Tad and Dixie
Soon after her arrival in Pine Valley, Dixie fell under the influence of the powerful and manipulative Adam Chandler, an arch enemy of Dix's uncle Palmer. Although Adam and Brooke English were happily married at the time, Adam realized that Dixie could give him the one thing that he wanted most in the world -a son. They had a brief affair and Dixie became pregnant. Adam suggested to Brooke that they adopt Dixie's baby and she agreed, but had a small problem-just who was the father? Brooke hired Tad to find out who fathered Dixie's baby, and Tad and Dixie became friends. They talked, laughed, ate chicken fingers and became very close. However, their bond was shattered when Dixie realized that Tad was only interested in her to find out information for Brooke. She decided to try and make it work with Adam, but deep down she knew that Tad had found his way into her heart.
Dixie married Adam, not knowing that he was only interested in gaining full custody of their child. Tad persisted in warning Dixie about Adam's true intentions, but she simply wouldn't listen. "I'm his wife Tad, of course he loves me!", was what Dixie usually replied whenever Tad would suggest that Adam was only after the baby. Despite Dixie's stubborness and refusal to face the truth, Tad persisted in warning his beloved and his insistence got him beaten up by Adam's thugs. Dixie nursed her best friend back to health, and the two once again felt the closeness they had shared at the beginning of their friendship. On the day Adam Jr. was born, Tad revealed he wanted more than friendship. He had fallen in love with the beautiful girl from Pigeon Hollow and finally admitted his true feelings. Although it was obvious to the audience that Dixie loved Tad too, she decided to stay with Adam and told Tad that they could not be friends or see each other anymore.
Staying away from each other proved to be very painful and difficult for Tad and Dixie, especially considering that Pine Valley is a very small town. Try as she may, Dixie was unable to stay away from Tad and when Adam Jr was kidnapped, Dixie immediately called him, the one person she knew would be able to find her baby. While everyone thought Skye was the kidnapper, Tad managed to prove that the baby snatcher was really Karen.
Determined to get sole custody of Junior, Adam came up with a very elaborate and sadistic plot to make Dixie think that she was losing her mind. In time ,Adam's plan worked and Dixie admitted herself to Laurel Hill Sanitarium. Adam looked forward to raising his son and winning back Brooke, but had not counted on the fact that Tad would stop at nothing to get Dixie out of that mental institution. With Cecily and Nico's help, Tad managed to free his beloved from the evil clutches of Adam and his accomplice, Dr. Snow. While on the run from Adam, Dixie finally admitted her true feelings to Tad- she did not love Adam, had fooled herself into thinking that she loved him, when all along her heart was telling her that Tad was the man she belonged with.
Even though they had managed to prove that Dixie was sane, Dix still lost custody of Adam Junior, and Adam offered her generous visiting privileges if she agreed to a quick divorce, which she did. Finally freed from Adam, Dixie fell into Tad's arms and he proposed to his true love wearing a bright yellow chicken suit. Dixie happily accepted Tad's proposal, and the two love birds made plans to wed. Their happiness was further cemented when Dixie regained custody of Junior ,and Palmer got the best of Adam in a business deal. Tad and Dixie finally tied the knot in late December 1989.
They enjoyed a weeks of newlywed bliss, until Palmer and Opal's machinations started taking a toll on their marriage. PC & Opal disapproved of their union and had joined forces to try and break up the young lovers. When Tad and Dixie discovered what their relatives had been up to, they broke off all ties with them. But it was too late. All of Palmer and Opal's scheming and plotting had deeply affected Tad and Dixie's relationship, and Dixie decided to move out of the loft. Unbeknownst to Dixie, Palmer had Tad served with divorce papers. Believing there was no hope in winning Dixie back, Tad had an affair with Brooke. When Dixie learned of Tad's infidelity, she decided that they were finished and regretfully decided to go through with the divorce.
Both Tad and Dixie decided to go on with their lives, but it was very hard for both of them. Dixie became good friends with Billy Clyde Tuggle, a psychotic man. Tad pursued a relationship with Brooke, who truly loved him. They enjoyed a brief happiness until Dixie was kidnapped by Billy Clyde. As soon as Tad found out, he realized that he was still in love with Dixie and had to save her. Tad ran off in pursuit of BC and after whisking Dixie away from BC 's clutches, he proposed again and they planned to remarry. On Tad&Dixie's wedding day, Tad found out that Billy Clyde was still alive, went off after him and his pursuit led them both to the Lockport Bridge. During a violent scuffle, both men fell over the side of the bridge and into the raging waters. Billy Clyde's body washed up to shore, but Tad's wasn't anywhere to be found, leaving Dixie completely devastated.
