Leo manages to resume his physical relationship with Stephanie, and as he does so he thinks "How good it felt to win." Do you think Leo ever loved Stephanie? How do you think he would have reacted if he'd found out about their child together?
Created: 03/26/17
Replies: 22
Join Date: 10/15/10
Posts: 3442
Leo manages to resume his physical relationship with Stephanie, and as he does so he thinks "How good it felt to win." Do you think Leo ever loved Stephanie? How do you think he would have reacted if he'd found out about their child together?
Join Date: 04/12/12
Posts: 294
They had such a dysfunctional family that Leo just didn't seem to know how to connect. Everything was about him. I know people who seem to be like that. Sometimes you have to look very close to seem if they care about anyone else. I think he had a chemistry with Stephanie but I wouldn't say that was love. I think the child would have suffered if Leo had been in her life.
Join Date: 10/16/10
Posts: 1012
Join Date: 04/02/17
Posts: 26
Leo loved himself more than Stephanie, and I believe he understood his feelings for her were really based on her earlier acceptance of Leo and his faults. She was her own person, an independent literary agent and her world and Leo's intersected periodically to his advantage. As her biological clock began to tick louder, perhaps she just wanted a biological father for her child and nothing more. As far as Leo was concerned, when he thought he observed a wistful moment of Stephanie watching a mother and child on the street, he must have known what she was feeling. Another reason for him to disappear.
Join Date: 11/14/11
Posts: 160
Join Date: 09/02/13
Posts: 43
I am not sure that Leo was capable of actually loving anyone but himself. I think that it is good for the child that the other siblings have decided to just let go and make sure that the child and Stephanie feel included in the family. The person who actually loses is Leo.
Join Date: 09/02/13
Posts: 43
He may have reacted positively for sometime but I do not think he was capable of putting anyone before his immediate needs and desires to actually be a father on a permanent basis. I actually do not think Leo was capable of loving anyone. He seems to live in a permanent crisis mode, meaning once he figures out a solution to one crisis and a new stability takes hold, it is always a matter of time before that stability is undercut and anyone in the way or who cares becomes collateral damage.
Join Date: 04/21/11
Posts: 281
Since there are differing definitions of love, Leo's affection may have been his explanation of such. But certainly not seemingly for the average person. He'd have made a big issue of being a good father and then fall flat on his face in time. Stephanie's mothering, and the Plumb family will more than make up for Leo's nonexistence.
Join Date: 03/27/13
Posts: 23
As others have stated, Leo always considered himself first. I don't believe he really loved Stephanie, just the fond memories and familiarity of her after his terrible marriage and problems after. I don't think responsibility would look good on Leo.
Join Date: 10/15/14
Posts: 363
I believe Leo loved Stephanie as much as Leo was capable of loving anyone other than himself. I think, had he learned about the child, he would have found an acceptable way - according to his own values and morals - to step away from any responsibility. Leo is narcissist and egoist. Ultimately, he can only care for himself.
Join Date: 05/24/11
Posts: 62
When I first read the question "do you think Leo ever loved Stephanie" I thought HA, that's a joke. It was apparent that Leo thought the world revolved around Leo and he never had the capacity or interest to love anyone but himself. Unfortunately I don't think Leo could love his child either as that would require taking time and energy away from himself.
Join Date: 02/18/15
Posts: 497
I believe that Leo was incapable of loving anyone but himself. He was completely absorbed in Leo and his wants and needs. He might have reacted with jealousy toward any attention paid to the child and not him.
Join Date: 05/11/11
Posts: 80
Leo really didn't seem capable of connecting in relationships. I think he cared about Stephanie to the extent that he could but I'm not sure I would call it love. I truly don't think he would have bonded with the child either.
Join Date: 02/25/14
Posts: 40
As with previous comments, Leo struck me as far too self-centered to every truly, deeply love anyone but himself. In regards to his possible reaction to finding out he has a child, I'd like to hold out hope that that would have been a catalyst to giving him a higher purpose than just his own well being. I have seen the birth of a child change a person dramatically so I would like to hold out hope that this would have been an event that could have made him into a different man altogether.
Join Date: 10/06/14
Posts: 37
Leo loves Leo. He has a shred of a conscience but not nearly enough of one that would make him capable of caring more for someone than he does for himself even for a moment. He loved Stephanie as much as he could. The child is doomed regardless if he is in or out of her life - not a healthy option available on the Leo menu for her.
Join Date: 08/12/15
Posts: 185
Leo was too self absorbed to love anyone , not in the true sense of the word, love. He did not know how to put anyone else's needs before his own, and only saw the world as it effected him. I think that if Leo had known about the baby, he would have left anyway.
Join Date: 11/01/15
Posts: 37
As much as he was capable of. His alcohol/drug dependence took over his life. I suppose he broke the dysfunctional family cycle, whether for himself or the siblings. It enabled everyone to move on. Maybe even him, again as much as he was capable of. He found others to cover for him.
Join Date: 04/10/17
Posts: 20
Join Date: 06/20/13
Posts: 27
Join Date: 06/13/11
Posts: 24
Completely agree with Audrey1, that Leo was not capable of loving anyone but himself. And if he'd known about the child, I think he either would have been jealous and tried to wrest attention from the child back toward himself, or indifferent. Either way, the entire family is better off without him. Good riddance.
Join Date: 09/14/11
Posts: 96
Join Date: 07/11/14
Posts: 69
Probably the most conscious act of love that Leo commits is to stay invisible. As a longtime user of others, he could not possibly make some of the personal sacrifices required to be a good husband or father. I too would like to believe that knowing his daughter at some point in the distant future would make a difference, but I think life will have to beat him up a bit more, hopefully forcing him into maturity.
Join Date: 07/24/11
Posts: 228
I think Leo was too self-centered to be capable of real love for Stephanie. He would go through the motions until things got a little difficult, then he would do what he always did, run from responsibility. If she had told him about the child, I think he may have played the game for a while, after all he did show a little sympathy for Melody when their mother ruined her birthday party. He also helped Bea at one point. But in the end, I don't think he could have sustained a relationship with his child.
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