Maureen McCormick Thought They Were Going to Tie the Knot

Maureen McCormick's unlikely crush star photo — Everett Collection

What To Know

Maureen McCormick, best known as Marcia Brady, developed a close friendship with Michael Jackson in the early 1970s after he reached out as a fan of The Brady Bunch.
According to McCormick, their bond grew so strong that she had a crush on Jackson, they kissed, and she even imagined marrying him.
Despite their different backgrounds and careers, McCormick fondly recalls their innocent connection and the possibility of a deeper relationship.

Decades ago, an unexpected friendship blossomed into something a little bit more between two famous entertainers, actress Maureen McCormick and one very famous pop music icon. I’m not talking about Davey Jones from the Monkees; he was great and all, but that puppy love stuff was just made up for a TV show. The information that I’m about to share is 100% true. Believe it or not, the object of Maureen’s affection was the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson.

Maureen, of course, is best known for her role as Marcia Brady on the iconic TV series The Brady Bunch, which aired from 1969 to 1974 on the ABC television network here in the United States. And Michael, of course, was a global superstar who rose to fame as a member of the Jackson Five, later becoming a solo artist who dominated the music industry for decades. In fact, a recent Rolling Stone article pointed out that the singer posthumously continues to make history, after “Thriller” recently returned to the Billboard Hot 100, making him the first artist with a top 10 hit in six different decades.

THE JACKSONS, Michael Jackson, (Season 1, aired May 26, 1976), 1976-77

Everett Collection

What relationship did Michael Jackson and Maureen McCormick have?

Despite their very different backgrounds and career paths, Maureen and Michael became close friends during the early seventies. They first met because Michael was a fan of The Brady Bunch, and Maureen in particular, and invited her to his family’s home in Los Angeles. Even though Maureen was a few years older than Michael, the two of them really hit it off.

In her book Surviving Marsha Brady and Finding My True Voice, Maureen said that there was a period of time way back then where she was frequently driving over to the Jackson estate, where she and Michael would just hang out and talk about TV and music. He’d let her watch him sing and dance in the family studio, which was a thrill for her because she was just as much of a fan of Michael as he was of her.

When interviewers ask Maureen about Michael, she typically comes prepared with a well-rehearsed response where she basically says that because he was just so sweet and innocent and so full of energy and love, she felt an incredible connection with him.

THE BRADY BUNCH VISITS ABC, Mike Lookinland, Christopher Knight, Barry Williams, Eve Plumb, Susan Olsen, Maureen McCormick, Jackson 5 (Michael Jackson, far right), aired September 10, 1971

Everett Collection

However, in an Access Hollywood interview posted to YouTube, Maureen confessed that there was a time she imagined their relationship developing into something more. In that interview, Maureen admitted that she “had a huge crush on him” and that they “kissed on the lips”.

Later on in the interview, she said, “I was in love. I thought I was gonna maybe be Mrs. Michael Jackson. I definitely could have been. I would’ve loved it.”

It’s fun to think that in some parallel dimension, perhaps there’s an alternate timeline playing out where Maureen and Michael somehow made it work. In that particular version of reality, I’d like to think the two of them travel the world, trying to make it a better place for all. And Michael, from time to time, still finds time to electrify audiences. Who knows? Maybe, just maybe, like his friend, Donny Osmond, he has a Vegas show. Yep, I’d like to think that could have happened.