Marie Horton Merritt Curtis

Marie Horton is the youngest daughter of Tom and Alice Horton. She is the sister of Tommy, Addie, Mickey, and Bill Horton, and the mother of Jessica Blake. Marie is the ex-wife of Craig Merritt and of Neil Curtis. Having been the youngest Horton, Marie was always the most protected of the Horton children. As a result, she was also the most fragile, as she was sheltered from the world. In 1964, she was engaged to marry the wealthy Rick Butler but Rick called off the wedding, telling her that he couldn't love her. Rick's sudden rejection caused Marie to go into a long depression. She didn't recover until she met Tony Merritt at Salem University. Her friendship with Tony helped her recover from the depression; over time, the friendship also turned into romance. By November 8, 1965, preparations for a Thanksgiving wedding were underway.

Tony and Marie planned on moving to Boston after the wedding to attend Oxford University. While Marie prepared for the wedding, Tony flew there for a fellowship interview. On the phone, Marie sensed that Tony was keeping something from her but she didn't let it bother her. However, the night before the wedding, Tony told her what it was: he couldn't marry her. Tony claimed that he didn't love her and that he wasn't ready for a marriage. His rejection sent Marie back to the same, dark depression she'd been inside of a year earlier when Rick rejected her. This time, however, it drove her to attempt suicide. After Tony left the house that night, Marie went upstairs to her bedroom and took an overdose of anti-depressants. If Tom and Mickey had not found her in time, she would have died that night. Following this incident, Marie withdrew from her family, friends, and life altogether. Meanwhile, Tony moved to Boston.

The incident was kept a secret, and for the next few months Marie withdrew from the world and remained holed up in the house. No one could get through to her; even though she was no longer suicidal, she was still incredibly depressed. Even the Christmas return of her brother Bill couldn't cheer her up. But as the New Year began, one person began to get through to her: Craig Merritt. Somehow, he had a way of listening to her that no one else had. Since her family saw the positive effect Craig was having on her, they encouraged her to spend more time with him. Before long, she actually ventured out of the house with Craig. When this happened, however, she discovered something that everyone had been keeping from her for almost two months. Tom was on trial for malpractice because he hadn't answered a medical call on time the night she'd attempted to kill herself. Knowing that her father was probably trying to protect her by not divulging what really happened that night, Marie went to the courthouse and interrupted the proceedings to testify herself. By revealing that she'd attempted suicide, she saved her father's career.

As her condition continued to improve, Marie and Craig became very good friends. One night, while taking a walk in the park, Craig proposed marriage to Marie. He had fallen in love with her during the past two months. Though he knew she didn't love him, he firmly believed that she could grow to love him. Convinced that Craig could, in fact, make her happy, Marie accepted. The family was not exactly thrilled at the thought of Marie and Craig marrying (Alice was "appalled"), but they ultimately approved of the nuptials. Only a week later, Craig and Marie married in a simple, private ceremony witnessed only by Tom, Alice, Mickey, and Julie. They then left on a soothing honeymoon in Nassau, Bahamas. The honeymoon was cut short, however, when Craig received an urgent phone call and needed to leave. Unbeknownst to her, Craig had just been told that Tony was ill.

Once back in Salem, Marie settled into married life. What Tony had done to her was but a distant memory. Precisely during this time, Tony returned to live in Salem, but did his best to avoid Marie. Meanwhile, she discovered that she was pregnant. Not long after, however, Marie fell ill and was taken to the hospital. Upon examination, she was found to have a uterine infection; soon after this, she miscarried. Marie was distraught by the loss of the baby and was once again inconsolable. This time, it was Tony who came to her rescue. While Tony was with her, he admitted that he had never stopped loving her and finally explained why he had canceled their wedding: he had been diagnosed with a blood disease. Wanting to spare her the pain of watching him die, he had pushed her away. He had almost told her several times but something had always stopped him, and when she married his father he felt it would be useless to tell her. Knowing the truth changed Marie's entire perspective, and all feelings of love for Tony flooded back to her. Seeing that Marie and Tony were still love, Craig gracefully bowed out. He took a job overseas. Before leaving, he left Marie a memento -- a watch with an inscription telling her that he would always love her. Tony and Marie tried to work on their relationship, but even though they still had feelings for one another, they'd both grown apart. Unable to make this new relationship work, Tony also left Salem soon after.

