There are countless stories of duos who met
on the set and became off-screen friends. But in other cases, the lines between reality
and fiction — and between two people — became starkly different. Here are the TV friends
who couldn't stand each other in real life. The landmark sitcom from the 1950s, "I Love
Lucy" starred Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance as best friends and co-conspirators
Lucy and Ethel, respectively. However, the two actors had a fair amount of animosity
between them, even though they were supposed to play besties on the show. This tension started
the moment that Vance walked onto the set. There was an unspoken rule in "old-school"
television that no one should compete with the leading lady in terms of looks. Ethel's
character was supposed to be slightly older, with a more middle-aged vibe, and Ball
was devastated to see that Vance was young and attractive instead. So much
so that she wanted the new girl fired. Over time, however, Vance really began to embody
her character, and her acting skill won Ball over professionally — just as her friendship
eventually won her over in real life. Their rivalry ended up turning into an actual bond, but
their relationship was quite rocky at the start. On the 1998 supernatural drama "Charmed," Phoebe
and Paige were played by Alyssa Milano and Rose McGowan. Unfortunately, the two had a toxic
relationship, as McGowan later revealed in a Twitter feud in 2020. She accused Milano
of creating a hostile environment on set, behavior that McGowan called "appalling".
McGowan even went so far as to say that she cried every time the show got renewed because of
how difficult her experience was with her co-star. On the show, Paige and Phoebe have their fair
share of differences, but at the end of the day, they save each other's lives and have each
other's backs as true friends and sisters would. But on Twitter, the pair really laid into
each other. What started as a dispute about politics escalated into McGowan taking
on Milano for everything, from being a fraud and co-opting McGowan's "Cultural
Reset" movement to her salary on "Charmed." Allegedly, despite what McGowan saw as a high
salary, Milano threw a fit on set, saying that she wasn't paid enough to, quote, “do this s---!"
And McGowan's opposition to Milano's behavior is just one of a few tense relationships
that Milano was involved in on the show. “Why does she always pick on me first?” In 1995, the fifth series in the "Star
Trek" franchise hit American TVs, becoming a success for seven seasons, and a
landmark show in the realm of gender-balanced casting and the representation of strong
female characters. Two of those characters ended up becoming extremely close on
"Star Trek: Voyager" — Seven of Nine, played by Jeri Ryan, and Captain Kathryn
Janeway, portrayed by Kate Mulgrew. Seven of Nine arrived on the scene
as a foil to Captain Janeway, much as Spock was to Captain Kirk in
the original series. From the beginning, their relationship was meant to be a close one in
which the two characters played off each other. As the series progressed, the two
became confidantes and friends. In real life, however, the tensions that arose
from the arrival of newcomer Ryan in Season 4 incited a tumultuous relationship between
the two stars. With the addition of Ryan, the ratings went through the roof,
painfully leaving Mulgrew in the dust, according to executive producer Rick
Berman. Speaking with "Woman's World", he recalled someone from the press literally
pushing past Mulgrew to get to Ryan. It hurt, and it resulted in an antagonism
that persisted through the end of the show. For one example, Seven's notorious skintight
costume was an element that drew attention from Janeway in favor of the newcomer. Allegedly,
Mulgrew even tried to prohibit Ryan from going to the bathroom during work hours, saying it took
her too long to get out of the costume. Yikes. In the original "Star Trek" series,
William Shatner, known as Captain Kirk, apparently had some significant beef with Leonard
Nimoy, who played Kirk’s foil and first officer, Spock. The beef was allegedly because Nimoy got
more fan letters, despite his intended status as a secondary character to Kirk. The Enterprise
captain was supposed to be the obvious protagonist and fan favorite, but audiences developed a keen
affinity for the pointy-eared science officer. Much of this claim comes from
George Takei, who played Sulu and had an even bigger beef with Shatner...
who also says this fan mail story is made-up. But even if the conflict over fan letters
wasn't part of it, Nimoy and Shatner started off on tense terms. They clashed often in
the beginning of their professional career in part because Nimoy was so singularly
focused on making the most of his moment. Though Shatner went on to describe
Nimoy as perhaps his only true friend, this relationship ended shortly before Nimoy
passed away. The man who played Spock suddenly cut Shatner out of his life without explanation, and
he died before he or Shatner could make amends. Things aren't always as golden as they may seem,
and all of the characters on "Golden Girls" weren't as chummy in real life as they may have
appeared on TV. This was particularly true of Bea Arthur and Betty White, who portrayed Dorothy and
Rose, respectively. It was a distaste primarily on Arthur's part that stemmed from her views on
White's work ethic. Apparently, she loved to chat with the audience between scenes instead
of staying focused, as well as her attitude. The actress who played the cynical Dorothy was
a bit cynical of White's persona in real life. According to those who've worked with
her, White is a pleasant, sunshine-y soul, and that made her pretty popular. Arthur, however, was convinced that her upbeat attitude was all
an act. White recalled in an HLN interview, "Sometimes if I was happy, she'd be furious." “I don’t know what I ever did, but
she was not that thrilled with me.” While Arthur apparently wouldn't
give Betty the time of day, White, true to her established image, has mostly kind
words to say about her former co-star. She shared, "You didn't mess with Bea! [...] Bea
was very strong. But you loved her." Even, apparently, if she didn't love you. In "Anger Management," Charlie Sheen and Selma
Blair played great friends, occasionally with benefits, Charlie Goodson and Dr. Kate Wales.
