'Brady Bunch' Star Florence Henderson's Secrets She Took To Her Grave
May 24 2018, Updated 5:03 p.m. ET
Brady Bunch star Florence Henderson may have been "America's favorite mom" on-screen, but was she living a completely different life off-screen? Click through to find out what secrets she may have taken to her grave after she died from heart failure on Nov. 24.
Despite appearing a chipper mother-figure on the hit TV show, insiders told the National Enquirer that she oftentimes suffered from depression, usually stemming from the way she was raised and her marriage crisis.
"Florence learned to sing for her support, clean houses and work in the fields," a source told the National Enquirer. "She supplemented the pittance earned by her father, a tobacco sharecropper, during the Depression."
But as she grew closer to stardom, climbing closer to the Broadway stage, a close pal of hers said she suffered terrible stage fright. She believed marrying theatrical manager Ira Bernstein and immediately having four kids would help her cope with her struggle, but things only got worse from there.
"It was a loveless marriage, and she was terribly lonely," said the source. "She suffered agonizing postpartum depressions, and their careers kept them apart for long stretches."
To numb her pain, she decided to have an affair with New York mayor John V. Lindsay in the 60's. "I was lonely," Henderson said. "I knew it wasn't the right thing to do. So, what did I do? I did it."
But the following morning, she woke up and discovered Lindsay had given the star an STD. "Guess I learned the hard way that crabs do not discriminate," said Florence. "What a way to put the kibosh on a relationship!"
Out of guilt, the politician later ordered flowers to be sent to Henderson. At that point, her marriage was completely crumbling — especially after learning her husband had been cheating on her. She divorced him after 29 years of marriage, later meeting and marrying hypnotherapist John Kappas.
"She finally found the love of her life" an insider told the National Enquirer. Even though she already had her plate full with acting and singing, Henderson even grew an interest to become a hypnotherapist, too!
"They were married for a blissful 15 years until his death in 2002," added the source, who also said Henderson claimed "that their time together was the happiest in her life!"
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