Steph appeared to "finally happiness" when she fell in love with Max Cunningham (Matt Littler). Although attracted to her, Max initially resisted Steph as he believed her to be a "ditzy, air-headed blonde", only interested in "bad boys." When his younger brother Tom (Ellis Hollins) developed a crush on her, the "kind, sensitive way" Steph handled it altered his impression. Littler explained, "Max begins to realise there's more to her than her looks. He begins to think she's actually really nice and they become friends." Littler quit the series in 2008, and producers planned his exit around Max's wedding to Steph. He was killed off on their wedding day, as he pulled Tom out of the path of a car. Before she filmed the aftermath of Max's death, Stenson listened to depressing music to reach her character's bereaved mindset. Stenson believed it was a mistake to kill Max off, and "such an awful thing to happen to Steph", until she received "amazing feedback" about the storyline. In the aftermath, Tom asked Steph to be his mother, in a scene that then-executive producer Bryan Kirkwood deemed his favourite of the year. The interaction between the two was intended to represent "what "Hollyoaks" is all about - lots of heart, relationships, friendships, love and loss." Kirkwood praised Stenson's performance throughout the storyline, particularly during that scene.