Betty White reveals behind-the-scenes secrets of The Golden Girls
They were best friends on screen, and it seems the stars of The Golden Girls were just as close behind the scenes too. According to Closer Weekly, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty and Bea Arthur loved to gossip and chat on set, helping each other through a number of heartbreaking personal tragedies.
“We adored each other,” 95-year-old Betty said. “It was such a special experience. Between scenes, instead of going to our dressing rooms, we’d sit there and yak about very intimate things.”
The ladies’ first real bonding experience came in the show’s second season, when both Bea and Betty sadly lost their mothers. “It was a pretty rough year,” Bea admitted. Their grief was so deep that at one point, director Lex Passaris considered shutting down production. “But both ladies said, ‘No. We need to work.’”
And despite the rumours of a rift between Betty and Bea, the two were very close. “Bea wouldn’t go to dinner between shows unless Betty would walk with her,” Rue once said. Bea’s son Matthew Saks confirmed it, telling Closer, “Betty would pick my mum up in the driveway, or my mum would pick her up.”
The Golden Girls' close bond also endured during heartbreak, with Betty’s husband passing away before the series entered production and Rue’s fifth marriage crumbling during filming for the first season.
“They confided in each other,” an insider revealed. “Rue was a great listener and a sympathetic shoulder. She had a sounding board in Betty as well.”
It’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years since the beloved show came to an end, but Betty says she’d give anything to go back to those golden days. “I’ve missed The Golden Girls since we went off the air,” she confesses. “It was just heaven. It was like being with your family every day.”
Tell us in the comments below, were you a fan of The Golden Girls? Who was your favourite character?