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The behind-the-scenes story from Desperate Housewives we can't stop thinking about.

Calling all Wisteria Lane fans: Desperate Housewives has officially marked its 20th anniversary. And star Eva Longoria has remembered her time on the show with a special throwback post.

And while you may think she would exclude a ~certain~ cast member from the tribute following ~those~ bullying allegations, the actress made sure everyone got a feature on her Instagram.

Watch Eva Longoria on the 'Ellen' show. Post continues after video.


Video: NBC

Sharing a cast throwback photo, Longoria wrote: "20 years of Desperate Housewives!! I get so emotional thinking about how this show changed everything for me."

The 49-year-old, who played Gabrielle Solis on the dramedy, added that she has "so many memories" from the iconic series.

"Everything I know about filmmaking and TV I learned on that show. I'm so grateful for my forever mentor, Marc Cherry [the show's creator], and for the women who took me under their wing and showed me the way 💖💖."

Longoria's throwback post. Image: Instagram/@evalongoria

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So sweet was the post that, were you not a Desperate Housewives fan, you would never guess the behind-the-scenes drama that plagued the show for years.

In fact, even Longoria recently claimed to have *checks notes* almost forgotten about the on-set feud??

In a 2023 interview with Dax Shepard for his Armchair Expert podcast, Longoria re-addressed rumours of a cast rift, confessing that, while she barely thinks about it these days, it was a massive deal at the time of filming.

"People ask me that a lot. 'Were you guys really fighting?'" she told Shepard. "And I was like, 'God, I forgot that was a thing.' It was a thing. It was a big thing."

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And big is right. Rumours of a cast rift simmered throughout the show's run, but it wasn't until seven years after it ended that the juiciest details arose — thanks to Felicity Huffman's court case.

In 2019, Huffman, who starred as Lynette on the long-running show, was sentenced to 14 days in prison for paying to boost her daughter’s college admission score. At the time, Longoria and Marc Cherry both submitted letters of support to the court.

Longoria’s letter revealed she was bullied by a co-worker on the show, which ran from 2004 to 2012 and also starred Teri Hatcher as Susan, and Marcia Cross as Bree.

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“I dreaded the days I had to go to work with that person because it was pure torture,” Longoria wrote. “Until one day, Felicity told the bully ‘enough’ and it all stopped. Felicity could feel that I was riddled with anxiety even though I never complained or mentioned the abuse to anyone.”

Longoria also explained that she was “by far” the lowest-paid cast member, because she was the least experienced. When it came time to renegotiate contracts, Huffman suggested all the stars should do it together, so they would all make the same amount of money.

“Well, needless to say, that did not go over too well with the others,” Longoria added. “But Felicity stood up for me, saying it was fair because the success of the show depended on all of us, not one of us.”

Cherry’s letter, meanwhile, also talked about the “problematic cast member” on the show.

“Everyone tried their darnedest to get along with this woman over the course of the show,” he wrote. “It was impossible. Things went from bad to worse.”

Cherry said at some point during season seven, this woman decided she would no longer speak to her fellow cast members.

“She would only communicate with the directors, who were then forced to pass her thoughts to her co-stars. This was alternately maddening and hilarious.”

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Cherry found out that Huffman insisted on saying “good morning” to this actress, even though she knew she wouldn’t get a response, and he asked her why.

Listen to The Spill hosts discuss TV’s biggest behind-the-scenes feud. Post continues after audio.

“She smiled and said, ‘Just because that woman’s determined to be rude, doesn’t mean she can keep me from being polite.'”

Rumours dating back to the time the show was on air have often pointed the finger at Hatcher as being the one who didn’t get along with the others. In 2005, the four women, plus series regular Nicollette Sheridan, did a cover shoot for Vanity Fair, and the magazine gleefully lifted the lid on the behind-the-scenes drama.

“You wouldn’t believe what it took just to get this photo!” the cover declared.

The corresponding article explained that a representative from the ABC network told the Vanity Fair team at the shoot that Hatcher was not to be allowed to select her wardrobe first, or to appear in the centre of the photo. However, Hatcher did go into wardrobe first, and the rep complained about it.

“I’m getting text messages from Eva,” he said. “Everything is not fine.”

Later, Hatcher was placed next to Cross, in the middle of the photo, Cross reportedly stormed off the set, screaming at the ABC rep, “Do your [expletive] job!”

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The photo that ended up appearing on the cover shows Sheridan in the middle of the group of women, with Hatcher on one side of her and Cross on the other.

The Desperate Housewives cast on the cover of Vanity Fair. Image: Vanity Fair

More claims were made about Hatcher when Sheridan sued Cherry after her character Edie was killed off in season five. Sheridan alleged she was assaulted by Cherry on set, and then fired when she reported the alleged assault to the network.

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She told the court that the incident happened when she approached Cherry to ask why a funny line had been cut from the script.

"Mr Cherry approached, he took his right hand, and he hit me upside the head," she said. "I was stunned. I couldn’t believe he just hit me."

However, Cherry told the court that the alleged assault was a tap to the head, done during rehearsals when showing Sheridan how to play a scene.

He said the decision to kill off Edie had already been made at that point, and it was done for three reasons: to save money, as a "great way to shock the audience", and because Sheridan’s behaviour had allegedly been unprofessional.

Cherry claimed Sheridan had "made insulting comments about her dialogue" during script readings, and on more than one occasion, hadn’t learnt her lines before turning up to shoot a scene.

"She only had five or six lines, and she had come to the set and didn’t know any of them," he added.

Cherry also said he was called to set during the first season of the show because "there was a problem" with Sheridan and Hatcher, who were supposed to be shooting a scene together.

"They were furious with each other," Cherry said. "Nicollette pulled me aside and told me that Teri Hatcher was the meanest woman in the world because of how she was acting."

The cast of Desperate Housewives. Image: IMDB.

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Sheridan’s lawsuit against Cherry was ultimately dismissed.

As for the apparent feud between Hatcher and the other three stars? That simmered away until the end of the show and beyond. When the final season wrapped, the crew members were each presented with a gift of luggage, with a card reading, "Thank you for a magical eight years. Love, Eva, Marcia, Felicity and Vanessa [Williams, the newest cast member]." Hatcher's name was not on the card.

In 2018, on the Desperate Housewives 14th anniversary, Huffman posted sweet, funny memories on Instagram about Longoria, Sheridan and Cross. She said nothing sweet and funny about Hatcher.

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That same year, when Longoria appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, she talked about how she was still "very good friends" with her former co-stars Huffman and Cross. When Kimmel asked if they were "all" very good friends, Longoria laughed.

"No, but 99 per cent of us are."

More recently, in 2023, one of the show's writers, Patty Lin, shared further details in her book, End Credits: How I Broke Up With Hollywood. In it, she claimed that she and the other writers would try to avoid eye contact with Hatcher.

"The writers weren't barred from the set, but we weren't exactly welcome," Lin wrote. "Usually we'd only see the cast at table reads, where we'd sit quietly in the back and try not to make eye contact with Teri Hatcher."

So what does Hatcher have to say about all this?

In a 2012 TV Guide article, which claimed "something went down" two seasons before the end of the show that caused Hatcher to "physically separate" herself from the rest of the cast during breaks in filming, Hatcher gave a comment via email.

"I will never disclose the true and complicated journey of us all," she wrote. "But I wish everyone on this show well."

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This article was originally published in September 2019, and has since been updated.

Feature Image: ABC

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