Mary Beth Roe is honoring several late QVC stars she had the honor of working with during her tenure as a program host.
In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly before her retirement show on Friday, March 21, Roe, 65, shared her fondest memories of working with several familiar faces, including Joan Rivers.
“I was scared of Joan when she first came, and I was her first host,” Roe recalled to Us. “They gave her to me because it was jewelry, and that was my forte. I thought, ‘Oh, this lady is gonna chew me up and spit me out.’”
Roe quickly learned that the designer — known for her honest fashion critiques and love for family — was a “marshmallow” and “so kind and so nice.”
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“When Joan passed, I was devastated,” Roe said. “I just loved her.”
Rivers passed away in September 2014 at the age of 81. Her QVC line, appropriately titled the Joan Rivers Classics Collection, continues to be a staple at the shopping network.
While Rivers entertained millions of viewers on the small screen, Roe won’t forget her kindness behind the scenes when her then-4-year-old daughter got very sick.
“I came into the green room to talk with Joan, and she was just like, ‘How are you Mary Beth?’ And I started to tear up because we were going through such a difficult time,” Roe recalled. “She said to me right away, ‘I know the head person of such and such hospital in New York City. All I need you to do is give me the word, and I’ll have that person bring you and your daughter up to that hospital. We’re going to get this figured out.’
From Roe’s perspective, it was a perfect example of Rivers’ big heart.
“She would give you the shirt off of her back if she thought you needed it,” Roe told Us. “When she passed, I just thought people didn’t realize what a great lady she was. And I wanted everybody to know that.”
During her 37 years as a QVC program host, Roe had the pleasure of working with an endless amount of talented names and faces. Along the way, she experienced grief when some passed far too soon.
During her candid chat with Us, Roe said she wanted to highlight several stars who were beloved by herself and viewers at home.
“I think the viewers can be so much a part of that when they see us go through hard times,” Roe recalled. “How do you keep it a secret when you’re grieving? Or how about grieving guests that were on the air?”
From jewelry expert Barry Ort and beauty mogul Tova Borgnine to Quacker Factory fashion designer Jeanne Bice and jewelry designer Nolan Miller, Roe is grateful she could make countless memories with stars she never dreamed of working with when she was a kid in Minnesota.
“You’ve got Nick Chavez who was from Los Angeles, and he and I didn’t have anything in common except hair,” Roe joked. “He loved to do my hair because I had a lot of it, and it could get pretty big but you know what? I just loved that man, because he was so dear to me.”
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As for Miller, Roe couldn’t believe she could work with a man who was friends with Beverly Hills stars but loved the QVC viewer just as much.
“What would I have in common with this man? But we both loved jewelry,” she said. “The more they work with me, and the more I work with them, you just create a bond. The customer is the third part of that bond, and that’s what’s so special about it.”
My Time with Mary Beth — Retirement Celebration airs on QVC Friday, March 21, at 8 p.m. ET.
