Shortland Street's saddest break-ups
The sad disintegration of Murray and Wendy's marriage
has many viewers raging at the moment.
Once voted Shortland Street's favourite family, everyone is tuned
to see how the Coopers will cope with this devastating turn of
events.
But this isn't the first break up that Shortland Street has had - nor will it be the last. As Murray and Wendy unravel, we thought we would take a look back at some of Shorty's other saddest splits.
TK and Sarah
Sarah Potts (Amanda Billing) was less than impressed with
what she saw, but TK (Ben Mitchell) was smitten by the feisty ED
Doc.
He proved a steadfast friend throughout Sarah's ups and downs with
Craig and began to harbour fantasies of being the man in her life,
instead of Craig. This seemed a pipe dream, until Sarah
finally chose TK over Craig.
His marriage to Sarah seemed like a dream come true for
TK. But their happily ever after didn't last long when Sarah
developed MS and was forced to terminate a pregnancy.
When the 2009 tsunami saw Daniel return, the couple found
themselves at odds once more over their decision not to have
children together due to Sarah's condition.
Sarah decided to set TK free so he could find someone to have
children with and left him to have an affair with Maxwell.
But despite being separated, the two couldn't help being drawn back together for a final fling before Sarah left for a job in the US.
Sarah returned six months later, pregnant with TK's child, and
tried to win him back but TK was firmly committed to his new love
Roimata.
But many fans of the TK/Sarah relationship still harbour hopes that
the pair might have a change of heart and reunite. Only time will
tell...
Chris and Alison
Chris Warner's first real love was the naïve nurse from the country, Alison Raynor (Danielle Cormack).
They were engaged twice (the first time Alison called it off when his first wife Melanie returned).
On the eve of their second attempt at marriage (at his stag night), Chris's drink was spiked by villian Daryl Nielsen (Mark Ferguson).
The bridegroom-to-be woke on his wedding day to find himself locked in a barn, clad only in boxer shorts and a Rolex.
Chris missed his wedding and thanks to Darryl, Alison believed he'd spent the night with another woman. Humiliated, she fled left the country.
Wendy and Murray Cooper
Devoted husband and wife Murray (Matt Chamberlain) and Wendy Cooper (Jacqueline Nairn) were high school sweethearts who married after Wendy got pregnant with their daughter Bella at 17.
The couple raised three children together and had been happily
married for twenty years but their marriage hit a rocky patch last
year when Murray kissed Vasa Levi. Wendy soon forgave him and the
couple were closer than ever.
Murray become increasingly disillusioned with family life and his
discontent grew after he had to sell his beloved motorcycle to help
pay for a deposit on a new family home.
Seeking an escape from the hard graft of work and family life,
Murray found himself drawn to an attractive biker chick Cat who he
kept running into.
When Cat rented a room at the I.V., Murray could no longer deny his
attraction and his unhappiness at home.
A horrified Wendy discovered Murray flirting with Cat and she was
distraught when he revealed that he wanted out of their
marriage.
It looks like things are finally over for Wendy and Murray...
Kirsty and Lionel
It seemed like odd couple Kirsty Knight (Angela Dotchin)
and Lionel Skeggins (John Leigh) were meant for each other.
It just took them a little longer than the audience to figure it
out.
Their fairy-tale wedding was memorably interrupted by Stuart
Neilson but the couple reconciled and were married on board the
Toroa.
But their happiness didn't last and a year later, Kirsty was
injured when a truck crashed into the hospital.
As she recovered from the amnesia caused by the accident, Kirsty
told a stricken Lionel she could remember everything except having
been in love with him - their marriage was over!
Another year went by and Lionel and Kirsty decided to give their
marriage another go. The year ended on their kiss but their
reconciliation didn't last long and the two eventually agreed to a
divorce.
Lionel decided once and for all that he wanted to be with Kirsty,
but she fell in love with Darryl Neilson's twin brother
Damien.
After Damien was injured in a fire, Kirsty decided she wanted to
be with him, and the two left town. Lionel rushed to the helipad to
try to convince Kirsty to stay with him and just missed their
helicopter by seconds.
Kieran and Sophie
Kieran Mitchell developed a special relationship with school
girl Sophie McKay after she began working for him at the I.V.
Despite his best intentions to keep away from her, Kieran
eventually couldn't deny the strong attraction he felt for her.
He proposed to her, much to the dismay of Sophie's family who thought he was far too old and far too dodgy for their precious daughter to be with.
Kieran attempted to marry his sweetheart, Sophie McKay only to be interrupted by Libby Jeffries who had found incriminating evidence that placed Kieran at the scene of Morgan's hit and run death.
The two eventually married but after Sophie learnt the extent of Kieran's lies it was the final straw and the two split.
Chris and Toni
Chris's meaningless affair with nurse Toni Thompson (Laura Hill) became a little bit more significant when Toni fell pregnant.
