Kirk. She split up with Marlon, and began a relationship with Paddy, much to Marlon's despair. It was later revealed that Rhona was expecting Marlon's baby, while she was still with Paddy. Marlon was very upset and told Rhona he did not want to be the part of the baby's life. He refused to go to Rhona's first scan. On Monday 13 December 2010, it was revealed that there was a possibility that Marlon and Rhona's baby may suffer from Down syndrome. It was later confirmed. On Monday 20 December 2010, Rhona decided she was going to go ahead with the pregnancy, and Marlon and Paddy backed her up happily. The trio are all now good friends again. In January 2011, Marlon admitted to his housemate and colleague Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw) that his and Rhona's baby was going to suffer from Down syndrome. Later in the evening, Marlon comforted Bob after his wife, Viv, and best friend Terry Woods died in an arson attack caused by Katie Sugden's (Sammy Winward) new boyfriend, Nick Henshall (Michael McKell). Soon after this, he told his friend Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) about the baby's Down syndrome. On Tuesday 1 February 2011, Marlon, Rhona and Paddy went for a scan of the baby, and learned that its heart rate was healthy. When the boy was born, he was named Leo, and Marlon became a very proud father. In the summer of 2012, Marlon and Laurel became a couple after a year of love and attraction between them. This caused major problems for Laurel's marriage to Ashley Thomas (John Middleton), who started abusing his father Sandy Thomas (Freddie Jones) as a result of the stress of trying to make the marriage work. When Laurel discovered this, it signaled the final blow for the couple. With Marlon, Laurel is now maintaining a friendship with Ashley. Marlon let Ashley move in with him after he had nowhere else to go, having moved out of the marital home, where Laurel remained with Sandy and the kids. The children struggled to cope following the recent events, particularly Gabby (Annelise Manojlovic), whose biological mother Bernice returned to the village in November. In late 2012, Marlon became involved in a row and custody battle with Paddy and Rhona, who wanted to move to New Zealand for a couple of years, with Leo. They eventually decided not to move to New Zealand.