When choosing Maggie's love interests, the audience often seemed to have as much say about the matter as Frons. Before Maggie's relationship with character Henry Chin came to an end, viewers refused to give their romance a chance, adamant that the only true love for Maggie had to be Bianca. Ivan Shaw, Henry's then-portrayer, relied on optimism. "I have definitely felt the heat from all of the Bianca and Maggie fans, but hope that the Henry and Maggie relationship will eventually win them over," he said. Viewers, however, were persistent in their opposition to Henry and Maggie's relationship, and the writers soon created an exit for Henry to leave town. Maggie is soon seen questioning her sexual orientation due to sensing romantic feelings on her part for Bianca. Early scenes between Bianca and Maggie revolve around the two romantically desiring each other but often secretly. As time goes on, conflict between Lena and Maggie becomes apparent. Maggie dates men to negate her sexual attraction to Bianca, her "coming-out" process designed as going from denial, to confusion, to acceptance of her sexuality — a portrayal lauded as representative of real-life experiences of lesbians and bisexual women. Bianca was not written to face exactly the same struggle with her sexuality onscreen; she largely comes to terms with her sexual orientation before returning to Pine Valley in 2000 after a time of absence from the series.