Chris and Toni didn't seem destined to be a couple at first, but did their best to be good parents to their son Harry.
A sojourn to Fiji saw them rekindle his relationship. Viewers rooted for TV's "Golden Couple" and they married in a gorgeous ceremony.
Sadly, they lost the baby Toni was expecting and a series of ill-advised affairs destroyed Chris' marriage to Toni.
The return of Chris' brother Guy and then the surprise arrival of old flame Rachel McKenna destabilised things further.
Toni scarpered with Harry (and Guy) after learning of Chris' infidelity with Rachel.
Sarah and Craig
Sarah Potts and Head of ED Craig Valentine (Renato Bartolomei) immediately clashed heads when Sarah arrived in Ferndale. But there was simmering sexual tension underneath their constant bickering and Sarah couldn't deny her attraction, despite marrying another man, hospital CEO Andew Solomon.
The fiery pair were on and off again several times until they split for good after Craig cheated on her and impregnated Huia Samuels.
When Craig readmitted his love, Sarah found herself torn between Craig and TK, eventually choosing and proposing to TK.
The love affair may have been over but the two still shared a special bond until Craig's tragic murder.
Brooke and Alex
Brooke Freeman (Beth Allen) had plenty of affairs during her time at Shortland Street, but she'd never been truly in love until an old flame walked back into her life, in the form of new doctor Alex Murphy (played by Bede Skinner).
The two had dated as teenagers and Alex had been burnt by
Brooke's rejection. Initially at odds with each other, Alex
realised that Brooke wasn't the spoilt little rich girl he used to
know and the two fell in love, despite Brooke's reservations that
she wasn't good enough for Alex.
Alex asked Brooke to marry him and he even offered to move with her
to Paris after she received a tempting job offer from her research
company, Tan Chee. But the job offer came with unsavoury conditions
and Brooke wondered if she should accept.
Brooke decided to do the right thing and come clean about Tan Chee but it was too late and Alex dumped Brooke when he realised she hadn't been honest with him.
Mark and Tania
Flirtatious Tania (Faye Smythe) liked the look of with handsome doc Mark Weston (Tim Foley) and the two soon started dating. But little did she know that Mark was a sex addict and a serial cheater. When the truth came to light, a fiery confrontation ensured and Tania punched Mark at the Christmas party.
Mark committed to overcoming his addiction and convinced Tania that he was genuine in his feelings and the pair married early in 2007.
But Mark always maintained a close bond with Tania's sister, Maia Jeffries. Maia's request for Mark to be the sperm donor for her much wanted child came as a shock. Tania relented. The first attempt was unsuccessful, but Mark and Maia repeated the process behind Tania's back. Maia fell pregnant and Mark attempted to conceal his involvement.
Eventually Tania discovered the devastating truth about Maia's
pregnancy, which coincided with the discovery that Tania was also
pregnant with Mark's child. A distraught Tania had a termination
and when it was clear she was never going to forgive Mark, he left
the country.
Luke & Zlata
Quirky anaesthesiologist Dr Luke Durville (Gerald
Urquhart) had never had much luck with the ladies until he
returned to Shortland Street with a Romanian fiancée in
tow. His colleagues were quick to assume it was a marriage of
convenience but Luke and his bride- to- be Zlata Waldheim (Kate
Elliott) were very much in love.
His friend Bella (Amelia Reid) was concerned that Zlata was
trying too hard to make Luke someone he wasn't as she convinced him
to change his appearance and made him abandon his peculiar
hobbies.
After the couple asked Bella to be a bridesmaid for their wedding,
Bella realised that her concern for Luke was more than just
friendship and that she was in love with Luke!
Bella chose to remain silent about her true feelings but as the
wedding loomed Luke realised he too was in love with Bella.
As he wrestled with his feelings, Zlata's dodgy father Costel
worked that Bella was the cause of Luke's cold feed and tried to
murder Bella!
Zlata was heartbroken when she learnt that Luke was in love with
someone else and chose to return to Romania.
Maia and Nicole
Sparks flew between Maia Jeffries (Anna Julienne) and new nurse
Nicole Miller (Sally Martin) and it didn't take long for the two
women to act on their mutual attraction.
But wanting to be honest, Maia confessed all about her involvement
in the killing of Ethan Pierce. Initially aghast, Nicole
warmed to the idea of romance with Maia.
But the relationship was fraught with difficulty and Nicole left Maia. Eventually Maia tracked Nicole down in Tauranga and convinced her to come back to Ferndale.
They lived together but surgeon Jennifer Maison caught Maia's eye. Maia gave into temptation and had an affair with Jennifer, breaking Nicole's heart when she found out.
Nicole eventually forgave Maia and they tried to work things out
but love wasn't enough and Maia realised that she needed a fresh
start.
She left for Sydney with JJ and with her Yvonne. A devastated
Nicole wanted to persuade Maia to stay but she missed her departing
taxi by seconds...
Celebrating 20 years of drama on Shortland Street
