In my opinion, Mandy was the perfect woman for Ian and I'm gutted she left. I'm not a big fan of Ian & Denise and I don't see them lasting together too long. I feel like Ian's only with her because he's lonely and doesn't feel much for her. Their relationship is all too similar to his one with Jane and i think he's grown from that. He had a much stronger connection with Mandy. I really hope Mandy returns one day. Your thoughts?

No, they never really loved each other.

Jane was Ian's perfect woman IMO,.

but that's, oddly, why I think their relationship did work. They both knew what they were getting out of it and grew to care for one another deeply. I liked them together. IanMandy where are ye?

I think they did have genuine feelings but I don't think it was ever love. I could be wrong though

Hmm, I disagree. Jane took Ian on when e was in a pretty bad state. He had developed in to a really nasty, money grabbing, business obsessed man and I think Jane helped Ian realise that there was such thing as love. However, since Ian treated Jane so badly, there was no way they could last. Jane was more of a lesson for Ian. With Mandy, Ian could relate to her and I think he genuinely loved her. If Mandy had stayed longer, we could have seen her develop more and I think she could really have grown to love Ian.

Mandy was only with Ian for his money, she cheated on him and generally treat him like dirt (the way she cruelly bragged about her cheating to his face was horrible) she walked out on him on not one but two wedding days and caused him a complete mental breakdown with her emotional abuse even after leaving him for the second time continued using his credit card. True love at its finest.

*looks around, making sure IanMandy isn't around*

No, I don't believe she was. Ian wanted her to be, though. But deep down they both knew that this wasn't the case.

Nah, I think Jane was but Ian treated her horribly.

I'm here now

Unsurprisingly I agree with the OP. Mandy and Ian were two people who just wanted to be loved and they had an unconventional yet interesting relationship. They could have gone the distance as they both accepted they both yearned for someone to love (hence Ian's very quick marriage proposal). Both used one another for convenience purposes but grew very fond of each other. It was evident that Mandy certainly grew to like Ian a lot (even to the point where she abandoned her dying mother at the tube station, despite the grief it caused) and vice versa. They knew where were they were with each other and acknowledged that while they didn't love each other yet, they could both still have what they were looking for. Ian wanted a partner who could look after him (but she actually stood up to him and note that it took a VERY long time for him to ask her to work for him; for the longest time, she occasionally did the stall without any misgivings and even wanted to work at the cafe to prove herself to him.) Mandy wanted love, which Ian gave her, and the comforts of a family. She grew close to Bobby and even started to bond with Lucy eventually. She found security and knew where she stood- and was very fond of Ian (and could have grown to love him). On her wedding day, Mandy left Ian and the reason she gave him was that she didn't love him. She didn't, its true- but he was a very close friend and certainly could have developed. Yet there was something else. Ian had picked Mandy over his own daughter that day, just as Mandy's mum had repeatedly done to her. Mandy loved her mum despite everything and couldn't bear Ian and Lucy going through what she did.



Mandy was initially with him for money but as time went on, she grew to care for him. It was established they didn't love each other- Mandy even said that Aiden remained her true love- but she tole Lucy in a very honest conversation that she was with Ian for the way that he made her feel; and she meant beyond giving her gifts (in fact, there came a time when she started turning them down and slaved away at the cafe. She hated buses but agreed to get one to book the wedding and while it may not seem like a big thing, it obviously was to Mandy. She could have taken the car Ian brought her but she didn't.)
And the breakdown wasn't totally her fault. Ben had been the main cause after he admitted that he killed Heather and thats when the stress began. Phil started threatening Ian, and he had financial difficulties. Plus, Lucy was the one who broke them up properly. Mandy's departure, thanks to Lucy's meddling, caused the breakdown to happen. And she was very concerned when she heard that Ian had gone missing.



I wouldn't be averse to Jane returning but Ian treated Mandy as an equal. Jane and Denise are skivvies. Denise and ian, like Mandy and Ian, don't love each other. But ther relationship is different as Denise doesn't really like Ian that much- she just pities him. She is condescending as well.


Agreed

I preferred Ian with Cindy or Melanie.

I think Ian had the best chemistry with Jane, however as they both wanted different things from the relationship it was doomed to fail. Ian was feeling low and dated Mandy as he wanted her to be his trophy wife. I really doubt he had any true feelings for her.

I've got to say I think Denise is perfect for him simply because she's not after him for what he can do for her. They seem well suited to each other.

I'd anything she was the least perfect woman for him!

I wouldn't say Denise was Ian's skivvie at all in fact she's the first very independent woman that Ian has ever dated. She has her own business, her own family away from Ian and her own children. All of the others have been very dependent on Ian - even Laura and Jane who weren't after him for his money they still lived in his house and were employed by him and yearned to be part of his family and mother to his kids. if they walked away they had nothing. Whereas Denise has all at that already, she jointly owns a property as well as two businesses and has no financial or housing dependency to him. She has helped him out at the restaurant but that's out of choice she could walk away at any time if she wanted to, not like Jane who felt shackled to him.

