She may have been a commanding star, but Lucille Ball wasn't immune to the controlling ways of men, particularly in her era.
The comedian's career began in 1929 as a model, but it was her work alongside her husband Desi Arnaz in the beloved sitcom I Love Lucy in the 1950s that catapulted both of them into fame.
And though it's no secret that the former couple — they divorced in 1960 after 20 years of marriage — often had a rocky relationship, a new memoir unveils a particularly deceptive and secretive betrayal on behalf of the Cuban actor.
© Getty ImagesAuthor Todd S. Purdum has written in his new book Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television that when Lucille gave birth to her and Desi's first daughter, Lucie Arnaz, the latter put a different name than the one his wife had chosen on the birth certificate, behind her back.
When they were first trying to conceive, Lucille had picked two names, Susan and Desi Jr.
Before she became pregnant with her daughter however, she experienced multiple miscarriages early in her marriage, and doctors later discovered a fallopian tube had been accidentally closed while treating one of them, which was later corrected.
© Getty ImagesLucie finally arrived on July 17, 1951, via cesarean section, but rather than being named Susan, Desi took matters into his own hands while his wife was in recovery.
Todd wrote in his book: "Thrilled to be a mother at last, Lucy asked to see the newborn the moment her anesthesia wore off. 'I want to see Susan!' she told the nurse, using the name she believed that she and Desi had agreed on if the baby was a girl, after Lucy's good friend, the young actress Susan Peters, who had been paralyzed from the waist down in a duck-shooting accident."
© Getty ImagesHowever, she was confronted with a nurse telling her instead: "You mean Lucie?"
The book further reads: "Without consulting her, Desi had already written Lucie Desiree on the birth certificate, naming the little girl for her mother and maternal grandmother. Lucy was surprised but didn't make a fuss. The name was, after all, a compliment she could hardly resist."
© Getty ImagesTwo years later, Lucille and Desi welcomed a son, named Desi Arnaz Jr., who, now 72, is a retired singer and actor.
Lucie, 73, also followed in her parents' footsteps as a singer and actress. The family's story was most recently portrayed in the 2021 biopic Being the Ricardos, starring Nicole Kidman and Lucille and Javier Bardem as Desi.
