It’s been 26 years since the legendary Hollywood star Ginger Rogers passed away, but she is still missed by her fans to this day. Now, her assistant of 18 years Roberta Olden is speaking out to discuss the star’s final years, and to reveal what she really thought about Fred Astaire.

“By the time I started working for her in 1977, she was past making movies and more concentrated on personal appearances,” Olden told Fox News. “She did several television shows and a couple of stage productions. And she also directed one show.”

“But how did she feel about Hollywood? I think she was glad to have her mother alongside her and helping her navigate those difficult business decisions,” she added. “I don’t think she had any real problems with anybody in the industry because she was a very likable person and very good at what she did. Ginger was also very devoted to her work, which I believe was key to her success.”

Olden was then asked what facts she knew about Rogers that would surprise fans.

“She was a very good tennis player,” she said. “A lot of times when she would play tennis, I would go with her. She would always beat me even though I was 40, 50 years younger than her *laughs*. She could place the ball wherever she wanted and yet she would always beat me. She was also a very good golfer. She usually hit in the low 80s.”

“She also loved shopping,” Olden added. “A lot of times when we were in New York, we would have to go to Bergdorf Goodman and see Nick, the salesman in the shoe department. He would always bring out the latest Bruno Magli shoes. She would pick out four or five of them, even though there was no room in her suitcase. But she would have them shipped anyway. She loved her shoes.

“But she also loved going to the grocery store,” she continued. “I remember when we were getting ready to fix a big Thanksgiving dinner for some friends of hers, we headed to the grocery store together and went to look at spices. There was one man also looking at spices and he muttered, ‘Gee, I can’t find the ginger.’ She turned, looked at him and said, ‘Well, here I am!’ He just looked at her and said, ‘OK, thank you.’ And he walked away. He didn’t pick up on it.”

Olden also talked about how Rogers felt about her legendary dancing partner Fred Astaire.

“Of course, their partnership was legendary,” she explained. “But they were also very complimentary of each other. I remember one time when we were in Beverly Hills, their choreographer invited her to his house for a big spaghetti dinner. Fred was there with his wife. We had a very nice dinner and they were all so kind. They joked and chatted about the gold old times. There was never any animosity as a lot of people might hope *laughs*. They genuinely admired and respected each other.”

Olden then discussed the final conversation she had with Rogers.

“It was a very hard conversation because it was the morning that she passed away,” she said. “It was difficult for me. I was reading the Bible and Science and Health. She just kind of looked at me, smiled and closed her eyes. And that was it. That was the extent of the conversation. ”

“When somebody passes away that you have great admiration and love for, it’s hard,” Olden added. “They’re like family. It would be like your mother passing away and you were holding her hand. It was a difficult day for me and for everybody else. I had great support from my family. And she also had a great support system of very close friends. It was just hard to know she was not going to be there anymore. … But I will say she was very calm and it was a peaceful passing.”