Patricia Richardson's Divorce Reason With Ray Baker, Home Improvement Star Said, 'He Was Always Mad'
'Home Improvement' star Patricia Richardson was married to actor Ray Baker for nearly a decade. Her show played a major part in the duo's divorce.
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Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleTaran Noah Smith, a former child star who is best known for starting in the hit '90s sitcom Home Improvement, recently opened up about why the show ended after eight long seasons. For those unaware, Home Improvement concluded after Patricia Richardson, who portrayed ‘Jill Taylor,’ did not return for the show's ninth season. Sharing more details regarding the same, Taran claimed that Patricia would often challenge the writers to change the scripts, and this played a major role in why she decided to leave in the end.
As Taran’s revelations put the spotlight on Patricia Richardson, it is worth noting that the show also affected her personal relationships. Patricia was previously married to actor Ray Baker.
What caused Patricia Richardson and her ex-husband, Ray Baker’s divorce?
Patricia Richardson has never shied away from speaking publicly about her divorce. For those unaware, she tied the knot with actor Ray Baker in 1882. About a decade later, the two decided to get a divorce in 1995. In a 2018 interview, Patricia confessed that her show Home Improvement played a big role in the way things ended between her and Ray.
Patricia said that Home Improvement had much longer days than other sitcoms, as it would require regular collaboration on scripts and storylines. This led her to be away from her family a lot, making her then-husband feel frustrated. Age explained:
“Home Improvement had much longer days than most sitcoms. Because I was involved in all the writing, I was away from my family more than I wanted, and I felt I missed so many things. He was always mad I was never home. Hence the divorce."
Interestingly, Patricia Richardson also claimed that it was her ex-husband, Ray Baker, who was initially all in about her joining the cast of Home Improvement. At that time, he even predicted that Patricia, who was not originally cast as ‘Jill Taylor’, but after filming the pilot, saying that “this is the show you're going to do for seven years.” And as it turned out, Ray was right.
But due to Patricia’s demanding work schedule, it put a huge strain on their marriage. And while Patricia stayed on Home Improvement for some time even after her divorce, when she did leave the show, she said that she wanted to focus on their three kids: their son, Henry Baker, and twins, Roxanne and Joseph Baker. She said:
“The reason I turned down the ninth year of ‘Home Improvement’ was that I was a single parent and away from my kids too much. I left the show, and I have to put my children first since then.”
After exiting the show and being a single woman, Patricia Richardson claimed that she used to be pretty insecure about whether she would have enough money to get her kids through school. Thankfully, she had earned enough from Home Improvement, and her worries were for naught.
Taran Noah Smith shares unknown details about Patricia Richardson’s exit from Home Improvement
Even though Patricia has previously revealed that her divorce and wanting to be there more often for her kids played a part in her leaving Home Improvement, Taran Noah Smith revealed that there was more to it behind the scenes than just that. He said that Patricia was always persistent about keeping the show realistic and would tell the writers to change the script if she felt something was unrealistic for her character.
As the battle intensified, the original creators left Home Improvement, and a new creative team took over the show. Taran elaborated:
"She would tell the writers, ‘A mother would never say this,’ and get them to change it…That's one of the reasons why the show ended up eventually ending, because she was just tired of it, of having to fight to make it realistic all the time.”
What are your thoughts on Home Improvement playing a part in Patricia Richardson and Ray Baker’s divorce? Let us know.
Photo Credit: Patricia Richardson/IG, Closer Weekly
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