Designing Women: From Delta Burke to Annie Potts and More, See Where the Stars of the '80s Sitcom Are Today

Table Of Content

• Delta Burke details her meth use for weight loss and 'ugly' Designing Women exit in first interview in decades
• Life
• Delta Burke dramatically departed Designing Women
• This Star Is Now Living Privately with Famous Spouse - He Proposed on 2nd Date & Still Loves Her at Any Weight
• Where Are They Now: 'Designing Women' Star Delta Burke
• Actress
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"I know that I'm safe and I'm loved. I didn't feel that there," Burke said of her time at the top. "I wanted to be so much, and I didn't get to be what I wanted to be, but I got to go there, and I got to be an actress, and I got to make people laugh, which I loved very much." "It got too ugly. And all of a sudden, one day, it was like the joy of acting left me," she explained.

Delta Burke details her meth use for weight loss and 'ugly' Designing Women exit in first interview in decades

She told reporters that she had been looking forward to this day for years, glad that Hollywood finally recognized her husband for his talents. When asked about the secret to their relationship, McRaney attributed it to their willingness to go beyond accepting, to really embrace the other person and what they hold dear. One of these challenges includes Burke's battle with weight fluctuations and diabetes. According to the actress, her weight gain during "Designing Women" triggered her type-2 diabetes diagnosis and brought her to an all-time low.

Life

Burke completely disagreed, saying the rift was because she was open about the “psychological abuse” she experienced on set over her weight. However, this experience with Designing Women didn’t stop Burke from continuing her acting career. There are always those celebrities who flood the tabloids during their prime and then seem to disappear off the face of the earth, like Meg Ryan and Phoebe Cates. Her career peaked around the 1990s before it eventually fizzled out in the 2000s. Read on to discover what this former pageant queen and TV star is up to now.

Delta Burke dramatically departed Designing Women

That pushed the timeline for the pilot back so far that ABC decided to just not consider the pilot for its fall season at all, cancelling Burke's return to TV before it could even begin. “Designing Women” alum Delta Burke says her “ugly” experience on the hit CBS sitcom drove her away from Los Angeles, and her long-time struggle with her weight led her to use crystal meth to keep off the pounds. Opening up for the first time in decades, Burke recalled how she looked to series creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, whom she worked with on the sitcom Filthy Rich before Designing Women, as a mentor. "I love everything. But then things started to change, which I won't go into. But that combined with becoming famous, I simply couldn't cope with." "I thought I was stronger. I tried very hard to defend myself against lies and all the ugliness that was there, and I wasn’t gonna win. I'm just an actress, you know. I don’t have any power," she said. "I remember on the set, when it got to be really bad, and I wasn’t handling it well with a smiling face, my whole body language changed. I would kind of hunch over ... and I just tried to disappear."

Today, Burke relishes the simpler moments, from routine chores to managing her antiques business. Her public appearances are rare, but her life with McRaney is rich in shared values and mutual respect. Delta Burke rose to fame for her role as Suzanne Sugarbaker in "Designing Women." However, she did not enjoy her time in Hollywood. Later she realized that the value of her role lay not in the accolades or fame, but in the personal connections she forged. It was no secret at the time that Burke was unhappy working on Designing Women.

Where Are They Now: 'Designing Women' Star Delta Burke

Meanwhile, the Thomasons blamed Burke's husband, Major Dad star Gerald McRaney, for the falling-out, claiming Burke's relationship with the cast and crew changed after she began dating him. The slow descent of Delta Burke from award-winning star of an extremely popular sitcom to a page in the "whatever happened to?" file began in the summer of 1990. While that fictional dynamic was played for laughs, behind the scenes, things supposedly weren't so happy. "It got ugly and very sad," the Emmy nominee — beloved for her role as former beauty queen Suzanne Sugarbaker on the hit sitcom — said in a rare interview with Chelsea Devantez on her Glamorous Trash podcast.

