They were happily married for about a decade during the 1940s, but then during their time doing this show, though more-so later on during the Comedy Hour years, was when they really started to have issues. I think if they didn't do the show they'd still be married for the years following. Heck it they ended the regular show in 1957 and not bothered with the Comedy Hour portion, they might still have been married. What do you guys think?
shareWell I don’t know…It is hard to say what goes on inside of someone else’s marriage.
I do know from what I have read that Lucy was disturbed by Desi’s cheating on her while he was on the road with his band. They were separated a lot and it strained their marriage. She thought that doing a TV show together would keep Desi at home. But apparently it did not change his behavior.
They always loved each other. But their problems drove them apart.
All I know is, the show and them working so much on and off camera would stress anyone would, especially when the kids came and got involved. If they were already having a bit of trouble before the show the after the show with all the extra work and business ordeals would complicate things even more. It certainly stressed Lucy the hell out when she took over Desilu during the 1960s and thus sold everything. Luckily she didn't cheat and drink alcohol but it did make her bitter and smoke heavy. Surprised this didn't wreck her second marriage for the next twenty years.
shareAgain, you just can never know what ends a marriage.
I have several Lucy bios. In one book, her daughter Luci says that she and her brother would have to play quietly on weekends because their parents would sleep late. They were exhausted after all the hours they spent at the studio.
She said that they were basically raised by their grandmother DeeDee Ball and their nanny. It was sad that Lucy and Desi really wanted a family and when they finally had children they were too busy to be parents.
There was a lot of stress in the Arnaz household. Desi took on many responsibilities for the show and by the last season of ILL he was producing other shows for Desilu. They had great success artistically and financially. But the Arnazes couldn’t make their private life work.
They were too busy, simple as that. Private lives can't work out if you're busy with your work and pleasing other people, executive heads, colleagues, random audience people watching your content, etc. that ended their marriage.
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