Have you wanted to take your mother out on a date?
No, we're not talking about a sweet Mother's day outing to her favorite restaurant as a
way of showing the one that brought you into this world how much you appreciate her.
We're talking about a full-on romantic dinner date.
Before you storm off absolutely disgusted by this debased question, we just want to
say that NOBODY in their right mind would ever desire such a thing.
Mothers are sacred, and they should be loved and respected.
Period.
While it's downright offensive to even suggest that anyone would ever want to take their
Mother out on anything other than a purely platonic outing, apparently Barry Williams
of Brady Bunch fame never got that memo.
Because, there is this ever-persistent rumor that he and his TV mom, Florence Henderson
had an affair when she was 36 and he was just 16.
Now, before you start blowing up the comments section ranting about how Henderson wasn't
Williams' real mother, realize that we know that fact all too well.
But that doesn't make their alleged fling any more palatable.
If the rumors are to be believed – and they probably shouldn't be – she was not only
twice his age, but she had also just spent the last several years serving as not only
his on-screen mom but also as his mentor.
You could even argue that given Williams' home life situation, which was reportedly
far from ideal, she even was even kind of like family to him.
Besides allegedly dating his TV mom, Williams also spent years having an on-again-off-again
affair with Maureen McCormick, best known for her portrayal as Marcia Brady.
So, not only is it alleged that Williams and Henderson took their relationship to a borderline
disturbing level, but he also dated his TV sister.
Perhaps The Brady Bunch was the show that really should have been titled All in the
Family.
For a closer look at Barry William's pseudo-incestuous relationships with his Brady cast members,
keep watching this revealing and hopefully entertaining video.
The Brady Bunch Shocking Behind-The-Scenes Revelations
As with practically every other television show that's ever hit the airwaves, The Brady
Bunch was just as interesting when the cameras weren't rolling as when they were.
The surviving Brady cast members hold a ton of fascinating secrets about what was going
on behind the scenes of the hugely influential comedy.
And as for the ones that have sadly already passed away, they likely took more than a
few saucy secrets with them to their graves.
From rumors of drug use, illicit romances, and bitter disputes, the sands of time have
revealed so many juicy tidbits about what it was really like both on and off the set
of The Brady Bunch.
Back in the day, the rumor mill started pumping out a ton of gossip related to a supposed
incestual relationship between the Brady matriarch Carol, played by Florence Henderson, and her
on-screen son, Greg, played by Barry Williams.
Like we already touched on, if this rumor is true – and it probably isn't – Henderson
would have been 36 and Williams just 16 at the time of their alleged affair.
While that detail certainly makes the rumor that much more sensational, it also casts
a bit of doubt on its believability.
It's difficult to believe that someone as accomplished, successful, and generally speaking
level-headed as Henderson was, would have put her entire career on the line just to
have a brief, meaningless fling with a boy that wasn't even half her age.
It's not like she would have been able to keep something like that a secret for very
long.
Teenage boys are, after all, notorious for bragging to their bros about their "escapades".
Everything about this rumor, despite how trendy it once was to repeat, looks like it's a load
of horse manure.
But you know what they say, behind every lie is a kernel of truth.
So, what really happened?
Barry DID Have A Huge Crush On Henderson
In his memoir, Growing Up Brady, Barry Williams revealed that he did have an enormous crush
on Henderson.
In time, he worked up the nerve to ask her out on a date.
Not wanting to reject her co-star and hurt his feelings, Henderson reluctantly obliged,
and the two went on a single, innocent dinner date.
For years, that date has garnered numerous rumors.
Henderson, however, in the years prior to her death tried her best to set the record
straight about what really went down.
While promoting Williams's memoir, Florence and Barry talked about their one-time date
in various interviews, yet Henderson still wanted to give a more accurate description
of events.
In her own book, Life is Not a Stage, Henderson recalled that Williams had asked her to go
with him to see a popular singer perform at a famous yet long since closed nightclub in
LA called the Coconut Grove.
She agreed without giving the request much thought.
She said that she would have gladly done the same for any of her older children co-stars
if they had asked.