In the summer of 1967, Marie met a new doctor at the hospital who had befriended her brother Bill, Dr. Mark Brooks. The was something awfully familiar and comforting about Mark, and Marie began dating him. Before long, she and Mark were engaged. Although everyone in the family liked Mark, there was opposition to their marriage. Alice believed that Marie was rushing into another relationship that might prove detrimental, without knowing Mark very well. Tom and Mickey also felt the same way; however, their reservations about Mark were stronger than Alice's. This was because they suspected Mark of being Tommy Horton, Tom & Alice's missing son and Marie's brother. When this was actually proven to be true, Marie was in such shock that she chose to leave Salem and join a missionary group in Africa. Three years later, Marie returned to Salem as a novice nun. Almost two years before, she had chosen to join a convent in New York. After bringing closure to the matter with Tommy, Marie traveled back and forth from Salem to the convent, and eventually left in 1973.

In June of 1977, Marie received a call from Tommy begging her to come to Salem. Their father had suffered a stroke. Taking a leave of absence from the convent, she quickly returned to be at her father's side; Tommy feared that their father wouldn't survive. Upon arrival, Marie was shaken to discover that Tom had suffered a second stroke while in the hospital. However, Marie stood by Tom day and night confident that God would help him recover. upon receiving news that her father had suffered a heart attack. Night and day, Marie stayed with Tom nursing him. Over the following weeks, Tom came to depend solely on Marie, stirring feelings of jealousy in Alice, who felt useless. When Alice finally confronted Marie about the situation, Marie assured her mother that Tom still and always would need her. But as Tom began to recover, another problem surfaced: Alice was diagnosed with the beginnings of uterine cancer. Marie prayed that this was a mistake, and eventually her prayers were answered when it was discovered that Alice had been misdiagnosed. During this time, Marie took a job at a homeless shelter named the Good Samaritan Home, and dispensed advice to family and friends. After Tom fully recovered from his stroke, Marie returned to the convent.

In April of 1979, Sister Marie Justin returned to Salem at her brother Bill's urgency. His wife Laura had been having emotional problems and Bill hoped that Marie could help her. Without thinking it twice, Marie took an extended leave from the convent and returned. For months, she incessantly tried to help Laura, among other people. Marie painfully believed that it was her one duty in this world to help others in order to atone for her past sins. She soon began having flashbacks of a time when she'd been living in New York, after leaving Salem but before joining the convent. At that time, she had been lost and fallen into a seedy life of drug use and sadomasochistic sex, in which her suitors fed her LSD and beat her senseless before sleeping with her. One of these suitors was a businessman recently arrived in Salem -- Alex Marshall. Marie desperately tried to avoid Alex as much as possible, hoping that he wouldn't remember her.

