A chat with Maureen McCormick

If you haven't been watching CMT's Gone Country, in which folks like Dee Snider, Bobby Brown, Carnie Wilson, and Maureen McCormick write and perform country songs with the hope that theirs will be the single produced by Big & Rich's John Rich and sent to radio, you've been missing out. (The winner is revealed on this Friday's finale, 8 p.m. ET.) I recently sat down with McCormick — who you Celebrity Fit Club fans will be happy to know looks fabulous — to chat about her unlikely new friendship with Brown, her "explosive" autobiography due out this October, and the Oscar-nominated actor she knows for a fact is a Brady Bunch fan.

POPWATCH: Everyone thinks it's so strange that you're on this show. But you've actually released a country album [When You Get a Little Lonely] before.
McCORMICK: It was years and years and years ago [1995, to be exact] and I kinda felt like it wasn't done the right way. There are certain rules in Nashville, and my album didn't really follow them. We came in from L.A. We had incredible musicians on the album, but I just would've liked it to have been more organic. It's always been a dream of mine to write a song and to have it played on the radio. How cool would that be?

I've read that when The Brady Bunch ended, you were actually offered a recording contract and you turned it down because you wanted a normal life.
Actually, I've always regretted that. I think it would've been interesting to see where it would've gone. Could've, would've....

Let's talk about your friendship with Bobby Brown.
When he walked out of his plane and onto the bus [which picked up the contestants], I just about freaked out. I thought, this is not gonna go well.

You ran to the back of the bus.
I did, I did! I ran to the back of the bus. Little did I know that he grew up on The Brady Bunch. Bobby Brown watching the The Brady Bunch?! I was shocked. He just turned out to be an absolute teddy bear. I know he's known for a crazy reputation, [but] I found him to be so loving and so giving and so wonderful. As soon as we found out that we both smoked, that did it. He was my partner outside all the time.  And I became really, really close with Carnie.

After the jump: Maureen on Ross the Intern, Christopher Knight, and who has her Kitty Carry-All

When I had lunch with Carnie, Bobby, and John, she said you and your husband had spent New Year's with her and her husband.
[Laughs] She just came over for Valentine's Day at my house! I think we're gonna be friends for life.

Carnie told me that Bobby doesn't know how to check his cellphone messages—
He's just like me! That's another thing we have in common. I barely know how to use a cellphone. I've never been on the computer. I don't know how to email. I need to, like, come in to the 21st Century, I guess.

Now there's talk of a spin-off for you and Bobby.
I know that [producers] are talking right now with CMT about it. It'll be really interesting to see what they come up with. I'd love to see music, people, travel, food.

The two of you road-tripping would be fun. You could stop off and explore all of those things in small-town America.
Wouldn't that be hilarious? Road-tripping with Bobby Brown. I wonder if he's ever been in an RV. [Laughs] I doubt it. I've driven across country in a car, but I've never been in an RV.

You're currently writing your memoir. I know a lot of people admire how open you've been about your past [including battles with bulimia and cocaine]. What allows you to be so open?
Well, I think we all go through things in our lives. I think I've always been known as this perfect, happy, really together person, but I've really gone through a lot. I had kept secrets for years, and in this book I'm writing now, I'm just lettin' it all hang out. It's a great thing to finally just go, This is me. I'm imperfect. I've made a lot of mistakes, and here's where I am now. I'm just hoping that it’ll help people open up about their own lives. [Publicist reminds her not to speak about anything she covers in the book.] It's weird: I'd been asked for years to write my story, and not until I did a reality show did I feel ready to or want to. Then, when I was on Celebrity Fit Club, it was like, OK, here the world is seeing me at one of the worst times in my life. I'm just gonna be me, and that's OK. It was very cathartic. [Voice goes up an octave] I love the title and I thought of it! It's called Here's the Story.

You contributed a few paragraphs here and there to Barry Williams' autobiography, Growing Up Brady [in which he details their first kiss and subsequent make-out sessions]. How will your telling of your history differ from his?
I'd say mine is on a different level. I'd say it goes deeper. The tone of his book was kinda light. Mine is more, what is the right word, explosive!

Since I know I can't ask you for details, let's move on to some reader questions. Several people want to know if you still talk to Ross from Celebrity Fit Club. Working Girl asks, "Will she and Ross make my dreams come true and launch The Ro and Mo Show?"
Tell her I want to! We had so much fun together. We're gonna probably go shopping soon. [Laughs] I've stayed in touch with everyone but Dustin [Diamond]. It's funny how that is.

Kand has a two-part question: First, What do you think of Christopher Knight's reality show on VH1?
I've honestly only watched [My Fair Brady] once, and I was pretty shocked. There was a lot of getting it on. But they're very loving. I'm really happy for him. I really do like his wife [Adrianne Curry]. I've met her in person, and I was thinking that I wasn't going to like her, and she's really sweet. She's just very honest and open and she doesn't edit, and I like that. What you see is what you get, and you know exactly where you stand. I'm really happy for them. I hope it lasts.

Secondly, would you ever consider doing Dancing with the Stars?
I've gotten some other [reality show] offers, but nothing that I've wanted to do. It's funny, I ask my 18-year-old daughter every time, 'cause she knows all of the reality shows. I always ask her, "Is this going to embarrass you? Is this a good one or not?" She steered me away from The Surreal Life. We watch reality shows together. We watch Sex and the City together. We love to watch old I Love Lucys. I don't think we've watched The Brady Bunch together.

I've heard that your husband has never seen The Brady Bunch, period. Is that true?
Never. I think it was unbelievable to me. 'Cause I really have never gone anywhere where someone hadn't seen it. I think it's a great thing, because he fell in love with me for me. I feel really lucky. We've been married 23 years. I still pitter-patter.

Who would we be surprised to know is a Brady Bunch fan?
So many people, I just freak out. [Thinks] Johnny Depp was a huge Brady Bunch fan. I met him when he came to Hollywood, twenty-some years ago. This was before he even really got started. We both had the same agent. He was at my apartment, where my husband and I were living, just hanging out. It was so cute. He was like wow. It was so precious.

Last question: What's your most prized possession from your career?
[Thinks] Well, I gave my Kitty Carry-All that I had to Rosie O'Donnell. It was something that I really, really wanted, but I knew that she wanted it more. She's really into collecting dolls... I've kept every newspaper clipping. I've got boxes and boxes and boxes filled with them. And pictures. Pictures are the most fun.