Mike Hid His Sexuality
Robert Reed (Mike Brady) remained in the closet for most of his life and struggled with his identity as a gay man. According to Susan Olsen, who played his on-screen daughter Cindy, being gay killed her TV dad. “I can also say that being gay killed him,” she wrote in a social media post.
Because it was so taboo, he could never make peace with himself. He never allowed himself to have a genuine love. He was forever taunted by his own disdain for the natural inclinations that he was BORN WITH. Bob was a family man. Had he been allowed to form a relationship with another man, he would have been the best husband ever and might still be alive.
In 1992, Reed died from cancer, though he was also HIV positive. He was 59 years old.
