How D'You Solve a Problem Like Maria?

At Eva and Jenny's hen party on Friday, the factory girls made a list of the men Maria had had an affair with: Toyah's lecturer-cum-boyfriend John, Charlie Stubbs when he was going out with Tracy, and Marcus, even though he'd binned off Sean at that point. They didn't mention that she'd tried to win Tryone back when he was with Fiz. Then again, that was a bit of karma for Fiz given that she 'stole' Tyrone from Maria back when Ms Connor was Ms Sutherland and a kennel-maid rather than hairdresser. Perhaps that experience at a young age warped her view of relationships, that someone will always cheat or be cheated on. Indeed, Marcus cheated on her with Todd and most devastatinlgy of all, her husband and father of her child, Liam, had a long and passionate affair with Carla, one of Maria's best mates.

So three times the cheater, three times the cheatee. I think they cancel each other out don't they? Eva and Toyah's assertion that Maria is slut of the street doesn't really hold water. All of the men that Maria has had flings with have wooed her (in an unpleasantly stalkery way in the case of Charlie Stubbs), rather than her doing the predatory chasing. In most cases, she's tried to resist. She finished with Aidan several times and let's not forget a few weeks ago, he was about to leave Eva for her. It's no wonder that her revenge, whilst not so planned and plotted as Eva's, was so explosive. To be honest, I'd've ruined a wedding just for the chocolate milk/piñata incident. You cannot mess with a crimper's hair!

You get the impression with Maria that rather than wanting to get one over on her female friends, rather than feeling just lust, that she's a true romantic. Her problem is not disloyalty but weakness. A man is the be all and end all to her, and she loves love. She even went to prison for love, having married a gay Cypriot so he could stay with his partner.

So how do you solve a problem like Ms Connor? I'd give her a rest from men. Concentrate more on her son (I'm assuming Audrey was looking after him whilst she was exposing Eva at the wedding). Maybe have a hobby? A new job or challenge? Perhaps even a political cause, say Pablo could return and ask for her help as he is being deported. Give her something, anything, other than a new boyfriend. As Shona said, it's always harder on the woman.

Rachel Stevenson - on twitter

---

Please read our advice for leaving comments on the Coronation Street Blog
All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License