Suzanne Somers And Joyce DeWitt Finally Found Common Ground Decades After Three's Company

"Three's Company" fans can't imagine a world in which Chrissy Snow (Suzanne Somers) and Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt) aren't BFFs. In real life, though, Suzanne Somers and Joyce DeWitt weren't as close as they seemed on screen. In fact, the leading ladies actually didn't speak to each other for over 30 years after Somers left the series. In 1980, "Three's Company" was entering its fifth season, and the ABC sitcom was wildly popular and raking in Emmy Awards. Somers asked for a pay raise from the $30,000 per episode she was getting to $150,000 per episode like her costar John Ritter was getting. In 2020, Somers told People, "The show's response was, 'Who do you think you are?' They said, 'John Ritter is the star.'" Somers was then fired from "Three's Company."

Somers was required to continue filming Season 5 before Chrissy was written off the show, but in the meantime, she wasn't allowed to interact with her castmates, even being forced to go to and from set with a police escort. For obvious reasons, this caused some discomfort behind the scenes. While "Three's Company" continued on for three more seasons after Somers left until 1984, she and DeWitt didn't talk again until 2012. The pair had a sweet and emotional reunion on Somers' talk show, "Breaking Through." The leading ladies were able to put an end to their feud, reminisce about the good old days, and acknowledge their respect for each other and the differences they shared.

When Joyce DeWitt visited Suzanne Somers on "Breaking Through," in 2012, the actors talked about their bad blood. After getting fired from "Three's Company," Somers went on to turn the fame the show had given her into the next phase of her career. In 2009, Somers told the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences that she had the realization: "Everybody in this country knows my name — I have visibility. That's something." So, she used that visibility to get more gigs –– from becoming an award-winning Las Vegas performer to an entrepreneur. This path differed greatly from DeWitt's, who had Bachelor's and Master's degrees in acting and had been focused on acting seriously since her teens. Acting was DeWitt's priority, and she avoided the spotlight as much as possible. As Somers put it, "I always saw this as a business venture ... in a group of serious actors. I probably pissed you all off."

The two actors' different goals made it difficult to see the other's side. Once they reunited, though, time had healed the wounds. While DeWitt originally didn't understand why Somers prioritized money over their art, she later told Somers, "You went up against ruthlessness, and it came down," adding, "What you've gone on to do is immeasurable." Ultimately, as DeWitt said, "... the only reason 'Three's Company' is worth remembering is that it created an opportunity for all of us to laugh together, to celebrate joy. It's a profound gift."