Matt Reardon




When a new person comes to town, they are either embraced or despised by the townsfolk but when Matt Reardon came to Springfield , he would revive the life of one lonely woman. It all started when he was by Summit Lake in the summer in 1994 where he met a woman named Vanessa Lewis. She had gone there to get away from family and friends to deal with what had been going on in her life the past year. She survived a bitter divorce as well as a custody battle for her adopted son "Peter". When she met Matt, he was a stowaway on her boat and the two put their differences aside to go sailing. Unfortunately, there was a nasty storm and the two went overboard and ended up on an island. They took refuge and shelter in a cave and he gave her his jean shirt to wear so she wouldn't suffer from hypothermia.

They survived on fish, water and berries and as they got to know each other, they realized something was happening that neither one expected to happen. They were falling in love with one another, but because they were so different, they allowed themselves to believe that it wouldn't work. So Vanessa returned to Springfield and before she did, she bought Matt a keychain as something to remind him of her. Upon returning, her friends and family noticed that she was much happier and less uptight about things. The weeks went by and after a series of missed and cancelled dates, Vanessa and Matt finally "met."

They were both dumbfounded when they realized who the other person was, especially when Matt discovered that Vanessa was the "other mother" of his nephew Peter. They had dinner at The Top Of The Towers with the other family members that consisted of the following folks. Michelle Bauer, Ed Bauer, Dr. Eve Guthrie, Bill Lewis, Josh Lewis, Henry Chamberlain, Bridget Reardon, Mindy Lewis, Nick Spaulding. During the meal, Bridget bragged about her big brother's expertise as a Carpenter and "How good he is with his hands." which made poor Vanessa almost choke on her food because she knew how "good" he was firsthand. The day after, Vanessa went to the boarding house to confront Matt and ask if he came to blackmail her or to make fun of her. He reassured her that there was no ulterior motive but the more they were around each other, they had to admit, they were head over heels in love with one another.

Matt even went so far as to build a special place for them and that was where they had their trysts but when Josh discovered their secret on New Year's Eve, he was infuriated. He hollered at Matt and said that the relationship wouldn't work because they were two different people. Matt hollered back that he loved Vanessa and he didn't ask her for anything but Josh didn't believe him. Matt almost left Springfield but on the night that he and Vanessa were to meet, a major explosion took place that almost destroyed 5th St. People were running around, screaming and crying and trying to find their loved ones and when Matt and Vanessa found each other, they ran into each other's arms like long-lost lovers from a movie much to the shock and mortification of Ross Marler, David Grant and Bridget.

When the relationship was finally out in the open, their friends and family weren't supportive but as time went on they realized how devoted the two were to one another and they celebrated their love with a special wedding celebration. Unfortunately, the wedding was more like Murphy's Law because whatever could go wrong, did go wrong. Vanessa's dress was rolled over by mistake, Matt's tux didn't fit him so with the help of Matt's Aunt Nola, last minute arrangements were made and they became man and wife. However, Nola's East Indian Cuisine resulted in food poisoning and everyone at the reception had to go to the hospital for detoxification. The one thing about Matt's prescence that is admirable is the fact that he has managed to help many people who were once Vanessa's enemies become friends such as Holly Reade and Blake Marler, and when he thought that his beloved Vanessa had died in a Car Accident, he didn't even want to look at or even think of another woman.

His grief was so apparent when he attended Vanessa's funeral and when the mourners sang "Amazing Grace", he couldn't even sing the songs because he was in a state of shock. Upon returning, he found that he was the luckiest man in the world and God blessed the two of them with a daughter named Maureen (after Matt's Aunt and Vanessa's best friend). Months later, Vanessa received the distressing news that Dinah (who was on the run) was pregnant. Anxious to help the wayward Dinah, Vanessa and Matt gave up their lives in Springfield to help her.

Last updated 03/14/01. E-mail me with any comments or suggestions at addip@isholf.is