Bob Barker “fell into a funk” after the death of his wife Dorothy Jo Gideon, his former “Price is Right” colleagues reveal in E!’s new docuseries “Dirty Rotten Scandal.”
Producer Barbara Hunter said the host was “prepared to take his own life” when his partner died in 1981, two months after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
“That’s what he told me,” Hunter claimed, according to People magazine.
Holly Hallstrom, one of the models on the game show, recalled that Barker was “really… devastated” by the loss and “in a long period of mourning.”
But she added: “Then all of a sudden he became Mr. Man About Town. He knew he was the star of the biggest daytime show, but Dorothy Jo was no longer there and kept him in check.
“It was like he had been let loose and turned into a narcissistic egomaniac,” Hallstrom continued.
Barker and Gideon were high school sweethearts and married in January 1945.
The couple had been married for 36 years when, at the age of 57, she lost her battle with lung cancer.
After Gideon’s death, Barker continued to date his girlfriend, Nancy Barnett, but did not remarry.
The long-term couple shot to fame in 1983, and Barnett paid tribute to his late partner in a touching statement after he died of natural causes at the age of 99 in 2023.
“We’ve been great friends for the last 40 years,” she told Page Six at the time. “I’ll miss him when he’s gone.”
Barker was the longest-running host of The Price is Right, hosting the show from 1972 to 2007.
In “Dirty Rotten Scandal,” Hallstrom addressed Barker’s alleged affair with model Diane Parkinson during his relationship with Barnett.
“It took a huge toll,” she said (via USA Today). “There were fights on set, there were shouting matches, it was huge, and I think ultimately that’s what ruined The Price is Right.”
Hallstrom also accused Barker of silencing women who came forward with sexual harassment claims.
“If someone had gone to Bob and said, ‘I have a problem, I have a complaint,’ because Bob was in charge of the show, he would have told her to get over it or find a new job,” she says.
“Dirty Rotten Scandal” premieres on E! Wednesday at 9pm ET.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
