A Liz and Anthony Thing
Because I had time to blow and wanted to see just how much of a soap opera the early days of Lizthony was, I scoped out the Official Page's recap of their Twu Wuv and noticed two things: 1) they weren't as much of a soap opera in the early days as I'd thought they had been and 2) Anthony knew full well he was still in love with Liz when he started dating Therese, nevermind getting engaged to and marrying her.
Between the recapping and what I know from reading the strips everyday and all the intelligent snark here, I came away from the recap today with the feeling that Anthony got serious with Therese because they got along and she was interesting and he wanted to have a solid start on his dream of a white picket fence and 2.5 kids running around in the yard when he graduated from college. I don't think anyone here would argue that Therese has the looks, the wit, and the intelligence to be excellent arm candy at corporate and business functions, and Anthony's dad would have impressed upon him the need for approrpiate arm candy. Anthony couldn't have his Dream Woman, so he went with what was avaliable to him. He stupidly thought he could be married to Therese and continue to commit emotional adultery with Liz. Obviously, he was suffering from a very serious case of cranio-rectal inversion if he thought that. He was aided in his delusions for a time by the fact Therese wasn't around at the same time Liz was, so he was able to cheat his happy little heart out with Liz, who was only too happy to encourage him. She knew he loved her and she knew he was engaged, so not only is she guilty, she's a selfish hypocrite. Liz, of all people, knows what it's like to be cheated on. Liz is another rant, though.
The first signs that Therese actually expected him to mean the 'forsaking all others' part came right at the wedding, much to his discomfort. I can only imagine what all Anthony said and did prior to Liz and Therese's first meeting for her to give Liz the Ice Queen act when they first met and then be snitty at the wedding to Anthony. Whatever it was, Therese knew Liz Patterson was a threat to her marriage and she was not going to tollerate it.
We all know Anthony imposed his 'white picket fence and 2.5 kids' dream on Therese. No need to go into all that again. Everyone was on his side when Therese was up front about the fact she wasn't the maternal type. That was seen as one sign that the marriage was in trouble, and if it was, it's something Anthony and Therese brought on themselves if they truly didn't discuss kids before they married. I can't see Therese being wishy-washy about wanting kids, so either it wasn't discussed at all or there was waffling and telling Therese what she wanted to hear on Anthony's end. Whatever happened, just add that to the list of evidence that Anthony doesn't have the sense and intelligence God gave a tree stump.
Of course, counselling was a failure. Anthony wasn't being honest with anyone about who he truly loved and was devoted to and he wasn't truly willing to compromise on his wants and desires to meet Therese somewhere in between and ultimately save the marriage. He was never truly there and Liz was always a third person in the bed and Therese knew it. I don't think she knew just how much Liz was there at the beginning or I'm sure she'd never have married Anthony, but she caught on fast enough. Small wonder she decided to follow his example of marital fidelity, neh?
Therese is now out of the equation. Liz and Anthony can finally pursue their twu wuv. *waves finger lazily in air* Neither of them has ever really had eyes for anyone else and have only ever wanted each other, so I honestly think when they marry they have a chance of being happy together. They are, of course, two dysfunctional people so the marriage is going to be dysfunctional and the poison and noxiousness from that will ooze out and pollute others and leech into the lives of others and wreak varying degrees of havoc that way. Liz and Anthony, though, will go on their merry way, lost in their own little world. She'll be the dominant force in the marriage and he'll willingly allow her to dominate him. My mom's parents are that way. They've been married about sixty years and none of their three kids are too horribly dysfunctional, so Lizthony and their spawn could come out all right in the end. We hope. ;p