It turns out that two The Waltons stars loved each other on set, but kept their relationship professional and platonic.
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Some of the stars from the hit '70s show attended a Q&A event on June 7 at The Hollywood Show. In attendance was Michael Learned, who played Olivia Walton, the matriarch of the family. It turns out that Learned and her on-screen husband, Ralph Waite, loved each other both on and off-screen.
However, they never acted on their feelings.
The Q&A was a delight to fans of the show that ran for eight seasons from 1972 to 1980. This run encouraged six TV movies for years to come. Learned, 86, and Waite, who died at 85, shared a brilliant chemistry as they played the Virginian couple. After what Waite revealed at the Q&A, however, it's no wonder they did.
"I just loved him and he loved me," she said, per PEOPLE. "That was very real and we were also very wise. We didn't sleep together in real life."
"We knew that that could just go downhill. So as much as we loved each other, we were just very respectful of the show and who we were and who our characters were. So we just remained dear, dear friends."
Learned was married for most of the production of The Waltons, and Waite got married later in the show's run. There was a brief moment when both Learned and Waite weren't married, but they still decided to keep things PG between them.
Michael Learned And Ralph Waite Were "Beacons Of Integrity" For 'The Waltons'
Richard Thomas, 73, who played John-Boy, was also in attendance at the panel. He explained how both Learned and Waite were "gatekeepers of honesty of the show."
"Ralph was impatient with anything that was going to be fake, false, reversed the guideline. Michael, same way," he explained. "They were exemplars of keeping it honest and keeping it real and questioning and making sure that it was right. So they sort of were the beacons of integrity for all this as we all tried to do it, but they really were the leaders."
