Lucie Arnaz — the daughter of Hollywood icons Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz — has addressed her late father’s alleged infidelities during his 20-year marriage to Ball.
The actress, 73, sat down with CBS Sunday Morning over the past weekend to candidly open up about the topic in a rare interview.
It comes just weeks after a new biography titled Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television written by Todd S. Purdum was published, which contains conversations with both Lucie and her brother Desi Arnaz Jr.
However, as she talked to the publication, Lucie admitted that she didn’t see her dad’s reported infidelities as ‘affairs,’ and added that the Cuban bandleader never knew the names of the women he had been with.
‘People say he had affairs. He never had an affair,’ she stated. ‘He didn’t even know these dames’ names, you know? They were hookers.’
Interviewer Mo Rocca then questioned, ‘They were transactional?’ which prompted Lucie to reply, ‘Yeah. He loved my mother, he loved his family.’
Lucie Arnaz — the daughter of Hollywood icons Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz — has addressed her late father’s alleged infidelities during his 20-year marriage to Ball
‘People say he had affairs. He never had an affair,’ she stated. ‘He didn’t even know these dames’ names, you know? They were hookers’; seen in 1950
She continued, ‘It was a very unique, weird problem to have, and I think that’s the reason she stayed with him so long, is that she understood it.’
But the actress admitted to Rocca, ‘I don’t think I could do what she did.
‘But somehow, at the time, with what they had, with what they needed from each other, they stuck it out as long as they could.’
Lucille and Desi first crossed paths in 1940 while on set of the movie Too Many Girls and eloped that same year at the Byram River Beagle Club in Connecticut.
The pair were known for playing on-screen couple Lucy and Ricky Ricardo in the beloved CBS sitcom I Love Lucy, which aired from 1951–1957.
The series was a breakthrough in terms of syndicated television, and had also been the most watched show in the US for four of its six seasons.
I Love Lucy had also starred Vivian Vance and William Frawley, and the series garnered a total of five Emmy wins.
However, Ball and Arnaz’s marriage was in stark contrast to the one portrayed on television for audiences around the country.
Lucille and Desi first crossed paths in 1940 while on set of the movie Too Many Girls and eloped that same year at the Byram River Beagle Club in Connecticut; seen above in 1945 in NYC
The pair were known for playing on-screen couple Lucy and Ricky Ricardo on the beloved CBS sitcom I Love Lucy, which aired from 1951–1957
The actress first filed for divorce from Desi in 1944 due to his reported affairs and alcohol problems. The two were able to reconcile and the split was called off.
Following a few miscarriages, Lucille welcomed her first child Lucie in 1951, shortly before the first episode of the hit series aired. A couple years later, Desi Arnaz Jr. was born, and his birth was also written into an episode of the show.
But Ball and Arnaz’s tumultuous marriage came to an end in 1960 when the mother-of-two filed for divorce from Desi. The divorce was finalized only two months later.
Lucie previously talked about her parents’ divorce during a past interview with Closer Weekly.
‘The best thing that ever happened to them was getting divorced,’ she said, adding that they had a ‘great’ and ‘successful’ divorce.
The star explained, ‘It was fantastic. If their parents can’t get along and that happens, then kids should be so lucky to have a divorce like my mom and my dad did, because they were kind, they never said bad words about each other in front of their children and they stayed friends ’til the day they died.
‘It was a fantastic romance that even got more passionate and more friendly after they were not married to each other anymore, so there.’
Lucie later expressed, ‘They just knew that it wasn’t working for them to stay married and that was sad.’
Following miscarriages, Lucille welcomed her first child Lucie in 1951, shortly before the first episode of the hit series aired. A couple years later, Desi Arnaz Jr. was born and his birth was also written into an episode of the show; seen in 1953
‘The best thing that ever happened to them was getting divorced,’ she said, adding that they had a ‘great’ and ‘successful’ divorce; seen in 1955 on set of I Love Lucy
‘But once they decided to stop, everything got much easier for everybody. We spent all of our weekends and summers with my dad, and my mother the rest of the time.’
She added, ‘But they were very pleasant with each other about visitation and who got to go with who and when. There was never a moment of animosity after that at all.’
However, when the initial separation happened, Lucie told the Television Academy back in 2011 that it was ‘hard.’
The actress — who was nine years old when her famous parents divorced — said, ‘Part of me probably totally understood why, because we had heard the arguments and that wasn’t fun either.
‘But it was hard. It was very hard. And I didn’t want my dad out of the house. He was out of the house enough. I didn’t want him to go any further away.’
In the recently released biography about Desi Arnaz by Todd S. Purdum, Desi Arnaz Jr. also talked about learning of their split as a child.
‘And we’ll always remember when they sat us down and said, “Look, you know, things aren’t working.” I mean, I remember word for word,’ he said.
Lucille went on to marry Gary Morton in 1961, and the pair stayed together until her passing at the age of 77 in 1989.
In the recently released biography about Desi Arnaz — penned by Todd S. Purdum — Desi Arnaz Jr. talked about learning of their split as a child; Lucie and Desi Arnaz Jr. seen above
‘And we’ll always remember when they sat us down and said, “Look, you know, things aren’t working.” I mean, I remember word for word,’ he said; Lucille seen with her children in 1984 in NYC
And despite her parents’ divorce in 1960, she said Lucille and Desi stayed close friends ‘until the bitter end’; seen in 1953
‘I mean, that was a knife in the heart,’ Lucie said of her initial feelings towards her mom’s remarriage while talking to the Television Academy.
‘You’re kidding right? It’s only been a year. Not even. So it was a rough period for all of us.’
However over time, Lucie became close to her stepfather and reflected on Ball’s marriage to Gary.
‘He made her laugh and didn’t embarrass her in any way. He didn’t drink too much. He didn’t smile and giggle with the ladies. I don’t know if they had a passionate marriage. I hope so.’
Her father Desi tied the knot once again, marrying Edith Hirsch in 1963. The two remained together until Edith’s death in 1985 after a battle with cancer. Desi passed away the following year.
Lucie said of her late stepmother: ‘She was a joy, an absolute joy. Great laugh. She taught me how to drive, she went bowling with us, she took us to the fair.’
‘She knew exactly how to handle my dad,’ the actress added. ‘She was amazing…I really miss her.’
And despite her parents’ divorce in 1960, she stated that Lucille and Desi remained close friends ‘until the bitter end.’