As the memories of her dark New York past continued to haunt her, Marie befriended Cathy Breton, a teenage runaway who worked at the hospital cafeteria. Marie saw a lot of her old self in Cathy and convinced Mickey and Maggie to take her in to prevent Cathy from making the same mistakes she'd made almost 18 years before. She then convinced Cathy to pursue a career in nursing and worked with Tom to have Cathy admitted into the nursing program at University Hospital. Meanwhile, Alex finally caught a glimpse of Marie...and he did remember her. When he got the chance, he confronted Marie alone and reminded her of their "love affair," but also warned her to keep it a secret since both of them had put that part of their lives behind them. Marie promised that there was nothing she wanted more than to keep their connection a secret. But while she kept the secret, she continued to have more flashbacks of the past. She remembered seeing Alex push his brother off the balcony of his Manhattan apartment; she remembered being pregnant with Alex's baby; she remembered giving birth to a girl while entering the convent in Montreal and giving her up for adoption. With all of these memories now stirred, Marie decided to seek out her missing daughter. Returning to the convent in New York, Marie asked the Reverend Mother about the time that she'd given birth. However, the Reverend Mother only told Marie to forget about the child; if she continued to ask about her, she would no longer be able to be a nun because her admission into the Church had been illegal (Marie took her vows while pregnant with her baby.) Shortly thereafter, the Reverend Mother died. The doctor who delivered the baby also tried to to get Marie to drop her search by telling her that the baby had died after birth. However, he didn't tell Marie where she was buried. Unable to find her daughter, Marie decided to become involved with the David Martin Clinic, counseling orphaned children and unwed mothers.

Meanwhile, Marie tried to help Cathy, who was failing her courses, by sending her to study in Chicago with a professor who had taught her. Though Cathy did much better in Chicago, she chose to stay there and left Marie with a very large void in her life. Soon after this, that void seemed like it was going to be filled when Marie received a letter from a Mother Superior in Chicago asking her to take a young girl under her wing. Jessica Blake was a young orphaned girl who desperately wanted to become a nurse; the Mother Superior asked Marie to make it a priority to help this girl. Marie warmly received the girl, but was afraid that she wouldn't have the money to support her schooling. Having developed an interest in Marie again, Alex decided to finance Jessica's education. Initially against the idea, Marie relented when she saw that Alex genuinely cared for Jessica.

The work with with Jessica brought Marie and Alex to confront their past. Alex, who was still carrying a torch for her, now realized that it was his mistreatment of her what had driven Marie to become a nun. So many years later, Alex apologized to Marie for all the harm he'd done, and confessed that he had, and still, loved her. Fighting her emotions, Marie accepted Alex's apology but reminded him that they had very different lives now and couldn't return to the past. Meanwhile, Jessica confided in Marie that she no longer wanted to pursue nursing, but instead a career in pathology. Confident of Jessica's success, Marie put in a very good recommendation for her at the University. To their joy, Jessica was awarded a full scholarship. To celebrate, Marie bought Jessica a silver chain. Jessica was overjoyed at the gift, and showed Marie a medallion that she planned on attaching to the chain. To her shock, Marie recognized the medallion. Branded with the letter "A", Marie recognized it as the medallion she'd asked the doctors to give her daughter, Angelique, as a memento from her real mother. The medallion also had the date of Angelique's birth. There was no doubt that Jessica was none other than Marie's long-lost daughter. Overwhelmed by her discovery, Marie tried to stay away from Jessica and also tried to keep her away from Alex, whose care of Jessica had taken on a very paternal tone. Wondering what had caused her to push Jessica that way, Alice grilled Marie until Marie finally admitted to her everything -- except Jessica's father's identity. Now understanding the situation, Alice agreed to keep Marie's secret.

Needless to say, Jessica was not only hurt but angry at Marie for pushing her away. This anger grew further after Marie convinced Jessica's roommate to give up her baby up for adoption. She resented Marie's attitude considering that she knew how much it had hurt her (Jessica) to grow up without her mother. This caused a rift between the two that drove them apart. Meanwhile, Jessica was implicated in the death of Cassie Burns. Terrified that her daughter might go to prison, Marie finally blurted out to Alex that they were Jessica's parents. Alex was pleasantly stunned by the news, but was deeply hurt by the fact that Marie had feared and distrusted him so much that she hadn't told him before. Furthermore, he accused Marie of ruining all of their lives by depriving Jessica of parents and depriving him of being a father. Determined to remedy the past, Alex decided to tell Jessica that he was her father but Marie begged him not to because Jessica would reject him. Convinced of that fact, Alex decided to adopt Jessica instead, which only infuriated Marie. Finally, she explained to Alex that he had been the reason for why she'd given up Jessica. Marie said that even though she loved him, she couldn't have let a murderer raise her daughter! She went on to explain about how she'd seen him kill his brother by pushing him off a balcony. However, Alex denied having killed his brother...he'd accidentally fallen off the balcony. Recognizing that she'd been wrong all of this time, and therefore ruined Jessica's and Alex's lives, Marie tearfully accepted Alex's plan to adopt Jessica in order to make up for her mistake. The only condition would be that he wouldn't tell her that he was her real father. Though he promised he wouldn't, Alex pleaded with Marie to attempt to close the gap between her and Jessica, and share in the parenting of their daughter. Marie and Jessica did grow closer...but so did she and Alex. Fearing that her attraction to Alex would lead her to break her vows, Marie decided to leave Salem.

