It’s pretty rare that a sitcom manages to be popular at both the time of its original release and for decades afterward, but that’s precisely what’s managed to happen with The Golden Girls, which continues to exert a hold on audiences even almost thirty years after it went off the air. A significant amount of its appeal stems from the fact that the four women seemed to share an unbreakable bond as both roommates and friends. However, there were actually quite a few times when the four women weren’t very good roommates.
In fact, there were times when they were pretty terrible to each other.
When Dorothy Refused To Believe That Her Boyfriend Hit On Blanche
Way back in the first season of the series, Dorothy happened to meet a man and started dating him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t nearly as loyal to Dorothy as she was to him, and he hit on Blanche. When Blanche, being a good roommate and friend, tried to tell Dorothy what happened, she refused to believe her. While the truth was eventually revealed and the man was kicked out, it was unfortunately a bit of a blot on what was otherwise a strong friendship between the two women.
That Time That Sophia Tricked Rose Into Thinking She Was Possessed By The Ghost Of Charlie
Anyone who has seen the show knows that Sophia tends to be a bit of a prankster, and she doesn’t always appreciate what effect her pranks have on her roommates. Most notably, she once pretended that she was possessed by the ghost of Rose’s dead husband Charlie, and in the process she convinced Rose to give back a ring that Miles had given her. Rose does, admittedly, make a pretty tempting target, but still, it wasn’t a very good thing for Sophia to do to her roommate and friend.
When Blanche Was Resentful Of Dorothy For Dating Stan’s Brother Ted
While Blanche can be a good roommate at times, at others she can be notoriously selfish. In one incident, she not only grew jealous of Dorothy for daring to date a man she was interested in (who happened to be Stan’s younger brother), but also kicked an insomniac Rose out of the living room because she was interfering with her date with Ted (which wasn’t going that well, anyway).
It’s definitely not a time when Blanche showed herself in a very positive light.
When Blanche Didn’t Want To Split The Mortgage, Even Though It Meant One Of Them Would Have To Move Out
As the series drew to its close, the women found themselves faced with some pretty stressful situations, such as when Blanche was informed that she’d either have to make enormous renovations to the house in order for the women to live there or, as Dorothy suggested, sell them part of the mortgage. Blanche resisted doing so almost until the last minute, and while one can understand her reluctance, one still can’t help but think she was being a bit of a bad friend and roommate by not being willing to share her house with the women that had lived with her for seven years.
When Rose Decided To “Eat Life”
After Rose suffered what she thought was a heart attack (but, thankfully, wasn’t) and visited heaven before being sent back to earth, she decided that she was going to make the most of what was left of her life. Unfortunately, this meant that she was determined to make the other women’s lives miserable, and she became so focused on her own needs that she forgot that she wasn’t the only one that lived there. Fortunately, a run-in with two truly terrible roommates convinced her that she really was better off with Blanche and Dorothy.
When They All Tried To Date The Actor
One of the all-time funniest episodes of the show was one in which Blanche, Dorothy, and Rose all decided to start dating the same man, the dashing and debonair actor Patrick Vaughan. Needless to say, none of them saw fit to tell the others what they were doing, at least not until the night that they were all set to act together in a play. While their constant jockeying for his affection makes for great comedy, it also shows that there are indeed times when the women are not great roommates with one another.
When They All Posed For The Same Sculptor But Didn’t Tell Each Other
Relatedly, there was also a time when the three women decided to pose for the same sculptor (unaware that he was gay). Again, they decide not to tell one another at first, since each of them wants to be the one that he ultimately chooses as his model.
Of course, they ultimately realize the truth, and in fact it’s revealed that he used an element of all of them to create the final statue, a testament to the way that they complement one another (even if they are being terrible to each to each other at the same time).
When Blanche, Rose, And Dorothy Didn’t Include Sophia To See Burt Reynolds
Poor Sophia. Somehow, she always gets left behind when the other three get to go on an adventure, including the time when Blanche managed to win three tickets to see none other than Burt Reynolds. Of course, the three got their just desserts when they were arrested for being prostitutes and ended up missing the show. Sophia, on the other hand, managed to nab the tickets and went to see Burt and then, to add insult to injury, proceeded to rub it in their faces relentlessly.
When None of them Believed Blanche Didn’t Sleep With Gil Kessler
Blanche has something of a reputation for being promiscuous, and this has caused her to get in trouble on the show on more than one occasion. In one notable instance, a local politician claimed that they had an affair. While it was revealed that it was a lie that he used to try to get ahead in the polls, it also revealed that Rose and Dorothy (and to an extent Sophia) were very willing to believe that Blanche would lie to them.
When They Refused To Believe Rose About Her Sister
Though Rose is almost always the most positive member of the group, she does have her moments when she shows that she knows how to hold a grudge, including one that she has against her sister Holly. As it turns out, she’s right about the way that Holly tends to be emotionally manipulative, but Dorothy and Blanche refuse to believe her. It’s one of those unfortunate times when the women aren’t really very good roommates (or friends) to one another.
