actress betty lynn is perhaps best known for her portrayal of thelma lou the recurring love interest of mayberry deputy barney fife on the andy griffith show which ran for NUMBER_TOKEN episodes on cbs from NUMBER_TOKEN to NUMBER_TOKEN. however after the show ended lin landed a role that pit her head-to-head with former griffith co-star andy ultimately this led to a falling out between the two stars that lasted a lot longer than it ever should have but let's rewind a little bit in one famous episode of the andy griffith show called cyrano andy the audience sees andy pay an unexpected visit to barney's girlfriend thelma lou once he has her attention he boldly announces he wants her for his own this might be shocking if it weren't for the fact that the audience already knows it's a joke andy is merely trying to make thelma lou realize her true feelings for barney by declaring his love for her it's all a carefully planned and well-intentioned ruse but according to the actress who played thelmalu betty lynn this love triangle did in fact exist in a somewhat subdued way behind the scenes of the otherwise wholesome show keep watching to learn how betty lynn's crush on annie griffith caused division among the show's cast members and led to a rocky period in lin and griffith's relationship thelma lou brought a dose of sweetness to the show the kind-hearted and cordial thelma lou played by betty lynn has long been one of the series's most iconic characters not only did she make for the perfect on-again off-again girlfriend for barney fife but she also apparently made the world's best cashew fudge one of fife's favorites lynn portrayed thelma lou throughout the majority of the show's run she even reprised the role in NUMBER_TOKEN's made for tv reunion film return to mayberry betty lynn ended up leaving the andy griffith show when don not staged his own exit from the series during its fifth season but even after she left lin stayed in touch with the show's stars throughout her life betty lynn's crush instead of falling for her on-screen love interest don knotts lin found herself crushing on the star of the show by that time andy griffith had already been married to his first wife barbara for NUMBER_TOKEN years so it's probably a good thing lynne respectfully chose not to act on her feelings the closest she came to professing her attraction was when she told andy she wished he was a twin because then there would be one of him for his wife barbara and one for her what might very well be the only photographic evidence of their flirtation is a publicity photo of lynn and andy that was put out into circulation while the show was on the air in it lin's hand can be seen resting on griffith's knee but even though lin's heart was set on andy don knotts would also come around
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