But off-screen, it was quite a different story. Their tense relationship ended with Blair
getting fired from the show via text message. Leading up to the unceremonious
ousting was quite a lot of anger. It started when Blair voiced concerns to
series executives about Sheen's work ethic. The notoriously volatile star was quite unhappy
to see these remarks leaked to the press, giving a decisive ultimatum to the producers.
They had to choose between him and Blair. Of course, as an executive
producer and star of the show, it was obvious that Sheen wasn't going to get cut. “You can’t fire me.” Blair was supposed to have a pretty significant
role on the show too, but obviously nothing that could compete with Sheen's role or his anger.
Not only did he tell her via text that her days on "Anger Management" were over, he sprinkled
in a few tasteless four-letter words to boot. Grace and Karen are close friends on "Will
and Grace," but the actors who portray them, Debra Messing and Megan Mullally,
were apparently anything but. While the last few episodes were filming
in 2019, Mullally missed two episodes, reportedly due to on-set tension. Mullally later
opened up on her husband Nick Offerman's podcast about the fact that she was being "bullied"
at work. Were the two incidents connected? Well, the description of the situation aligns
with the alleged feud between herself and Messing. It’s one involving a situation at work in
which she stood up for herself and made things, quote, "a thousand times worse." She also
noted that it was an ongoing and current situation in January 2020, and "Will & Grace"
was her only regular engagement at that time. Mullally also ditched a cast interview with
Messing in 2020, ahead of the series finale. Her leave of absence from the
show suspiciously coincided with her unfollowing both Messing
and fellow "Will and Grace" actor Sean Hayes on social media. The latter Mullally
has always publicly gotten along well with. On Offerman's podcast, she hinted at
the drama behind this choice and her minimal interaction with the cast. She revealed, "I'm pretty much on my own." She added that the alleged bully had recruited
many of her former allies to their side, leaving Mullally without the support she once had. Like the on-again, off-again
friends they portrayed on "Glee," Naya Rivera and Lea Michele had
a bit of a rocky relationship. Rivera played Cheerios cheerleading captain
and Glee Club member Santana Lopez, while Michele appeared in the role of the ambitious
and talented Glee Club captain Rachel Berry. On the show, Rachel and Santana began as
bitter rivals. But over multiple periods of tension and reconciliation, they developed
a reputation for their on-and-off friendship. The two live together in New York City and
demonstrate genuine care for one another. Things couldn't have been further from the
truth in real life. In 2014, a fight on the set resulted in one of them getting thrown off set
or storming out, according to varying reports. Either way, Rivera's character ended up being
written out of the "Glee" finale. Later, she revealed that their relationship got so bad
that they didn't speak for the whole of Season 6. Their personalities, she said, were, quote, "not
a good mixture." However, after Rivera's tragic death, Michele paid tribute to her co-star
by posting a photo of her to Instagram, alongside a pic of her late partner and
fellow "Glee" co-star Cory Monteith. The names "Mulder and Scully" are synonymous with
the idea of an iconic duo. However, by the time "The X-Files" finished airing, Gillian Anderson
and David Duchovny reportedly couldn't stand the sight of each other. While Duchovny initially
had positive things to say about his co-star, the relationship deteriorated over the course of
a series of public comments by the two actors. At one point, Duchovny admitted that not only
did he and Anderson not socialize regularly, but sometimes the attitude on set
amounted to be pretty bad. As he put it, "I'd rather be anywhere else but here,
and I'm going to make you suffer for it!" That's a pretty dismal revelation, and it
wasn't the only one. After the show ended, Duchovny confirmed to Metro that the two were
sick of each other by the time the series ended, saying, quote, "Familiarity breeds contempt." The two actors had an undeniable spark
from the start, but sometimes a spark can turn into a difficult-to-control
fire. Anderson described long periods of their intense relationship in which the
two refused to speak to each other. Often, when they were speaking, Duchovny revealed,
the two would just argue about nothing. Detective Kate Beckett, played by Stana
Katic, and mystery novelist Richard Castle, played by Nathan Fillion, were great friends and
star-crossed lovers on ABC's "Castle." However, in real life, the conflict between them grew
so tense that eventually Katic left the show. It must've been a nightmare to work so closely
together while harboring such animosity, particularly for Stana Katic. Allegedly, she
would go into her dressing room and cry when filming was done because of nastiness from
Fillion. For multiple seasons leading up to Katic's departure and the show's subsequent
cancelation, the actors reportedly despised each other. They also didn't speak
to each other outside of filming. According to “Us Weekly,” the actors actually
had to go to couples counseling together at the behest of the show. This was despite the fact
that they were the furthest thing from a couple, unlike their characters. Apparently,
though, it wasn't enough to save Katic's spot on the series. She was subjected to
a harsh exit without, according to her, any insight into the thought
process behind her expulsion. Check out one of our newest
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