The Brady Bunch spent five seasons on ABC from 1969 - 1974, and the legacy of the family sitcom – available via Paramount+ subscription with its iconic credits sequence – has lasted well into the 21st century. One star, however, is not happy about something in particular that has endured: rumors about a behind-the-scenes affair between two cast members. Florence Henderson and Barry Williams, who respectively played matriarch Carol Brady and oldest son Greg Brady, have faced allegations of an affair, and now co-star Susan Olsen is weighing in.
Susan Olsen played Cindy Brady – a.k.a. the “youngest one in curls” of Carol’s three golden-haired daughters – on the show, and she opened up to Fox News Digital about the rumors about her co-stars. Olsen said that she “disliked the rumors that Florence Henderson and Barry Williams had an affair,” and continued:
Barry had a crush on her. She was very kind to him. She let him take her out for her birthday. So I don’t like the implication that’s been out there, that something was going on with them. There wasn’t anything going on with them except for mutual respect and love.
Florence Henderson passed away in 2016 at the age of 82, and members of her Brady Bunch family – including Susan Olsen and Barry Williams – reunited to honor their former TV mom shortly thereafter. Olsen, Williams, and other members of the cast reunited once again in 2022 when they were finally invited to the Emmys. The years evidently haven’t quashed the rumors of an affair between Henderson and Williams, if Olsen mentioning them in 2023 is any indication.
The late actress weighed in on the rumors herself to People Magazine in 1991 (via People’s archives), clarifying that Barry Williams had a crush on her and asked her out on a date. Henderson went on:
He was too young to drive, so his older brother brought him to my hotel, and then I drove us to the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, where we saw a singer. It was so sweet because Barry made sure we had a good table. After the show, his brother picked him up and took him home. The crush was a very serious thing for him, so I was never condescending. I certainly liked him too, but I wasn’t exactly the Cher of the TV mom set.
Williams also addressed the rumors back in the ‘90s, in his Growing Up Brady autobiography that was published in 1992. He clarified that he asked Henderson out during Season 2, when he was 15 and she was 36. His explanation (via People) was straightforward, as he wrote:
When those little things called hormones start kicking in, you get excited by even inanimate objects. It wasn’t that I sought to bed her. I just wanted to spend time with her… It was flattering that she gave me any attention at all.
There are plenty of fun The Brady Bunch behind-the-scenes facts to enjoy about the beloved sitcom; a scandalous affair between Florence Henderson and Barry Williams is not one of them, according to the repeated debunkings by various members of the cast. In fact, we’ve ranked it among the great family-friendly shows to watch on Paramount+. Susan Olsen went on to Fox News Digital to share what she considers the “biggest secret” from the show, saying:
I think the biggest secret behind The Brady Bunch is that [creator] Sherwood Schwartz cast people who were interesting, got along very well together, and were big on family. He made sure we all had good parents. And the love you see between all of us – it’s absolutely genuine. I don’t think you can fool an audience for very long. I think the reason people loved us is that they knew we loved each other.
For the sake of the all those affected by the BTS Brady Bunch allegations, we can only hope that the rumors about Florence Henderson and Barry Williams die down sooner rather than later, and the legacy of the show can be based entirely on the wholesome family shenanigans between the blended family… and of course, Alice. Whether or not the show ever joins the ranks of sitcoms rebooted in the 21st century remains to be seen; for now, you can stream every season of the original on Paramount+.