Only a week later, however, Marie returned since she couldn't bring herself to abandon Jessica again. However, she was made to confront her feelings for Alex; although she denied it over and over again, she finally admitted to Alice (who now knew Alex was Jessica's father) that she still loved Alex. Upon learning that Marie still loved him, Alex tried to convince her to leave the Church so that he, Marie, and Jessica could be a real family. Marie flatly refused. In the meantime, Alex warned Marie that their secret was about to be exposed by Mary Anderson, who was looking for something to blackmail him with. She had been investigating Jessica's past and was very close to finding out the truth. Though she and Alex tried to prevent Mary from digging any deeper, Mary managed to discover that Jessica had been born in Montreal and went there to investigate her parentage. Needing to stop Mary before she could find out proof that Alex and Marie were Jessica's parents, Alex and Jessica took the Chandler private jet and took off for Montreal. Unbeknownst to them, Kellam Chandler, on a personal vendetta against Alex, had tampered with the fuel line. After an hour's flight, the plane crashed in an isolated, snowy forest.

Marie was knocked unconscious, but later awoke only to find that she'd broken her ankle. Desperate for help, she begged Alex to go in search of some. After some hours, Alex returned and informed Marie that all he'd found was an empty cabin. Leaning on Alex, Marie walked with him to the shelter. Along the way, they reminisced about their former relationship; not the abusive aspect of it, but the tender, loving aspect which had preceded it. Once in the cabin, Alex suggested that they lie together in order to stay warm. After a night together, Alex left to look for firewood. During his absence, Marie recalled the other aspect of their former relationship -- the abusive and sadistic aspect. When he returned, she angrily confronted about the barbaric way he'd treated her. Although Alex blamed it on the drugs he'd consumed at the time and sincerely apologized for tormenting her, Marie was convinced that he had purposely used her for his own sick satisfaction. Following a bitter argument, Alex stormed out of the cabin. Hours later, Marie wondered where he was and left the cabin to search for him. She found him half-frozen to death in a clearing. After getting him back in the cabin, Marie snuggled next to him, prayed to God that he would survive, and vowed never to leave him again. The following morning, he awoke. Alex remembered her vow never to leave him and asked if she'd meant it, but she lied saying that she'd been only encouraging him to survive. As the days went by, Marie and Alex ran out of food and firewood. Fearing that they would die before being rescued, Alex and Marie stayed close to each other and kissed. But just as Marie was about to finally confirm her remaining love for Alex, a rescue helicopter arrived nearby. Although joyful about their rescue, Marie felt more relief that the helicopter had arrived before she could break her vows.

Nevertheless, things couldn't get any worse. Because of Marie and Alex's inability to reach Montreal, Mary found exactly what she'd been looking for. To avoid a disaster, Alex told Jessica that he was her father. She was ecstatic at this revelation, but she soon began to notice the relationship between Marie and Alex. Marie now admitted that she loved Alex and began considering leaving the Church to marry Alex. While overhearing a conversation between Alex and Marie, Jessica finally discovered the truth. When Jessica confronted Marie, she let out all of her anger against her mother and rejected her. Marie was destroyed by her rejection. Needing to think things over, she chose to go back to the convent, not knowing if she'd return. A week later, Marie did return -- wearing regular clothes. She had given up her vows. She had come to terms with her love for Alex and decided to marry him. Meanwhile, she took a job at University Hospital as Head of Nursing. While many people celebrated Marie's decision to change her life, Jessica did not. She resented Marie's relationship with Alex. After another fight, during which Marie explained to Jessica that Alex had abused her in the past and thus the reason she'd abandoned her, Jessica called Marie a liar and disappeared. Some time later she finally found at a convent. She had become a nun.

