The Brady Bunch represents everything that made 1970s television great — wholesome family values, moral lessons, and squeaky-clean kids who respected their parents.
But behind the scenes, something was brewing that America's favorite blended family couldn't hide.
And Barry Williams admitted one truth about Maureen McCormick that nobody wanted to hear.
Williams Finally Came Clean About His On-Screen Sister
Barry Williams, who played Greg Brady on the iconic sitcom, recently appeared on the CW docuseries TV We Love where he dropped a bombshell about his relationship with co-star Maureen McCormick.
Williams, now 71, admitted that his attraction to McCormick — who played his TV stepsister Marcia Brady — was impossible to conceal during filming.
"I remember this scene. I remember the day," Williams recalled about filming the 1973 episode "Room at the Top."¹
"Lloyd discovered that there might have been a little bit too much attraction between brother and sister. Maureen McCormick was very, very attractive. I was gravitated right to her. And it was coming out in our scenes together," Williams said.¹
Producer Lloyd Schwartz, son of series creator Sherwood Schwartz, confirmed he had to pull Williams aside during filming.
"As [the child stars] started getting older, my challenge was, in some ways, to keep them off of one another," Schwartz explained.¹
The producer told Williams directly: "Good scene. I just want you to keep in mind here that she is your sister."¹
Christopher Knight, who played middle brother Peter Brady, wasn't surprised by any of this.
"I dare say that if you find anyone who grew up watching the show, their first crush was probably Marcia Brady," Knight said.¹
The On-Again, Off-Again Romance Nobody Knew About
Williams revealed during an April 2025 episode of The Real Brady Bros podcast that he and McCormick maintained a complicated relationship throughout the show's run.
"It was sort of on-again, off-again with Maureen and me throughout the years," Williams explained. "There was always a little dance being played that was broken up by hiatus."²
Williams even admitted he made sure to be on set whenever McCormick filmed romantic scenes with other actors.
When asked if he was always present for those scenes, Williams confirmed: "At all times. Always … Just to have a presence."²
The tension between the two teen stars was palpable to everyone on set.
Knight recalled during the podcast that when filming the famous "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia" episode, Williams and McCormick were "looking a little close — a little less like brother and sister."²
"The longing, kind of wide-eyed," Knight said, describing Williams' expression. "Yeah, that was you — and she was looking dreamy."²
McCormick's Memoir Exposed What Really Happened
McCormick didn't stay silent either.
In her 2008 memoir Here's the Story, the former child star revealed intimate details about her relationship with Williams.
During a 1972 trip to Hawaii where the cast filmed episodes for Season 4, McCormick and Williams shared their first kiss.
"As soon as I stepped off the plane, I started to think about him more intensely in the way I had fantasized for a long time," McCormick wrote. "We had spent the past three and a half years staving off the desire of a mutual attraction despite the intimacy of working closely with each other every day."³
McCormick also described performing a duet with Williams during The Brady Bunch touring days in 1972.
"We stood on opposite sides of the stage, inching slowly toward the center," she wrote. "Finally, we turned and sang to each other. It was choreographed to be a romantic moment, and there was so much sexual tension between us, we didn't have to pretend."³
During a 2019 appearance on Watch What Happens Live, McCormick rated her first kiss with Williams a perfect 10.³
But she clarified to host Andy Cohen that Williams wasn't actually her first kiss ever — just her first kiss with him.³
The Wholesome Image Was Always a Lie
The Brady Bunch aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974, presenting America with a vision of the perfect blended family navigating life's challenges with grace and humor.
Mike Brady, the widowed architect with three sons, married Carol, who had three daughters, creating the ultimate 1970s family sitcom.
What viewers didn't know was that behind the scenes, teenage hormones were running wild among the young cast members.
Williams told Us Weekly in September 2024 that he and his TV siblings "all hooked up with each other at some point."
"Not necessarily while we were filming," Williams clarified. "I dated Maureen, and Chris dated Eve [Plumb] and Michael [Lookinland] and Susan [Olsen] had a little mock wedding at one point. So, yes, we all hooked up."⁴
Williams even admitted to having a "teenage crush" on his TV mom, Florence Henderson.
The then-15-year-old Williams asked the 36-year-old Henderson on a date to see a singer at the Copacabana.
"I invited her to go together as a date, and she said, 'OK,' so I was thrilled," Williams recalled. "At the end of the date … I did go in for a little kiss, and she was nice enough to return it. So, it was a highlight. Nice little peck, yes."⁴
Susan Olsen, who played youngest daughter Cindy Brady, set the record straight about that relationship in 2023.
"Barry had a crush on her," Olsen said. "She was very kind to him. She let him take her out for her birthday. So I don't like the implication that's been out there, that something was going on with them. There wasn't anything going on with them except for mutual respect and love."⁴
America's Most Wholesome Show Had the Messiest Set
The revelations from Williams and McCormick shatter the squeaky-clean image that made The Brady Bunch a cultural phenomenon.
Millions of Americans grew up watching the Brady kids navigate innocent problems like winning essay contests, dealing with glasses, and competing for bathroom time.
Nobody suspected that behind the scenes, the teenage actors playing stepbrothers and stepsisters couldn't keep their hands off each other.
Williams and McCormick managed to keep their relationship mostly under wraps during the show's original run.
But decades later, they're finally telling the truth about what really happened on the set of America's most beloved family sitcom.
McCormick told Us Weekly in September 2024 that despite the complicated romantic history, she cherishes her friendships with the cast.
"The show will just always hold a super warm spot in my heart," McCormick said. "It's just an amazing bond, so I feel very lucky to have that."⁵
The Brady Bunch continues to air in syndication more than 50 years after its debut.
But now when viewers watch Greg and Marcia interact on screen, they'll know the truth about what was really happening between Barry Williams and Maureen McCormick.
¹ Stephanie Nolasco, "'Brady Bunch' star Barry Williams admits he couldn't hide attraction to TV sister Maureen McCormick," Fox News, November 16, 2025.
² Maureen McCormick and Barry Williams, cited in Fox News report, November 16, 2025.
³ Maureen McCormick, Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My Voice (2008), as quoted by Us Weekly.
⁴ Barry Williams interview with Us Weekly, September 2024.
⁵ Maureen McCormick interview with Us Weekly, September 2024.
