‘I Love Lucy’: Desi Arnaz Said He and Lucille Ball Had Fights That ‘Were Enough to Discourage Anyone from Getting Married’
I Love Lucy stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were married for 20 years. Arnaz once said he had no idea how they ended up together after all the fights they had. Here’s what the “Babalu” singer had to say about their passionate relationship.
Lucille Ball said Desi Arnaz had a bad temper
In her book, Love, Lucy, Ball said Arnaz had a bad temper. She said he became very angry after their new home was ruined. It had just been renovated when one of the pipes burst, causing damage to the carpet and walls. She said Arnaz “flipped” and their children stuck close by her in “terror.”
Ball went on to say Arnaz screamed while kicking the walls and tearing things down. She said she never saw him so angry, and she was afraid he would injure himself. This was the moment when she began to see how much emotional strain Arnaz was under and how work was “eating away at him.”
Desi Arnaz said he and Lucille Ball had heated arguments
In his autobiography, A Book, Arnaz said he and Ball had a passionate marriage. According to him, they would “love furiously and fight furiously.” Arnaz said their fights would get so bad that anyone who witnessed their fights would reconsider getting married.
Arnaz also said their different ethnic backgrounds made them an unlikely couple. He said Ball had Irish, Scottish, and French ancestry, while he had Spanish, Irish, French, and Cuban ancestry. Ball was born in Jamestown, New York, and Arnaz was born in Cuba. “It’s really amazing that two people from such different backgrounds and geographical origins even got together,” marveled Arnaz.
In his book, Arnaz described some of the angry phone conversations he and Ball had. He said they would sometimes accuse each other of cheating and hang up, only to make up later. Arnaz said he didn’t understand how he and Ball still got married after going through that rough time in their relationship. He also said when they got married, people took bets on how long they would stay married. Some people predicted they would last just two weeks.
One thing Arnaz did know was how much he loved Ball. He said he was “madly in love with her,” and he knew she loved him.
Desi Arnaz said their differences attracted them to each other
Ball and Arnaz were very different, but Arnaz said that’s exactly what drew them to each other. He also said it was probably “the cause of many of their arguments, fights, and other problems.” Arnaz said he had a different view on things and Ball was raised differently than he was.
Arnaz said he and Ball had “two of the worst years we ever had” after a performance at the Palace Hotel. According to him, the more successful they became, the worse their relationship was. He described their time together as “tempestuous.” During the time Ball came to visit Arnaz at the Palace Hotel, he said they would either “make love like mad or fight like hell.”
Arnaz said he and Ball didn’t see much of each other for a few years. He was performing in shows and Ball was traveling for different movie appearances. Arnaz said their schedules caused conflict in their relationship. Said Arnaz, “We hardly saw each other and AT&T was getting richer.”
[Correction: An earlier version mistakenly said Ball and Arnaz were married for 10 years, not 20.]
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