Andy Taylor (The Andy Griffith Show) - Andy's Romances

Andy's Romances

Andy had several love interests through the show's run, but his first romantic relationship on the series is Ellie Walker (Elinor Donahue), a newcomer to town who works in her uncle's drug store. Ellie made twelve appearances in the first season and then disappeared without explanation to the viewer. (Donahue once stated in an interview that she left because she felt she had no chemistry with series star Andy Griffith. Griffith later admitted that it was his fault because he had a hard time showing affection on screen, and as a result, the relationship did not appear to be real or believable.) 1 In Season Two, Andy dated a few ladies including two nurses: Mary Simpson and Peggy McMillan. Peggy chalked up four appearances on the show.

The producers created a long-term love interest in school teacher, Helen Crump. Helen made her first appearance in the third season and remained Andy's love interest throughout the rest of the series. The two were eventually married in the first Mayberry RFD episode in 1968. The newlywed Taylors remained in Mayberry to be featured on several episodes of the spinoff series. Their departure (and Opie's) is explained during the second season, when Howard Sprague reads a letter about the family's relocation. Andy and Helen returned to Mayberry RFD for their son Andrew Jackson Taylor, Jr.'s christening in a 1969 episode, in which it was explained that Andy was now an agent for the "State Bureau of Investigation." In 1986 they returned for the made-for-TV reunion movie Return to Mayberry. The movie explained that Andy has retired as Postal Inspector in Cleveland and returned home to see Opie into fatherhood and seek the office of sheriff again. Andrew Jackson Taylor, Jr., wasn't seen or mentioned.