Coming home from school and plopping down in front of the television to watch The Brady Bunch is a fond memory for many children of the 1970s. The series, which still gets a spot on TV even today, is a classic part of growing up in America. The show’s longevity can put down to the relatable storylines, wholesome family values, and excellent acting talents of the cast members.
Of course, when you’re a kid, you’re consumed by the stories on the screen. You never thought about those actors having real lives in real life, did you? Well, we’re here to tell you that the goody-two-shoes Brady’s experienced as much drama off-screen as they did on-screen. From getting down and dirty under the covers in bedroom scenes to innumerable unrequired (and requited) crushes, the Brady family (or at least the actors that played them) were far naughtier than you could have imagined.
Watch to the end of this video for all the juicy details about The Brady Bunch scandals guaranteed to shock even the most die-hard fan. Join Facts Verse to learn more about Cast Hookups That Happened Behind the Scenes of the Brady Bunch.
Greg Brady Had a Crush on His TV Mom
Barry Williams, who played the oldest Brady kid, Greg, was the first to admit he had a crush on Carol Brady actress Florence Henderson. And it turns out the infatuation was more than just a schoolboy crush. Williams and Henderson went out on a date, even though he was just 15 and she was 36 at the time. The newly-minted couple even shared a kiss on the lips at the end of the night. However, according to Henderson, she had no idea the dinner was a date in the first place. “I had no idea his intentions were to date me,” she admitted. Williams said of the affair that he didn’t seek “to bed her; I just wanted to spend time with her.” His co-stars even remember him referring to Henderson as a “totally white hot babe.” The funny thing is that the so-called date had to escorted by William’s older brother because the younger Brady didn’t even have his license yet. Join Facts Verse to learn more about Cast Hookups That Happened Behind the Scenes of the Brady Bunch.
Real-Life Partners: Barry Williams and Tina Mahina
Barry Williams said to have loved his time on The Brady Bunch as teen heartthrob Greg Brady. It was a formative time of his life. After all, he practically grew up on the show. Sadly, he wasn’t able to reproduce the Brady success story after the sitcom canceled, though not for lack of trying. Instead, he turned to theatre, landing roles in popular stage productions like The Sound of Music, West Side Story, and Grease. He even had success as an author, with his 1990s autobiography, Growing Up Brady, landing on the New York Times bestseller list. Williams has married three times. His first coupling was with grounded Diane Martin, but the marriage only lasted two years. Later, he married Eila Mary Matt, and the couple had a son, Brendon Eric. That partnership ended in 2005. Today, he’s married to American hula dancer Tina Mahina–the couple celebrated their wedding in 2017 when Williams was 62. Join Facts Verse to learn more about Cast Hookups That Happened Behind the Scenes of the Brady Bunch.
The Fizz fizzled Jan and Peter’s Romance
For a PG show, The Brady Bunch was more x-rated than the producers would ever let on. Christopher Knight, the actor behind Peter Brady, known to have dated his on-screen sister Jan, played by Eve Plumb. The rumor goes that they’re going steady for some time before they were caught fooling around in the back of Knight’s pickup truck. And not just by anyone. It was the police who asked them to roll down their windows. Sadly, the incident spelled the end of their romance. Though onlookers at the time said, the union looked going to the next level before the duo so rudely interrupted.
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Real-Life Partners: Christopher Knight and Adrianne Curry
Christopher Knight had a fun role in The Brady Bunch. He got to embody the goofy, fun-loving, and sometimes clumsy Peter Brady. Once the beloved sitcom ended, Knight stayed out of the limelight. Aside from a few guest appearances here and there (including that one time he battled it out with The Partridge Family’s Danny Bonaduce as a pro wrestler), he quit acting and started a career in computing. As a self-described “geek,” it seemed he’d finally found his true passion. Like his older Brady sibling, Barry Williams, Knight struggled to hold down a marriage. After two unsuccessful marriages, he famously wed Adrianne Curry, winner of America’s Next Top Model. The tabloid press went wild with the fact there was a 25 year age gap between the couple. That was in 2006, and the couple divorced just five years later. In 2016, he married his fourth and so far final wife, Cara Kokenes.
