The foundation of many of Lucille Ball's relationships was in comedy. One of her biggest partners in comedy was her ex-husband, Desi Arnaz.

Ball spoke about her series, I Love Lucy. Despite the show's success today, Ball explained that there weren't particularly high expectations for it when it first premiered.

"I didn't expect it to last," Ball said to The Rock Island Argus. "Nobody wanted me to go into television. Everybody at Metro (M-G-M), where I was under contract, said I was out of my mind. And then, when Desi and I went on a tour, and there were five thousand people outside a steel fence at the Miami Airport, and they trampled it, and people knocked down a plate-glass window at the lobby of one hotel - we didn't know what was happening."

Watch I Love Lucy on MeTV!

Sundays at 12:30 PM

*available in most MeTV markets

I Love Lucy was also where Ball would star side by side with Vivian Vance, best known as Ethel. Vance would accompany Ball to various projects after I Love Lucy had ended, including joining her on the series The Lucy Show. The two grew to be good friends throughout the years, to the point where, after Vance's death in 1979, Ball refused to work against another female comedian in her show.

During an interview, Ball promoted her new series, Life With Lucy, but also mourned the loss of her old friend. "I missed Viv so much," she said. "And I couldn't bear the thought of going on without her."

Ultimately, Ball decided to return to television, but in honor of her friend, no one would take Vance's place. "No way, no way," she said. "That's one thing I draw the line on."