” is real. He revealed that he met Phyllis when they were both young.
“Really, really young. I was fifteen,” Ralph said during a 2019 interview on Live with Kelly and Ryan. During the segment, the show put up a photo of Ralph and Phyllis together, with the Karate Kid star rocking a groovy leisure suit. “This is not long after [when we first met],” said Ralph. “This was an early date to see Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ at the Broadhurst Theatre, and then we went to Mama Leone’s for dinner.”
“We met at my cousin’s sweet sixteen birthday party,” Ralph explained. “We met and hit it off, and we’re still in love, and it’s awesome.”
When Did Ralph Macchio & Phyllis Fierro Get Married?
The couple tied the knot on April 5, 1987, three years after his big break as the star of The Karate Kid. He and Phyllis renewed their vows in 2012, on their 25th anniversary.
Ralph has made it clear that the success of his marriage has been a joint effort. “Without her and without the foundation and the family we established, ‘one foot in, one foot out’ would have been very, very difficult on my own,” he told PEOPLE in 2021. “Because there would not be balance.”
“It’s the belief through the easy times, through the tough times, whatever we encounter, that we are meant to be together,” he added. “We know that we will overcome all because we believe in that, the foundation of that.”
Do They Have Kids?
Ralph and Phyllis are proud parents to a pair of kids. They welcomed their daughter, Julia Macchio, in 1992. Four years later, their family grew when Ralph and Phyllis welcomed a son, Daniel Macchio.
Before anyone thinks that Ralph named his son after his Karate Kid character, he clarified his son’s namesake in a 2009 interview with PEOPLE. “My wife’s cousin Daniel was her best friend growing up,” he said. “And yeah, for me the name Daniel will always mean something special.”
The Macchio children have followed in their father’s footsteps, per Heavy. Julia appeared in Girl Most Likely, Stella’s Last Weekend, and Wholly Broken. Daniel has worked as a composer and an actor, appearing in That Was Then, The Wrecks, and The Haley Project.