Of course, Jessica was only a novice and therefore still not officially a nun. Marie, Alex, and basically anyone who knew her, believed that Jessica was only doing this to run away from her problems with Marie, but she believed it to be her calling. Marie blamed herself for Jessica's problems and told Alex that she wouldn't marry him as long as Jessica disapproved. Marie felt that if they went through with the marriage, Jessica would also turn her back on Alex. This decision took a toll on her relationship with Alex, who believed that Marie was only using Jessica's problems as an excuse not to marry him. Also during this time, Mary continued to try to seduce Alex. His constant interaction with her at Anderson Manufacturing worried Marie. As the relationship grew more estranged, there seemed to be less chances of a wedding. One evening, Marie went to see Alex at his suite at the Salem Inn only to find him and Mary wrapped in a kiss. Believing that Alex had been betraying her this entire time, Marie left without saying a word. Later on that evening, while recounting this to Alice, Marie swore that she could kill Alex for deceiving her. An hour later, Alex was in the hospital in critical condition; he'd been shot three times in his hotel room.

No, Marie didn't shoot him! But she did stay by his bedside while Alex remained in a coma and promised to marry him if he pulled through. Alex's shooting brought Marie and Jessica closer since they both loved him, but she continued to resent her. When Alex finally woke up, he couldn't remember who shot him. Furthermore, he was paralyzed. Alex did, however, explain that what Marie had seen in his room before the shooting had been Mary's pathetic attempt to seduce him. As a result, Marie vowed her love for him and decided to move into an apartment with him in order to take care of him. But almost immediately things began to go downhill. In addition to having someone ruin their front door by painting the words "No trash allowed" on it, life together wasn't what either Alex or Marie expected. Marie was strict and commanding, and Alex really just wanted to do whatever he liked. As he recuperated from the gun shots, he got the desire to return to work and began considering returning to Anderson Manufacturing. Of course, this was the last thing Marie wanted, further straining the relationship. Meanwhile, Alex and Marie began to worry about Jessica as her behavior began to change erratically, offensive to both Alex and Marie. One day, Marie's niece Hope told Marie that Jessica was missing, and that she was not a nun! Checking with the convent, Marie discovered that Jessica had been kicked out of the convent months ago because of her behavior problems! Hope also told Marie that Jessica was going out with a friend of hers, Jake Kositchek, but that he only knew her by the name of "Angel." By the time Marie and Alex discovered this, Jake and "Angel" had gone to Las Vegas to elope. Fearing the worst, Marie went to Las Vegas to stop them from getting married, figuring that Jessica was suffering from psychological problems. In the nick of time, Marie prevented Jake and "Angel" from getting married and explained to Jake who "Angel" really was. Agreeing that Jessica needed help, Jake helped Marie bring her back to Salem and hospitalize her.

