The Frawley-Vance feud was not the only issue backstage during I Love Lucy
In 1940, after a whirlwind courtship, B movie performer and chorus girl Lucille Ball married Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz. Their marriage, which lasted until 1960, was never smooth. Arnaz loved the nightlife, drinking, partying, girls, gambling, and excursions with “the boys”. On more than one occasion Lucille Ball mentioned divorce, each time Arnaz promised to reform. By his own admission he couldn’t do it. In the late 1950s he ran Desilu, their mutually owned studio and production company, dealt with the network and advertisers, produced other hit television programs, and generally avoided going home. His drinking and philandering were no secret in Hollywood, quite the opposite, but to the millions of fans of I Love Lucy, Desi did, as well as their children. But before the program ended, Desi asked Lucy for a divorce, after 20 years of marriage.
According to A Book, Lucy responded, in part, by telling her errant husband, “By the time I get through with you, you’ll be as broke as when you got here”. At his insistence, she initiated the proceedings by filing for divorce, and their considerable fortune and interests were divided amicably. Lucy’s career as a performer and comedienne continued, while Desi chose, for the most part, to remain behind the scenes following the end of their marriage. Both found their fortunes continued to grow following their divorce, in no small part because Desi had negotiated for them to retain the ownership of the I Love Lucy episodes. I Love Lucy became the first television program to be seen in reruns, and it continues to be seen around the world daily, in some cases 70 years after its original broadcast.