Even though Dixie thought her beloved had not survived the fall, we, the audience, knew full well that Tad was still alive and that it was only a matter of time before he made his way back to Pine Valley and Dixie's waiting arms. Tad had hitched a ride to California, where he spent two years living as Ted Orsini, the son of Nola, who owned wine vineyards. During the two years when Tad was presumed dead, Dixie went through numerous troubled situations, including her marriage to con artist Craig Lawson and Will's demise. Dixie's relationship with Brian Bodine was quite puzzling and frustrating for the audience, but at least our favorite heroine had found some stable ground. Adam once again did his best to try and get full custody of Adam Jr.
But thankfully, Ted/Tad showed up in Pine Valley on business for the Orsini Vineyards in December 1992, at the time where the custody battle was at its apex. Unfortunately, amnesic Tad/Ted didn't come into contact with anyone who recognized him. Nola figured out that Ted was really Tad and that Dixie was the woman he had been looking for. She tried to tell him, but died before telling him the truth. After Nola's death, Tad brought her body back to California to be buried and vowed to never return to Pine Valley. Brooke put two and two together and flew out to California and came face-to-face with him. She filled in the missing blanks of his life and urged him to find and help Dixie, the woman that Tad remembered in spurts but not entirely. He couldn't remember her name, but kept seeing her face everywhere. Tad agreed to Brooke's request, but upon his return to PV, Dixie and Brian had already hit the road in an attempt to escape from Adam. After a long search in New York City, Dixie looked into the eyes of the man she thought she had lost forever and couldn't believe that such a miracle had happen. Destiny had brought them together again, but it wasn't enough... Tad and Dixie's immense joy was shattered when he found out that she had wed Brian and that during his absence Brooke had had his son (Jamie).
The night before Tad married Brooke, Dixie had decided to confess her true feelings to him, but when she opened her door she came face-to-face with a man who looked exactly like Tad- the real Ted Orsini (aka Michael Williams). Dixie brought him to the hospital, thinking he was Tad, and was shocked to find out the next day that Tad had married Brooke and that the man she had poured her heart out to wasn't Tad!! Dixie and Ted became close, much to Tad's dismay. On the day Tad was going to turn over Orsini to Ted, the two men had a fight about Dixie and Ted stormed off. Dixie showed up in Napa a few hours later, and for the first time in months, Tad & Dixie came clean about their true feelings and made love. They embarked on a very passionate affair, but soon their lies started to unravel. When Ted found out about Tad & Dixie , he devised a plan to kill his nemesis. He took Tad on a camping trip in the Canadian wilderness, and was ready to kill Tad so he could assume his identity and have Dixie all to himself. Unfortunately for him, Dixie figured everything out, flew out to save her beloved, and managed to prevent Ted from killing Tad. This trip served to prove to Tad that he was willing to walk away from his comfortable life, to sacrifice his family, and especially losing his son, to be with the woman he truly loved. He and Brooke divorced soon after Tad and Dixie's return to PV.
Tad and Dixie remarried in May 1994, and were blissfully happy for several months. Together, they overcame numerous obstacles like Del's quest for a kidney and Janet's plan to drive Dixie crazy. But their marriage started to fall apart when Liza Colby, one of Tad's former flames returned to town. Liza came back with a fierce desire to avenge herself for the pain that Tad had caused her several years ago. When she saw how happy and in love Tad and Dixie were, she decided that she had to get Dixie out of Tad's life. After Laurel Dillon was killed, Dixie told Tad that their marriage was over, and he and Liza had a one night stand. Dixie had a change of heart and begged Tad for forgiveness and the two reconciled. Their newfound happiness was short lived when Marian found a tape that Liza had of a conversation she and Tad had had about their night of sex. Armed with this news and out for revenge, Marian played the tape on the intercom at WRCW. Everyone heard... including Dixie.
Heartbroken, she decided she had no other choice but to leave Tad and Pine Valley. She and Junior were going to start a ne life for themselves in Pigeon Hollow... Tad begged, pleaded... but was not able to change Dixie's mind. "Tad, I've loved you for so long. You're in my heart". Feeling numb, Tad returned home to try and explain it all to Jamie. Dix and Jr went to the house to pick up their stuff, and after Tad&Jr and Dixie&Jamie had shared tearful goodbyes, Tad and Dixie were left standing there, looking at each other. A sobbing Dixie made her way to the door, took a deep breath, looked at Tad and then shut the door.... leaving Tad all alone, and the audience heartbroken.
Even today, fans continue to believe that someday Tad and Dixie will find their way back to each other, and that true love will conquer all...Together Forever...
Deepest thanks to M-H, the owner of The Tad and Dixie Page!!
