'It Got Ugly': Delta Burke Addresses 'Designing Women' Exit
Burke portrayed Suzanne Sugarbaker on the first five seasons of the CBS sitcom.
It's been over 30 years since Delta Burke starred on hit CBS sitcom Designing Women, and now she's opening up about her exit. The actress starred as former beauty queen Suzanne Sugarbaker in the first five seasons. She reportedly got into a disagreement with creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason in 1991, leading to her exit. Via People, Burke got into details about her exit on the Glamorous Trash podcast.
"It got ugly and very sad," Burke shared. "We do Designing Women, and I'm so happy to be there. I love everything. But then things started to change, which I won't go into. But that, combined with becoming famous, that I simply couldn't cope with. And I wanted to leave. And I wasn't allowed to leave." Additionally, Burke explained that she had a "love-hate" dynamic with Bloodworth-Thomason, whom she had worked with on numerous occasions.
"I love her very much, I admire a lot that she's done, I'm very thankful for everything that she's done for me, but there's other issues," Burke said. "Well, basically, we tried to kill each other, but you know, we survived." Following Designing Women, the two worked together on Women of the House and previously did Filthy Rich together.
Another factor that lead into her exit was negativity she received about her weight, admitting it got "incredibly ugly" and she was "emotionally too fragile" to deal with the harsh words. While Delta Burke continued to act after leaving the sitcom, it's likely the series was just getting to be a little bit too much for her, which is understandable. It does sound like, for the most part, Burke has nothing but nice things to say about Designing Women, aside from some very significant moments that made her want to leave.
It's definitely disappointing to hear what Burke's experience was like on Designing Women leading to her departure, and it shows that even if a set looks as great as can be, it's not always that way. At least she still has a lot of good things to say about the series. With so many reboots and revivals happening lately, perhaps Designing Women could be next? There was supposed to be a Designing Women sequel series on ABC, but it unfortunately never came to be. Maybe now could be the time. You never know what could happen.