Melissa Peterman Praises Reba Costar Chris Rich’s TV Return After Stroke

Melissa Peterman got emotional discussing her onscreen reunion with Reba costar Christopher Rich following his massive stroke.

“When he had a stroke, it was really scary — and I think a lot of people didn’t know,” Peterman, 53, exclusively told Us Weekly, noting that she might “tear up a little” as she talks about Rich. “I think fans just thought that, ‘Oh, maybe he retired and maybe he decided to take a break.’ That wasn’t the case. He had a massive stroke and it was scary.”

Peterman recalled the initial months after the health scare, saying, “He put in so much hard work to get back to [himself even though], he was always Chris. I saw him in the hospital right away and Chris was there. He was cracking jokes immediately.”

Despite Rich’s progress, he’s still experiencing some side effects.

“His left side is still affected. But we wanted him to come back and he was ready to come back,” Peterman told Us. “It was really wonderful because I remember when I was on Reba, I was such a baby. It was my first series regular role and Chris was essentially my acting partner during that entire series.”

Peterman and Rich, 71, became household names when Reba aired from 2001 to 2007. The hit show followed a single mom who had to start over after her husband, Brock (Rich), left her for his dental hygienist, Barbra Jean (Peterman). Reba (Reba McEntire) attempted to start fresh while raising her three kids — including her pregnant teen daughter (JoAnna Garcia Swisher) and her boyfriend (Steve Howey).

“It was me and him and he was so kind to me,” Peterman continued. “He taught me so many things. He would even whisper things in my ear so I didn’t feel dumb not knowing. And he’s one of the smartest men I know. He’s such a good actor.”

McEntire, 69, and Peterman reunited two decades later as costars on NBC’s Happy’s Place, which paved the way for them to reunite with Rich and Howey as well. Rich’s episode in February held extra significance after he stepped away from acting for several years following a massive stroke.

“It’s hard for all of us if your body betrays you and yet you’re still there and you want to do it. It’s scary. But our whole team felt familiar for him and he felt safe to play. By the way, he crushed it,” Peterman gushed. “He was so funny.”

Peterman praised Rich for being “so brave,” adding, “When we had talked about other iterations of what we could do — if there was a Reba reboot — we’d have to address it because he physically can’t hide it. He was always so open about being really honest about it and being vulnerable.”

During Rich’s return to acting, Happy’s Place had him playing a tattoo artist who immediately caught Gabby’s (Peterman) eye. The episode even included a line where Gabby asked Maverick (Rich) whether he had a wife she could steal him away from.

“I liked that they let me call [Reba’s character Bobbie] Red at one point. That’s what I called her on the show,” Rich exclusively told Us about Brock’s reference to Reba on the hit sitcom. “Frequently, those little things are magnificent. And Reba [the show] has such a wonderful following that people will comment about it online. It was just so wonderful to work with those two women. They took such good care of me and they were very, very protective.”

While Reba fans await more cameo news, Peterman didn’t rule out more onscreen reunions.

“Scarlett [Pomers] as Kyra was just incredibly and comedically gifted. I know we would love to see JoAnna Garcia [Swisher] and I think she just saw Reba recently. So I hope Reba was like, ‘When you are available … ‘ It would be fun to have any and all Reba participants — whether they’re a cast member or a guest,” Peterman said. “It would be so much fun, and we would love to have all of them.”

Happy’s Place airs on NBC Fridays at 8 p.m. ET.