thereafter. Andy would have been 27 or 28 when Opie was born in 1954. It is mentioned numerous times during the series that Andy is a widower. Andy's romances Andy had several love interests through the show's run, but his first romantic relationship on the series is Ellie Walker (Elinor Donahue). Griffith later admitted that it was his fault because he had a hard time showing affection on screen, and as a result, the relationship did not appear to be real or believable.) source In Season Two, Andy dated a few ladies, including Karen Moore, a cousin of Thelma Lou (only in one episode), and County Nurse Mary Simpson (played by two different actresses Julie Adams and Sue Ane Langdon). In early Season Three, Andy dated Peggy McMillan (Joanna Moore), another county nurse, who chalked up four appearances on the show. In "Class Reunion", Andy was reunited with an old girlfriend, Sharon DeSpain. On a number of occasions, Barney meddled into Andy's romantic life and tried to arrange dates for him, which invariably turned out to be ill-suited or embarrassing matches. One of those attempted arranged dates was with the odd, socially inept Lydia Crosswaithe. The producers created a long-term love interest in school teacher, Helen Crump. Helen made her first appearance in the third season and remained Andy's love interest throughout the rest of the series. The two were eventually married in the first Mayberry RFD episode in 1968. The newlywed Taylors remained in Mayberry, and Andy was featured on several episodes of the spinoff series. Andy and Helen returned to Mayberry RFD for their son Andrew Samuel Taylor, Jr.'s christening in the 2nd-season premiere episode "Andy's Baby" (Sept. 1969), in which it was explained that Andy was now an agent for the "State Bureau of Investigation," he and Helen live in Charlotte, where Opie is attending high school. Their departure (and Opie's) is further explained during RFD's 2nd season in the episode "The Caper," when Howard Sprague reads a letter about the family's relocation, explaining that Mayberry now relies on Goober as a part-time Deputy Sheriff and has contracted with the State Police for serious matters. In 1986 the Taylors returned for the made-for-TV reunion movie Return to Mayberry. The movie explained that Andy has retired as Postal Inspector in Cleveland and returned home to see Opie into fatherhood and seek the office of sheriff again. Andrew Samuel