In Season 2, Bree's mother-in-law, Phyllis (Shirley Knight), visits for her son's funeral. She so annoys Bree with her constant sniping and excessive displays of grief that Bree tells her that she cannot attend Rex's funeral, but Andrew persuades her to. The final straw, however, is when she discovers Phyllis reported her friendship with George to the company handling Rex's life insurance. Bree sends Phyllis home and is questioned by the police about meddling with Rex's medication. She is cleared and is furious when she discovers the note Rex had left her which claimed he thought she murdered him and she starts dating George. However, George constantly tries to rush things, making her uneasy. When George places an announcement of their engagement in the local paper, an ex-fiancée of his visits Bree to warn her about him. Bree is horrified and sends the woman away but she is proved right when George loses his temper with an old school friend of Bree's, so she ends their relationship. He tries blackmailing her into a reconciliation by taking some pills and admits killing Rex. Devastated, Bree says that she has called an ambulance and it will be there soon, but in reality, she hasn't. She watches him die and tells Andrew, who tries blackmailing her for his trust fund.