NEED TO KNOW
Christopher Knight is sharing more about his offscreen connection with former The Brady Bunch costar Eve Plumb
In a new exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Knight shared that he “wasn’t there” despite claiming that Plumb “had her claim” on him
Plumb recently reflected on that same period, revealing that the two went on a date shortly after The Brady Bunch ended
Christopher Knight is opening up about his long-standing connection with former The Brady Bunch costar Eve Plumb — and why their relationship never quite turned romantic, despite the timing almost lining up.
The actors, who played siblings Peter and Jan Brady on the beloved series from 1969 to 1974, have remained close for decades. But as both have shared over the years, there was a brief moment when their off-screen bond nearly shifted into something more.
Plumb, 68, recently reflected on that same period in an interview with Page Six, revealing that the two went on a date shortly after The Brady Bunch ended.
“It was sweet,” she said. “It was fun, but we were really already by that time just too good of friends to make that transition into being romantic partners.”
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.
Maureen McCormick, Eve Plumb, Susan Olsen, Barry Williams, Christopher Knight, and Mike Lookinland in The Brady Bunch
Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Speaking to PEOPLE in an exclusive interview at The Brady Bunch Experience on Tuesday, April 28, in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, Knight, 68, says: “It’s funny because … for all those years, from 10, 11 till 16 … the only people in my world that I was close to really were this group, this cast.”
Within that tight-knit environment, his bond with Plumb stood out.
“Eve was more mature than me very early [and] always had, from the earliest I can remember, her claim on me, but I wasn’t there,” he continues, adding: “You know, I wasn’t ready to be claimed. I wasn’t even aware for part of that time that it just wasn’t there, right to the very end.”
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
By the time Knight says he began to recognize Plumb’s attention — and perhaps feel ready to reciprocate — their shared chapter was coming to a close.
“And right as, all of a sudden, I’m now ready perhaps to turn around and recognize this attention and maybe give some of my own, we’re off the air,” he tells PEOPLE.
Knight added that perhaps a romance with Plumb was not destined to fully unfold.
“It was sweet, but it was [not] destined, and I’m glad,” he says. “Because surely, you know, exes aren’t somebody you normally stay very close to. So we never had a chance to be an item, to find a distance in one another.”
Instead, the pair maintained a lasting friendship, Knight tells PEOPLE.
“My sphere of influence and her sphere of influence … after that changed,” Knight explains. “But she was in my sphere right up until that time. It was right at the very end.”
Looking back, Knight likens the near-romance to a fleeting moment in time.
“It’s like getting a kiss on two different trains right as they separate,” he says.
In her new memoir, Happiness Included: Jan Brady and Beyond, Plumb writes that any attempt at romance with Knight didn’t quite stick: “Any attempts at making out that evening ended with laughter and resignation that we’d always be sister and brother, even in real life.”
Today, their connection remains strong, and Plumb has said the two still keep in touch regularly, even participating in monthly Zoom calls with their spouses. Plumb married business and technology consultant Ken Pace in 1995, while Knight wed businesswoman Cara Kokenes in 1996.
Read the original article on People