That's why I would have liked her to stay longer. We could have seen her grow and develop as a person and eventually find genuine love in Ian.

Here's my view on all of his girls-

Cindy - I think she's largely part of the reason as to why Ian turned in to such a nasty man. As a child, Ian didn't receive much support from his father and wasn't used to much comfort or support. The only person that really gave him support was Lou but she quickly died. That's why he had so many failed romances, because he didn't really 'wear the pants' in the relationship and was desperate for love and support. Then when he finally found Cindy, he thought he finally had the love and support he needed and was happy but then she cheated on him and had Steven. That was the ultimate start to Ian's personality change. He wash hurt and angry which is why he tried to hurt Steven in the vehicular accident and had suicidal thoughts, but he was still desperate for love and support which is why he got back together with Cindy. Ian had turned in to a nasty man by this point though which is why his relationship with Cindy was troubled and ended badly. His poor relationship with his children reflects back from here, because his children are basically represent the tough time he had here. This relationship was more of a starter to Ian's character development and obviously they wouldn't stay together.

Melanie - This relationship really represented both sides of Ian. The main storyline in this relationship was obviously Ian lying to Melanie that Lucy had cancer. But he actually did that because Melanie cheated on him. This represented both sides of Ian because he was still desperate for love and support and lied to Melanie to try and cling on to her, but told such an evil, twisted lie that it showed how much of a darker side his character had grown. This was more of a continuation to the darker route of his character.

Laura - By this point, Ian had turned in to a really nasty man and had basically forgotten about love and only cared about money and businesses which is why he treated Laura so badly and used her.

Jane - She was able to teach Ian that there was still love out there and made him a bit nicer. She gave him the love and support he originally wanted, but she wanted a child and children were a huge problem for Ian. As I said, Ian already had children that all represented a bad time for Ian and he'd nearly grown a phobia of children. He treated Jane pretty badly because of this and lied to her so she left and Ian lost the love and support he wanted. This relationship was more of a lesson for Ian and I think she taught him to be a bit less selfish when it comes to love.

Mandy - I think she was the ultimate woman Ian was waiting for. She had her own problems when it came to love so Ian could relate to her. I think Ian genuinely loved her and really understood her. Mandy didn't particularly love him though purely because she was less aware of Ian's character and considered him just someone to be with because she was lonely. If she had stayed longer, I think we could have seen Ian and Mandy really open up to each other and grow to love each other. I'm praying for a Mandy return because I think Ian and Mandy could potentially be EE's Roy and Haley.

Denise - I think Ian is really just lonely at the moment and wants someone to love so he's with Denise. I do like the way Denise is helping Ian on his relationship with his kids and I'd like to see her teach Ian to love his children more and be less selfish towards them. I don't think they're meant to last though and she's more of a helping hand for Ian.

That's why I think his perfect woman is Mandy and he really understands and loves her.

I think they missed a trick not mellowing Ian out after his breakdown because I actually think Jean would have been good for him.

On the other hand, I personally am glad that they never went down that road.

Granted, it wouldn't have been as good for Jean but I find Ian unbearable at times that I think it really would have benefited his character.

Eh, I wouldn't have minded Jean or Denise. I think Ian needs to learn how to love his children and Denise is helping him to that. Jean would have done the same as Denise though, so I don't really mind.

Denise is being treated as a skivvy, there was an episode about it not long ago. And Mandy was the first woman to stand up to Ian and win (she even managed to stand up to Lucy). She had many issues but was a survivor. Denise pities Ian and has hinted that she is only with him as he is safe (I can almost guarantee that she will at least be tempted by David). Mandy has actually stated that she has some feelings for Ian and it has been shown.

Ian was taking Denise for granted, she stood up to him and spoke about it with him like an adult. Jane just carried on until she got fed up but Denise faced the issue head on.

I'm glad she did that but always got the impression she never liked Ian much. They used to get on but since he tried to kiss her, she never liked him (I think this was established last Christmas) and she felt sorry for Ian- plus she wanted a safe option. She did stand up to him though.

But so did Mandy and she was the one who took control of the cafe, told Bianca to stop acting like a child and actually put some hard work in. She practically ran the place herself while Ian was worrying about Ben etc. It showed she had progressed from the girl who sold her body to someone who had grown in maturity and independence- Ian's influence. Like Denise just using Ian to settle down, Mandy used him for a family but she would have made a great matriarch. Despite some shaky starts (most notably slamming Lucy onto the pub floor), Mandy wasn't a bad mother: she cared for Ian's kids (esp Bobby), stood up for them and comforted them. She made a very real effort with Lucy. Mandy also made it clear that Ian wasn't to mess her about and she did genuinly have some feelings for him

I should add: Don't get me wrong, I don't think they were the greatest of couples, but it did work!

Very interesting relationship and had lots of potential. Just a shame she left when she did

I don't like Ian with Denise at all. I really liked his relationship with Mandy and I was gutted she left so soon.