Jessica was suffering from a mysterious case of multiple personality disorder. Mysterious because the disorder usually manifests in victims of child abuse, and no one had ever abused Jessica. It was eventually determined that Jessica's personality had fragmented in response to the conflicts she had against Marie. In addition to Angel, she also briefly developed the personality of Sister Angelique, who adopted a guilt similar to the one Marie had dealt with upon her arrival in Salem. Through much therapy, Jessica finally began to forgive Marie for her abandonment. However, Angel, the vengeful personality, still lingered...meaning that Jessica still harbored some resentment against Marie. Meanwhile, Marie and Alex's relationship continued to slowly deteriorate. He had suddenly had a memory of the night he was shot and fingered David Banning (Marie's grand nephew) as the shooter. Also, he became involved with the shady Antony DiMera, and had returned to work at Anderson. Finally, Alex inexplicably broke up with Marie. He cited his blaming David for the shooting as the cause. He claimed that neither Marie nor the Hortons would ever forgive him for it despite Marie's protests to the contrary. Not long after this, Marie realized the true reason for the breakup: Alex had begun seeing Mary again. Unbeknownst to her, Alex was only being blackmailed into dating Mary.

Refusing to pine away for Alex, Marie tried to do what she hadn't done in almost twenty years and start dating. Following an outstanding makeover, Marie accepted a date with Neil Curtis. Though they were only friends at the time, Neil quietly admitted to Marie that he found her very attractive. Neil was embroiled in relationship problems with Liz Chandler at the time, and Marie mainly stood by him as a supportive friend. He, too, supported her through her problems with Jessica, which slowly drew to a close as Jessica recovered, and during the time that Marlena (Marie's best friend) was thought to have been killed. Over the course of time, Marie actually began to fall in love with Neil. She kept her attraction to Neil to herself, since she still held feelings for Alex. Unfortunately, she and Alex only grew further apart, even after Mary died. By that time, he had become deeply involved with questionable projects and begun dating various nurses at the hospital. Although jealous, Marie refused to rekindle an amorous relationship with him. The only thing that still tied them was their daughter. Jessica, by now, had completely recovered and married Josh Fallon, eventually moving to a farm "just outside" of Salem.

Marie's growing love for Neil finally became apparent to her friends when Neil was almost killed by a bomb in the fall of 1982. Marie stayed by his side throughout his perilous recovery, while Liz did not. This infuriated Marie. She couldn't believe that Liz, who claimed to love Neil and for whom Neil would do anything, wouldn't bother to come to the hospital to visit him. While Neil recovered, Liz finally did come visit Neil...to tell him that she didn't want to see him anymore because she only loved her husband, Tony DiMera. Also, Liz defended the DiMeras, whom Neil claimed were responsible for the explosion. In fact, Liz blamed the explosion on Neil, saying that it was probably set up by his gambling associates! This only made Marie angrier and she began to develop a great animosity toward Liz.

Although Liz rejected him, Neil continued to pine for her, while Marie pined for him. Things became more complicated after Liz was revealed to be pregnant. Neil believed that the baby was his but Liz denied that. After months of rejection, Neil began to deteriorate. An alcoholic, Neil turned to the bottle with only Marie to keep him in check. Watching Neil destroy his own life just fueled Marie's hatred for Liz. It soon became clear to Liz that Marie was jealous and she finally confronted her, telling her to go after Neil if she wanted. To make Neil forget about Liz, Marie told him what she'd said. Finally, Neil began to accept that Liz didn't love him, and turned to Marie. No one could've suspected that Liz was only acting that way in order to save Neil's life.

Finally, Neil and Marie began dating. As they became close and Neil began to forget about Liz, the tables were turned. Liz saw that Marie and Neil's relationship was becoming solid, and now it was her turn to be insanely jealous. During this time, Liz took a volunteer position at the hospital. Immediately, Marie saw this as a threat to her budding relationship with Neil. And it was. Soon, Liz began to sabotage Marie's lunch dates with Neil. Not willing to stand by, Marie warned Liz to keep away from Neil. Their encounter escalated in furor until Liz bitterly confessed that she hated Marie. More arguments followed this one, each more heated than the previous one. And with each one, the rivalry between the two women became more apparent to everyone around them. Aware of Marie's strong feelings, Neil began to express a desire to take a next step in their relationship...as in marriage. Although thrilled, Marie asked Neil to take things slowly since he was still on the rebound from Liz. A month later, Neil delivered Liz's child. Believing that the baby was Tony's, Neil gave up on Liz once and for all. Wanting a family of his own, he immediately asked Marie to marry him. In a small ceremony at the Greenbriar Inn, Neil and Marie eloped. They spent the night at the inn, where they finally made love.