Actress

Eventually, she was fired because of her difficulties with other cast members. Producers said it was because she was horrible to work with, especially after she married Major Dad actor Gerald McRaney in 1989. The entire original cast, including Burke, did reunite in 2003 for The Designing Women Reunion special, which looked back at the groundbreaking series. Burke left Designing Women at the height of the show's success, just as it was breaking into Nielsen's Top 10 in ratings. She starred as Suzanne Sugarbaker alongside Dixie Carter as her sister Julia, Jean Smart as Charlene Frazier Stillfield, and Annie Potts as Mary Jo Shively. Of Bloodworth-Thomason, who Burke at one time thought of as a "mentor," she has since put the description "love-hate" on their relationship.

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She also appeared on the big screen in films like Garden State, The Accountant and Babylon. "It got ugly and very sad," she said, and things grew contentious between them ("basically we tried to kill each other," she said) even though they reunited later in another series. Burke said she had a breakdown and was hospitalized as early as the second season and said she didn't want to go back to work on the series.

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The former Miss America contestant explained that "the look" of the time was Diane Keaton in "Annie Hall," and she was encouraged to dress like the thin Oscar winner for auditions. But, she said, she "had bosom and hips and wonderful curves" that didn't adhere to beauty standards of the era, lamenting that the press treated serial killers "kinder than if you put on some weight." The "Women of the House" and "What Women Want" star said she would drink a glass before going to work on the early 1980s sitcom "Filthy Rich," and then she "wouldn't eat for five days."

Interestingly, Designing Women creators Harry Thomason and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason blamed the falling out on Burke's husband, actor Gerald McRaney. Listen to the podcast below for more from Burke, including how she hired the crew from Hoarders to help her sift through dozens of storage units she had before moving to Florida. "I'm very thankful for everything that she's done for me, but there's other issues," she said. In 2017 she kicked off her one her longest running roles to date — second only to Designing Women — as Meemaw on Young Sheldon.

"I thought that meant that you would be a famous and well-respected actress, but that's not what it meant," she said. "And the moment I became famous, it was like, 'Oh no, no, no. This is not what I had in mind at all. I don't think I want to be this anymore.' But then it's too late." Burke credited her 34-year marriage to Gerald McRaney, whom she met while filming Designing Women, for getting her through the most challenging periods. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Another major topic that Burke discussed on the podcast was the scrutiny she faced over her weight — which also contributed to her exit from the show. Burke exited Designing Women in 1991, reportedly over a high-profile disagreement with the show’s creator, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, whom she claimed had psychologically abused her, along with Bloodworth-Thomason’s husband, Harry Thomason.

"My whole body would spasm. It would be very physical, very out of control, jerking," she said, recalling that "[co-star] Meshach Taylor would be holding me and carry me back to my room," while fellow cast member Dixie Carter "would get in the bed and lay beside me and pet me." Since her time on "Designing Women" ended in 1991, Burke has played many vivacious, charming, and self-assured Southern women, and often in a voice-only capacity. On the mid-1990s Family Channel sitcom "The Mighty Jungle," about a man who runs a backyard zoo populated with animals whom only he can hear, Burke voiced a toucan named Viola. A few years later, in the family movie "Good Boy!" (a box office hit about talking dogs from outer space) played a pretentious, pampered diva of a poodle named Barbara Ann. While Delta Burke left her signature role on her most famous project under murky, even controversial circumstances, CBS and "Designing Women" creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason were able to lure Delta Burke back into portraying Suzanne Sugarbaker one more time.

A Belated Tribute to Meshach Taylor and His Groundbreaking Designing Women Character - Vulture

A Belated Tribute to Meshach Taylor and His Groundbreaking Designing Women Character.

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Burke shared that after the couple met for the first time they "knew each other was the one." They had always envisioned growing old together, and now they revel in the reality of their enduring companionship. "I love him desperately. I know that I am safe and I am loved," Burke gushed, reflecting her contentment and profound love for McRaney. She stated, "No one had ever loved me completely for me, not even my mother or grandmother. They would judge what I looked like. He never did." As tensions escalated, Burke's relationship with the show's producers deteriorated.