While she didn't find Williams attractive in any kind of way, she wanted to encourage
him to pursue his musical aspirations.
She saw her role in their relationship as more of mentor than anything.
Henderson would go on to say in her memoir that she recognized that Williams was making
what she referred to as his first steps into adulthood.
She saw his crush as innocent enough, and didn't want to discourage him.
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And don't even think about going anywhere just yet.
Keep watching to learn all about Greg and Marcia Brady's romance.
Rumor has it, things got so tense onset that the rest of the cast and crew were left feeling
incredibly awkward!
Williams And Florence Shared A Goodnight Kiss
Since Barry wasn't even old enough to hold a driver's license, his brother had to drive
him out to pick Henderson up at the hotel where she was staying.
After picking her up, they ditched Barry's brother and made their way to Coconut Grove.
At first, they were shown to a pretty lackluster table.
That's when Henderson whispered into William's ear that the maitre d' was likely expecting
a tip.
After Barry reached into his wallet and pulled out a chunk of cash, their host suddenly realized
who he and his date were and proceeded to show them to the best table in the house.
It must be nice being a star.
Anyway, Henderson insisted that the entire evening was entirely innocent.
That includes the goodnight kiss that they shared when Barry brought her back to her
hotel.
Despite maintaining that nothing else happened, Henderson was well aware of how the details
of that evening had become a bit twisted over the years.
People will always want to see things that just aren't there.
Henderson and Williams Remained Lifelong Friends
In her book, Florence made it abundantly clear that she laid out a set of non-negotiable
boundaries for her date night with Williams.
Speaking quite frankly, Henderson said that she fully understood that Barry had a serious
crush on her but it was her desire to help him get past it.
"If he had entertained a roll in the hey with me" Henderson wrote, "I would never have done
that".
Florence and Barry enjoyed a healthy friendship until her death in 2016.
Even decades after they had worked with each other, she would continue to gush about how
solid of a bond she shared with him.
One of the most touching things that Henderson had to say about Williams in her 2011 book
was that the Brady Alums shared a very special connection in which she felt like a surrogate
mother to him.
Florence further recognized that on a deeper level, she represented something to Barry
that he deeply admired.
He had a profound love for music and adored the fact that she could sing.
He also had a strong appreciation for her sense of work ethic and tried his best to
adopt it in his own life.
Greg And Marcia's Romance
The most juicy – and entirely true – Brady rumor revolved around Barry Williams and Maureen
McCormick, who played Marcia Brady, Greg's Sister.
For years the two star's enjoyed a passionate on-and-off romance.
In her own memoir 'Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice, McCormick
discussed the first time that she shared a kiss with Williams.
What makes this account somewhat unsettling is how at one point, McCormick and even described
it as feeling as if she were kissing her brother.
Both Brady stars met on the sitcom's now-iconic set when they were still children.
Williams was 14, and McCormick was just 12.
As they grew up together on the show, they experienced the same hormonal changes that
every adolescent does.
McCormick said that the first time she and his on-screen brother locked lips, the kiss
was 'long, passionate, and wonderful'.
Years later, Sherwood Schwartz son, Lloyd Schwartz, noted that the attraction between
Barry and Maureen had started to cause trouble on the set and became noticeable even when
the cameras were rolling.
Everyone started feeling really awkward and uncomfortable about it since the two young
stars played each other's siblings.
Their lust for each other started getting in the way of their ability to do their jobs.
At the peak of their....tension....a scene had to be interrupted mid-take because the
two stars simply couldn't control their emotions.
Various attempts were made to get the two on-screen siblings to just shoot the scenes,
but ultimately Schwartz and company just had to take a step back and let things unfold
naturally.
In time, the tension between the two began to cool down.
At the time, neither actor was really able to commit to a serious relationship since
their budding careers were just getting started.
Instead of pursuing a full-time romance, they settled on an on-and-off-again kind of thing.
Later on, however, McCormick developed a far more serious problem.
Not long after the production of The Brady Bunch had wrapped up, the actress fell into
drug and alcohol abuse and wrestled with negative self-image and insecurity issues.
Thankfully, she managed to get sober in the 80s and has been on the straight and narrow
ever since.