These "Brady Bunch" Siblings Have Hated Each Other for Decades, Co-Star Says
While they've had ups and downs, these classic TV stars have a longstanding feud.
It wasn't always a sunshine day for the young actors on The Brady Bunch. Of course, that's not exactly new information: Child stardom has its drawbacks, and cast members of the iconic 1970s series have written books and spoken in interviews about the awkwardness, unpleasant moments, and occasional behind-the-scenes drama at the Brady household. Nevertheless, the TV siblings at least seemed to like each other, reuniting several times over the decades. But looks can be deceiving. According to sources—including another star of the show—two Brady Bunch siblings have been in a feud since the '70s. Read on to find out which actors reportedly never got along.
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Susan Olsen said she was caught between Maureen McCormick and Eve Plumb.
Sibling rivalry is a normal part of growing up, and fans of The Brady Bunch know that even the wholesome Brady kids were no exception. Jan (Eve Plumb) often found herself jealous of her "perfect" older sister Marcia (Maureen McCormick). In real life, there was allegedly some strife between the actors as well. In a 2020 interview with news.com.au, Susan Olsen—who played youngest daughter Cindy—said that Plumb and McCormick have never gotten along.
"I think it's kind of petty," Olsen said (via People). "From day one with these two I have always been in the middle, and now it's at the point where there isn't even a desire to communicate through me."
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The feud allegedly got worse over rumors of a kiss between the stars.
While The Brady Bunch was a wholesome series, there was a fair amount of smooching among the cast. Over the years, the stars have revealed which of their TV siblings they locked lips with—and not everyone has been thrilled with those confessions. In fact, much of the more recent drama between Plumb and McCormick seems to stem from McCormick's claim that the actors shared a kiss, and maybe more. McCormick referenced a same-sex affair with Plumb in her 2008 book Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice, but according to Olsen, she had been pushing the story for years.
"I don't like there to be a rift in the family. I love them both and this means whenever we get together for any project there will only be one or the other. But I do understand Eve's point of view," Olsen told Fox News in 2016. "She got tired of Maureen gaining attention for herself by regurgitating the tiresome and false insinuations that they had a lesbian affair."
Plumb and McCormick have reportedly refused to appear together in the past.
Rumors that the actors wouldn't reunite came to a head in 2010 when Radar Online reported that the feud between McCormick and Plumb caused a planned Brady Bunch reunion to be canceled. A source told the site, "Everyone tells a slightly different story of what happened, but the bottom line is that they didn't want to be on the same show and the appearance was canceled because of it. Some people blame Maureen and some people blame Eve."
Once again, the fight was largely pinned on McCormick's claim that she and Plumb had been more than just friends while filming the series, but the source told Radar Online that the feud really did originate in the '70s. "The problems between them go back decades," the source said. "They've never liked each other. And there have been many other events where Eve has said, 'I'm not doing it if Maureen is doing it.'"
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But the Brady Bunch cast has reunited in recent years.
This story may have a happy ending, however. Whatever beef there has been between McCormick and Plumb appears to be squashed—at least, for now. The two joined the rest of their TV siblings for the 2019 HGTV series A Very Brady Renovation, in which they partnered with home design experts to renovate the interior of the real Brady Bunch house in Studio City, California.
In an interview with E! News at the time, Plumb was asked if there was a remedy to her alleged feud with McCormick. "There was no—People like to say things," she said, laughing. "There was no remedy needed."
In fact, Plumb only had good things to say about her reunion with her former castmates. "You know, we're all grown-up now, obviously, and we all get along like real people. And HGTV just offered us an extended family reunion," she said.
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