Marcia, Marcia, Marcia (or Maureen McCormick)… and Barry Williams
Apparently, Barry Williams, who played Greg Brady, had a thing for his on-screen sister, Marcia (Maureen McCormick), since the show started. But since they were only 14 and 12 at the time, a relationship wasn’t really appropriate. However, a few years later, they were older and ready for love. According to rumors at the time, the crew had trouble filming a scene where McCormick and Williams shared a bed in the Brady home’s attic because they kept getting a little too close to each other. The budding couple also shared a kiss on the beach when shooting episodes in Hawaii. McCormick later confessed in her autobiography that she’d hoped to lose her virginity to Williams. But it wasn’t to be. The couple broke up after The Brady Bunch producer Sherwood Schwartz convinced Williams he was far too young to get into a serious relationship. Join Facts Verse to learn more about Cast Hookups That Happened Behind the Scenes of the Brady Bunch.
Real-Life Partners: Maureen McCormick and Michael Cummings
Still to this day, Maureen McCormick is best remembered as the popular and pretty Marcia Brady. She was a fan favorite while The Brady Bunch aired on television in the 1970s, and she had some on-screen success in other roles for a few years following the show’s cancellation. However, not long after, McCormick fell into a long struggle with addiction to cocaine and quaaludes. She even admitted to trading sex for drugs in her twenties. She even lost a spot on Raiders of the Lost Ark when she turned up for an audition in front of Steven Spielberg high on cocaine and having not slept for days. It wasn’t until 1985, when she married her husband, Michael Cummings, that things started to look up for the fallen star, and it seems romance had finally found her. The couple, along with their daughter Natalie, has stayed together through thick and thin and today live in Westlake Village, LA.
Bobby and Cindy Brady Engaged in Doghouse Dalliances
Mike Lookinland played Bobby Brady on the set of The Brady Bunch. According to Barry Williams (Greg Brady), Lookinland would often sneak off with on-screen sister Cindy Brady, played by Susan Olsen, to Tiger’s doghouse for a session of heavy petting between takes. (For those that don’t remember, Tiger was the Brady family dog.) But Lookinland was quick to ditch his sister for better offers after he started lusting after some of the cast’s older members. Olsen once told an Australian news channel that all the Brady siblings were hooking up at some point. “We led a sheltered life for part of the year, so if there were anybody to get a crush on or try to date, it would be our counterparts,” she revealed. Join Facts Verse to learn more about Cast Hookups That Happened Behind the Scenes of the Brady Bunch.
Real-Life Partners: Susan Olsen and Her Two Ex-Husbands
Susan Olsen played the cutesy, naive Cindy Brady, the youngest of the Brady girls, on the long-running sitcom. And most of her silver screen fame comes from the years she was on The Brady Bunch. After the cancellation of the show, Olsen moved into graphic design and worked as a radio host. In fact, in 2016, she was let go fired from her radio show “Two Chicks Talkin’ Politics” on LA Talk Radio for making homophobic comments. Despite this, she remains most widely known as a vocal animal rights activist. Olsen married (and divorced) twice. She tied the knot with Steve Steve Ventimiglia in 1988, divorcing in 1990. Her marriage to her second husband, medical equipment salesman Mitch Markwell, lasted almost a decade before the couple split. They had one son together.
Marcia and Jan Brady Were More Than Just Sisters
So, we’ll be honest here. This one is more of a rumor than anything substantiated, but here goes… More than one Brady cast member recalls tales told of a love affair–well, a shared kiss, at least–between Jan Brady (Eve Plumb) and Marcia Brady (Maureen McCormick). It’s said that this is the source of their on and off-screen sibling rivalry. For what reason, no one knows for sure, but the two TV stars have never been on bad terms since the 70s. In fact, for years, they would only speak to each other through Susan Olsen! The feud is so severe that it’s even made it hard to organize cast reunion specials.
Do you think there were more hookups on the set of The Brady Bunch? Or do you think these are all rumors spread by tabloid reporters hungry for gossip? Share your thoughts with other passionate Brady fans in the comment section below this video. If you haven’t already, head over to the Facts Verse channel to subscribe and hit that notification bell. Oh, and like this video and share it if it resonates with you.
