While the plotlines of the ABC primetime soap, Desperate Housewives, were often scandalous
and ridiculous, the real lives of the performers off-set were often even more gossip-worthy
than their characters'.
Here are the darkest secrets from Wisteria Lane — and beyond.
"We were like on for a decade, and we did 24 episodes, we fully mined those characters.”
“And you guys all hate each other now, right?"
Eva Longoria married French-born NBA superstar Tony Parker in 2007, and things seemed to
be fine and dandy…until they weren't.
She filed for divorce in 2010, citing "irreconcilable differences," but there were rumors that Parker
had been unfaithful.
"Why is everyone on my back about this.
I will deal with my loss my way, ok."
Longoria later confirmed the gossip on The Conversation with Amanda de Cadenet — saying
she discovered hundreds of intimate texts between Parker and the ex-wife of one of his
teammates.
The Desperate Housewives cultural juggernaut was at its peak when Vanity Fair tapped the
main cast for its cover in 2005.
During the photo shoot, however, things got ugly.
In order to keep the headliners happy, a rep from ABC reportedly told the magazine to keep
Teri Hatcher from acting like she was the quote, "star."
"Oh I'm sorry I'm just back from a run, and on my way out and kinda busy right now."
But despite their efforts, Hatcher arrived early to get first crack at outfits, and then
wound up in the center of a photo.
When Marcia Cross realized Hatcher had been given the star treatment after all, she reportedly
stormed off the set.
"Well, I don't know what to say.”
“I know it's upsetting.”
“Yes it is."
One of the most salacious plots on the show was also one of its first: the affair between
Longoria's Gabrielle Solis and Jesse Metcalf's John Rowland.
But in real life, Metcalfe's romantic life was almost as embarrassing as it was on the
show — at least, that is, according to his ex.
In her book, I Didn't Come Here To Make Friends, Courtney Robertson claimed that after meeting
at an L.A. house party in the mid-2000s, she and Metcalf dated for a while, even though
Robertson says Metcalfe was quote "pretty average" in the bedroom.
Their relationship ended in 2007, when Metcalfe entered rehab, consistent with Robertson's
recollection that he admitted to having substance abuse troubles and would "disappear for days
at a time."
Vanessa Williams had a long, varied career before she joined the cast of Desperate Housewives.
She was nominated three times for an Emmy for her role on ABC's Ugly Betty, and before
that, she had a wildly successful singing career, with huge hits like "Save the Best
for Last" and "Colors of the Wind."
And all of that, after Williams was named Miss America in 1984.
"Jean, you're talking to a woman who gave herself salmonella to lose ten pounds before
prom.
Beauty is suffering.
Now, tighter."
Not only is she the most famous Miss America of all time, she was also the first African-American
woman to win the title — and the first to have to give up her crown due to a photo scandal.
"The potential harm to the pageant, and the deep division that a bitter fight may cause,
has convinced me that I must relinquish my title as Miss America."
While working as a photographer's assistant two years before the pageant, Williams posed
for what she thought were some artful, intimate shots for her boss's portfolio.
She told People,
"He assured me that none of the photographs would ever leave the studio."
Except they did, when her slimy former boss sold them to Penthouse.
Nicollette Sheridan has been romantically linked with some of the most deliciously cheesy
names of the '70s, '80s and '90s — including teen idol Leif Garrett, Charles in Charge
star Scott Baio, L.A. Law hunk Harry Hamlin, and soft rock superstar Michael Bolton.
But probably the least famous beau she's been with is a Swedish stuntman named Niklas Soderblom.
She first approached him in a Malibu coffee shop in 2003, and a year later, he proposed.
Shortly thereafter, Soderblom has alleged, things got weird.
He says Sheridan was prone to temper tantrums and wouldn't let him sleep in her bedroom,
because she'd lock herself in there with her dog and eat ice cream all night.
"Let's be honest with ourselves Edie we haven't been happy in a long time.
Who are you to tell me I haven't been happy, you miserable son of a b----."
These and other claims were made in Soderblom's memoir, Desperate Houseman.
Oh, and they never did get married.
In March, 2019, FBI implicated 50 people in "Operation Varsity Blues," a sting that revealed
a huge plot by wealthy tycoons and Hollywood types to get their kids into top universities
through a variety of shady and illegal methods.
A man named William Singer reportedly led the operation, allegedly bribing college entrance
exam proctors, paying surrogates to take tests for the kids, and convincing college coaches
to insist that some kids were athletic recruits, and thus, increasing their odds of acceptance.
A number of prominent people were arrested, including Full House star Lori Loughlin and
Desperate Housewives Emmy-winner Felicity Huffman.
Prosecutors allege that Huffman and her husband, actor William H. Macy — who was not charged
— reportedly spent $15,000 to get their eldest daughter unlimited S.A.T. testing time.
Huffman was arrested at her Los Angeles home by armed FBI agents and later posted $250,000
bail.
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