Before the beginning of the series, Lois was married to Jonas Foutley, who left her shortly after Carl's birth. Lois' love life remained dormant until , when she and Buzz (the plumber who fixed the Foutleys' mold problem in ), develop a flirtatious relationship, later leading to Buzz and his three sons moving into the Foutley house, and becoming an annoyance by giving everything "a man's touch". Buzz continually uses the excuse "boys will be boys" to justify his sons' conduct as well as his own, eventually leading Lois to break up with him.