Florence Henderson, the beloved actress best known as Carol Brady on the classic sitcom “The Brady Bunch,” shocked the world when she passed away at age 82 from heart failure. “I played Carol as the mother I always wished I had,” said Florence. But, like co-stars Maureen McCormick and Ann B. Davis, Florence also had showbiz secrets — with The National ENQUIRER exposing how the wholesome star had a hidden side…
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The "Brady Bunch" star says she was living a lie with her public image as a smiling sitcom mom. In real life, Florence was a tightly wound ball of fears — who fell into a severe depression while struggling to cope with a troubled marriage.
Photo credit: Getty Images
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As the youngest of 10 children raised in rural Indiana poverty, "Florence learned to sing for her supper, clean houses and work in the fields," said an insider. "She supplemented the pittance earned by her father, a tobacco sharecropper, during the Depression."
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By age 2, the budding child performer had an amazing repertoire of 50 songs. At 17, she was beginning her climb to Broadway stardom after overcoming crippling stage fright. But Florence complicated her life after marrying theatrical manager Ira Bernstein and having four children.
Photo credit: Getty Images
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"It was a loveless marriage, and she was terribly lonely," revealed the insider. "She suffered agonizing postpartum depressions, and their careers kept them apart for long stretches." Florence even revealed that she was cheated with a major political figure — who left her with a sexually-transmitted disease!
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The over-sexed sitcom mom (who, like TV daughter
Maureen McCormick, later competed on "Dancing With the Stars") had a one night stand with hunky New York mayor John V. Lindsay back in the swinging sixties. “I was lonely,” Henderson admitted. “I knew it wasn't the right thing to do. So, what did I do? I
did it."
Photo credit: Getty Images
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But the actress revealed that the over-heated coupling was far from perfect. She woke in the morning to discover she had contracted an STD – pubic lice, aka crabs! "Guess I learned the hard way that crabs do not discriminate," said Florence — adding: "What a way to put the kibosh on a relationship!"
Photo credit: Getty Images
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Lindsay felt so guilty about the incident he sent flowers to the TV star the next day — and, said an insider, "She finally found the love of her life in hypnotherapist John Kappas." That was after Florence's real-life marriage crumbled after she learned her husband was unfaithful – and she divorced him after 29 years of marriage.
Photo credit: Getty Images
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With the help of John, Florence (seen here with
closeted TV husband Robert Reed) overcame her fears and phobias. She even trained to become a hypnotherapist herself! "They were married for a blissful 15 years until his death in 2002," said the insider, adding that, in her final years, Carol always insisted "that their time together was the happiest in her life!"
The "Brady Bunch" star says she was living a lie with her public image as a smiling sitcom mom. In real life, Florence was a tightly wound ball of fears — who fell into a severe depression while struggling to cope with a troubled marriage.
Photo credit: Getty Images
As the youngest of 10 children raised in rural Indiana poverty, "Florence learned to sing for her supper, clean houses and work in the fields," said an insider. "She supplemented the pittance earned by her father, a tobacco sharecropper, during the Depression."
By age 2, the budding child performer had an amazing repertoire of 50 songs. At 17, she was beginning her climb to Broadway stardom after overcoming crippling stage fright. But Florence complicated her life after marrying theatrical manager Ira Bernstein and having four children.
Photo credit: Getty Images
"It was a loveless marriage, and she was terribly lonely," revealed the insider. "She suffered agonizing postpartum depressions, and their careers kept them apart for long stretches." Florence even revealed that she was cheated with a major political figure — who left her with a sexually-transmitted disease!
The over-sexed sitcom mom (who, like TV daughter
Maureen McCormick, later competed on "Dancing With the Stars") had a one night stand with hunky New York mayor John V. Lindsay back in the swinging sixties. “I was lonely,” Henderson admitted. “I knew it wasn't the right thing to do. So, what did I do? I
did it."
Photo credit: Getty Images
But the actress revealed that the over-heated coupling was far from perfect. She woke in the morning to discover she had contracted an STD – pubic lice, aka crabs! "Guess I learned the hard way that crabs do not discriminate," said Florence — adding: "What a way to put the kibosh on a relationship!"
Photo credit: Getty Images
Lindsay felt so guilty about the incident he sent flowers to the TV star the next day — and, said an insider, "She finally found the love of her life in hypnotherapist John Kappas." That was after Florence's real-life marriage crumbled after she learned her husband was unfaithful – and she divorced him after 29 years of marriage.
Photo credit: Getty Images
With the help of John, Florence (seen here with
closeted TV husband Robert Reed) overcame her fears and phobias. She even trained to become a hypnotherapist herself! "They were married for a blissful 15 years until his death in 2002," said the insider, adding that, in her final years, Carol always insisted "that their time together was the happiest in her life!"
