Barney Fife was two-timing Thelma Lou

Hindsight truly is 20/20 when it comes to THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW and deputy Barney Fife. Some fans of the television series are just now picking up on things that others caught during the sitcom's original run from 1960-1968. In the very first season Sheriff, Andy Taylor's right-hand man exposes himself as a cheater. It was done subtly and no one called him out on it. He proudly proclaimed that Thelma Lou was his girl but there was another woman that Barney was stepping out with on the sly.

Her name was Juanita and she only was mentioned in the Sheriff's office with only Opie or Andy around. In a small town like Mayberry where everyone knew each other, it's hard to believe that the locals did not tease Barney or accidentally let Thelma Lou know what was happening. For 5 years on THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW the Mayberry deputy dated Thelma Lou who had no last name in public but was also seeing Juanita Beasley who was a waitress at the Blue Bird Diner. Some viewers now say they did not realize that Barney often hung out with Thelma Lou and flirted via telephone with Juanita in some of the same episodes.

Juanita Beasly was never shown and Thelma Lou never mentioned her as a rival but in several episodes, Barney expressed interest in both women. In one episode after Thelma Lou made him angry, he called the diner only to find that Juanita was not available. Andy listened but did not once chastise his deputy for being a two-timing man. He would sneak up on Barney while he was singing or talking to Juanita on the telephone.

Opie also caught Barney in the act of sharing words of love into the jailhouse phone. One of the funniest moments during the series was watching Barney's varied responses when he was caught singing into or whispering sweet nothings in Juanita's ear via phone. Barney was also relaxed as he spoke with Juanita and seemed self-assured. He was often nervous in romantic settings with Thelma Lou.

Across the Internet, some fans of the show have given their opinions on the matter and they are quite interesting. The most popular theory, using old school language is that Thelma Lou was the type of woman a man marries and Juanita was not. Quite a few fans of THE ANDY GRIFFITH show have said it was obvious that Barney was only using Ms. Beasley for sex.

In one episode at the very end, Barney decided to take Juanita out for a meal in Mount Pilate, and Opie, Andy, and Aunt Bea invited themselves along. This lets us know that there were some legitimate dates involved with Juanita. It's easy to imagine Andy being discreet about his cheating deputy but difficult to picture Helen Crump, Aunt Bea or Opie not slipping up and mentioning anything to Thelma Lou. When the Pointer Sisters recorded their 1975 hit song "Betcha Got a Chick on the Side" they may have had Barney Fife in mind.

"Betcha got a chick on the side

Sue you got a chick I know you got a chick on the side

Betcha got a chick on the side

Sure you got a chick, I know you got a chick on the side"

Juanita Beasley had two things that Barney's main lady did not which is a last name and a theme song. Thelma Lou came along first in Season 1 Episode 22: "Cyrano Andy". She was always known as Thelma Lou or Barney's girl. Ms Beasley did not appear until Episode 28 and Barney often played "Nita Juanita" on his harmonica. This happened to be the tune he was playing in the episode The Loaded Goat where a Billy goat waundered into the jailhouse while Barney was playing his love song.

The goat loved it and calmed down several times when the deputy began to play. The Juanita song is wat allowed Andy and Barney to lead the goat out of town after he ate a lot of sticks of dynamite. Regarding Juanita the following are the episodes of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW where she was mentioned.

Season 1

Andy Forecloses

Season 2

Bailey's Bad Boy

A Medal for Opie

Season 3

Andy's Rich Girlfriend

Andy and the New Mayor

The Great Filling Station Robbery

Season 4

A Black Day for Mayberry

Barney and Thelma Lou - Phfftt

Season 5

Opie Loves Helen

Otis Sues the County

Andy and Helen Have Their Day

In April 1986 Iin the made for television movie RETURN TO MAYBERY Juanita called Barney on the phone and tells him her sister's chickens are missing. This is the one and only time that she reached out to him. During an interview Don Knotts once said of Juanita “She was easy and Barney got a little on the side.” Reading this statement sutnned me because as a little girl when THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW was in its original run I was too young to put two and two together. Also, during the 1960s the censors left much to the imagination.

In later years when others speculated about Juanita being "easy" I still did not get it but reading what Don Knotts said opened my eyes to the truth. This does not mean vey much in today's society where many women desire the sam sexual freedom that men have always be allowed. For some who always viewed Barney through the lens of a 1060s child this might be eye opening. Fans of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW have discussed what Juanita Beasley pobably looked like. The consensus seems to be that she wore a lot of makeup and very red lipstick.

Richard Kelly who wrote the book The Andy Griffith Show suggests that these over the top views of Juanitia would disappoint if we saw what she really looked like. In the colorized episodes of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW Goober, (George Lindsay) was dating a waitress named Flora who looked like the traditional girl next door. Perhaps Juanita may have looked like her and maybe she wasn't easy. She might have been in love with Barney but knew she would always come in second to Thema Lou. No one knows what the writers had in mine so there will always be speculation. Based on Don Knotts discription of his "side piece" she will always be considered second best to Thelma Lou.