Mamma mia!
Liz has a problem on her hands with her new lover Max: He doesn’t want kids and she’s lying about her desires…
Like the other Price women, middle daughter Liz (Reandi Grey) hasn’t had luck with love. No matter how hard she tries, she never gets her “one” – so recently she decided to wing it alone and become a single parent. But on the way to her doctor for a fertility checkup, Liz’s car broke down and her knight in shining armour arrived. “Max Kramer (Steven John Ward) has made his money in fair-trade coffee in Africa,” says Steven of his character. “He’s trying to go global. He’s all about authenticity and wants someone to love and to be loved in return. He’s looking for a partner in crime to experience the world with.” But his plans don’t include the pitter patter of little feet that Liz is dreaming of.
Liz isn’t like her sisters Felicity (Mary-anne Barlow) and Lexi (Jay Anstey), who’re both attracted to money for different reasons. “She is authentic. What you see is what you get,” explains Steven, adding that “Max doesn’t have Price money, but he can stand on his own two feet. He doesn’t need to fake anything and he can be himself with Liz.” But that also means being brutally honest with her, telling her from the get-go that he’s not interested in a family. “Max (already) sees himself married to Liz one day. He isn’t interested in what her family can offer, he doesn’t want to be part of their businesses. As for children, he thinks that he will be an absent father and he also enjoys freedom that kids will dull,” says the actor. That immediately sends Liz reeling and she’s in a tight spot. She loves Max and wants to be with him, but equally she wants a family. So she makes the biggest mistake of her life: She asks Lexi for advice.
Lexi’s suggestion to her sister is to lie to Max. She’s on the contraceptive pill and he won’t know if she stops and they accidentally fall pregnant. “On a deeper level, Max and Liz are honest and loyal and passionate. She’s a breath of fresh air to him… and he’s spent a lot of time on Mount Kenya,” says Steven. So Max will be both heartbroken and furious if he finds out that Liz is lying when she tells him this fortnight that she’s willing to forgo her dreams of motherhood if it means their relationship will succeed. There’s only one little problem with Liz and Lexi’s plan – Max makes sure that he has a condom handy whenever he and Liz get ready to have sex…