Unfortunately, they had to return to Salem. And upon their return, Neil discovered that Liz and Tony had gotten divorced. Furthermore, it was revealed that Noelle, Liz's baby, was actually Neil's daughter. Liz confessed that she had only pushed Neil away because Stefano DiMera had threatened to kill him unless she stayed with Tony. Despite this, Neil vowed to Marie that she would stay with her. Marie was somewhat relieved by this. But deep down, she knew that her marriage was still shaky. Indeed, Liz still stirred Neil's emotions and it showed every time he went to her place to see his daughter. Marie also saw that Liz retained her volunteer position at the hospital and tried to schedule her shifts so that they coincided with Neil's. Seeing Liz's scheme, Marie warned her to keep away from her husband. However, Neil soon began seeking out Liz on his own. Finally, Marie asked Neil whether he loved Liz or not, because she didn't want to trap him in a loveless marriage. Although Neil avoided answering Marie's question, he vowed to stay faithful to Marie.

Nevertheless, Marie continued to see Liz as a threat, and the heated arguments between them began once again. One evening, Neil was late for a date with Marie at Doug's Place, and his feeble explanation for his tardiness (he said he was with Noelle and lost track of time) led her to the conclusion that Liz had been trying to seduce him. So, after dinner, Marie went to Liz's apartment and called Liz a cheap whore, accusing her of using her baby to seduce Neil. Furious, Liz slapped Marie. Unable to contain herself, Marie struck back. What ensued was an incredible fight that didn't stop until Don Craig and Neil arrived and pulled the two women apart. As Neil dragged Marie out of the apartment, Liz and Marie exchanged violent threats. The next day, Marie left Salem for a few days to go visit Jessica and Joshua at their new home in Ohio. But that night, Marie unexpectedly returned home. Having forgotten her house key, she entered the house through a window downstairs. And just as she finished getting inside the dark house, she was shot by Liz.

The shooting left Marie in a coma and possibly paralyzed. However, Marie soon awoke from the coma a recovered rather quickly. Throughout her recovery, Neil stayed by her bedside and showed undying devotion for her. Meanwhile, the lengthy investigation into the shooting turned up only one suspect: Liz. And the police were right. When enough evidence was collected, Liz was arrested. However, Liz's arrest proved to be the end of Marie's marriage. Under questioning, Liz confessed that she and Neil had made love the night of the shooting, but afterwards he had been called away on an emergency. As Liz was getting dressed, she's heard someone breaking into the house. Thinking it was a burglar, she'd shot the person not knowing that it had been Marie. For Marie, knowing that Neil had betrayed her with Liz was much more painful than the bullet she'd been shot with. All of this explained why Neil had been so devoted to her recovery. Neil hadn't acted out of love, but out of guilt. Realizing that Neil would never love her, Marie proposed to end the marriage. She and Neil were soon divorced.

Following the divorce, Marie became very pessimistic toward love and relationships. As a result, she remained by her lonesome, despite attracting several men, including Tony DiMera and her old flame Alex. For the next year and half, Marie did nothing but work and meddle in her niece Melissa's life, eventually becoming a de facto guardian. Marie was also unlucky enough to catch the eye of the cigar-smoking Howie Hoffstedder, whom she found exasperatingly annoying. After months of rejecting his rather absurd advances, even Howie gave up on Marie. With nothing left for her in Salem, Marie left Salem to live closer to Jessica. Since then, she has briefly returned twice: in 1994, to attend her father's funeral; and in 1996, to attend Hope's second wedding to Bo Brady.

The character of Marie Horton was played by the following:

Maree Cheatham (1965-1968; 1970-1973; 1994; 1996)
Kate Woodville (1977)
Lanna Saunders (1979-1985)

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