8. Desi May Have Been Somewhat Jealous of Lucy
Feelings of jealousy were rife throughout Desi and Lucy’s relationship, as they always suspected the other of cheating when they were apart. But the couple soon established Desilu Productions to oversee I Love Lucy, and they were able to enjoy an on-screen career that made them America’s golden couple. Desi knew that Lucy was the star of the show, and he was always protective of her. If anything happened to her, the show would flop, and both of their careers would end. Madelyn Davis said, “If she was taken care of, that was all that counted. He protected her.” Still, Lucy, Vivian Vance (Ethel Mertz), and William Frawley (Fred Mertz) were nominated continuously for Emmy awards, but never Desi.
And Desi wasn’t just her co-star; he ran a lot of the action behind the scenes. The work that Desi did off-stage was as critical to the show’s success as the acting that Lucy did in front of the camera. He engineered ownership of the show through Desilu Productions and later sold it to CBS, earning millions of dollars. Still, while watching his wife’s fame soar, his insecurities and self-doubts began to surface. Having a wife who was more famous than him was, at times, too much for the Cuban who held to traditional gender roles. On at least one occasion, his insecurities surfaced when he called himself “Mr. Ball.”