Maxie Jones was born in October 1990 while her mother, Felicia, was stuck in her apartment window, dressed as a clown. In 1994, Maxie became seriously ill and needed a heart transplant to save her life. Her family rallied around her, and Mac even located her father, Frisco, and took him to be with his daughter. While Maxie waited for a donor heart, her cousin B.J. was in a bus accident that left her brain-dead. Felicia was overjoyed to learn that a donor heart had been found for Maxie, but when she learned that it was B.J.'s heart, she was devastated. B.J.'s parents, although heartbroken over B.J.'s death, were grateful that B.J.'s heart could save Maxie's life. Each year on the anniversary of B.J.'s death, Felicia and Bobbie visit B.J.'s grave and give thanks for the gift of life that she was able to give to Maxie.

Maxie spent most of her childhood bouncing back and forth with her sister Georgie between their grandmother's ranch in Texas, and Port Charles, while their mother traveled around the world in search of new adventures. When Felicia realized that she needed to spend more time with her girls, Maxie rejected Felicia for her constant abandonment of her children. But eventually Maxie let her mother back into her life.

Mac and Felicia were forced to pretend to be engaged in order to catch a Mac look-alike. Maxie and Georgie were excited over the prospect of Mac, who loved them as his own children, and their mother getting married. Mac and Felicia ended up actually getting married, and they became a tight-knit family. But Mac and Felicia didn't stay together, although Mac continued to be like a father to the girls. While Felicia was out on another adventure, Mac took the girls to live in Texas with their grandmother.

Maxie told Mac that she felt abandoned by their mother once again. When Felicia returned to Port Charles, Mac informed her that the girls were living in Texas. Felicia tried to make up with her kids, but Maxie wasn't interested and even tried to protect Georgie from being hurt by their mom again. After a lot of persuasion, Felicia managed to get the girls and their grandmother back to Port Charles. But Maxie still wasn't happy, since Mac was no longer living with them. She got into fights at school and begged to go back to Texas.

As part of Felicia and Mac's divorce, Mac sued Felicia for custody of the girls. Maxie was happy about this turn of events, since she still hated her mother. But Mac eventually dropped the custody suit. Felicia then made plans to spend some alone time with her kids in Colorado. Maxie struggled with Felicia and Mac's separation, blaming Felicia for it. She eventually came around and even gave her blessing to her mother to pursue Luke Spencer. But when the divorce became final in October 2000, Maxie lashed out and ran away from home. Lucky found her at the boxcar and convinced her to return home. The encounter also served to fuel Maxie's crush on Lucky. Felicia observed her daughter's feelings at a Halloween party, but Lucky remained oblivious to them.

Maxie witnessed Mac and Felicia kissing and asked if they were getting back together. They said no, but Felicia wasn't going anywhere with Luke either. When Mac finally moved out of their house for the last time, the girls comforted Felicia. In August 2001, they left for Texas.

As Maxie grew into an adolescent, she began to behave like a typical teenager and to get into more trouble. Maxie wanted to pursue Lucky and ignored her mother's warnings that Lucky had a girlfriend and was too old for her. A few months later, she got caught trying to buy beer with some friends at Luke's. When Maxie tried to get out of the anniversary celebration at General Hospital, Felicia reminded her that General Hospital and her cousin had saved Maxie's life.

Maxie lied to Bobbie and Scott so that she could stay at Club 101 after babysitting Michael. An older guy hit on her, but Nikolas rescued her and made her go home. When Maxie discovered that Lucky and Elizabeth had broken up, she started her plans to get closer to Lucky by convincing him to become her school project. Maxie briefly showed signs of maturity when Carly went missing and Maxie tried to console Bobbie by relating a vision she'd had of B.J. after her heart transplant. Maxie even agreed to help her mom watch Michael to give Bobbie a break. But as soon as Bobbie left, Maxie turned back into a teenager. She whined that she needed to find Lucky, quickly explaining she needed him for her school project.

Maxie's crush on Lucky grew deeper despite her mother's efforts against it. Maxie tried to convince Felicia that Lucky cared about her as more than a friend. Felicia tried to distract Maxie by getting Maxie a waitressing job at Kelly's for the summer. But Maxie made so many mistakes she got fired the first day. When Lucky offered to tutor Maxie for math, she decided she was ready to take things to the next level. She obtained birth control pills and sneaked into his room to set the mood.

Having been previously warned by her mom, Lucky tried to let Maxie down gently by telling her that he thought of her as a little sister. When she kissed him, he pulled away, and she ran out humiliated. When Maxie found out that her mom had told Lucky about Maxie's feelings for him, she screamed at her mom to stay out of her life. Then she went to Roy to tell him about Felicia's feelings for him in an attempt to get back at Felicia. Maxie showed further signs of being a typical teenager while babysitting for Lulu. She left Lulu alone to take a phone call outside and a fire broke out in the attic Lulu was playing in. Scott rescued Lulu, but Mac yelled at Maxie for putting Lulu in danger. Maxie spent the rest of that summer in Texas.

When Maxie and Georgie returned from Texas at the end of the summer in 2002, they met up with Lucas and traded summer stories. Later, Luis Alcazar kidnapped Maxie and Georgie to make a point to Roy DiLucca who was working for him and dating their mother. Felicia got Alcazar to let the girls go by taking their place. Maxie was happy that Roy and Felicia were dating, despite the dangers Roy posed to their lives. To keep the girls safe, Felicia stayed with them as much as possible. Maxie yelled at her mom for making them miss out on so much.

Maxie's rebelliousness increased dramatically as she grew further into adolescence. She went to a party that she wasn't allowed to attend and got grounded. Focused on becoming popular, she decided that she needed to hook up with a guy from the popular crowd to increase her status. She used Lucas, who liked her, as her date to get into Kyle's keg party. Her sister tried to stop her, but Maxie threatened to make Georgie's life miserable if she interfered. At the party, Maxie hooked up with Kyle and was willing to sleep with him if he wanted. But when things started getting heavy, she backed out and ran off.

Lucas called Maxie a tramp, and Maxie blamed Georgie for telling him about her plans with Kyle and making Lucas hate her. Wanting to look good for his friends, Kyle bragged that he had slept with Maxie, humiliating her. But when Lucas asked if Kyle was proud of getting Maxie pregnant, Kyle said that he had never touched her. Maxie was pissed that everyone would think she was pregnant but was grateful to Lucas for getting Kyle and his friends off her back. A few weeks later, Maxie planned a party of her own at her house, which Kyle crashed and Mac broke up.

Despite Georgie and Lucas' warnings to stay away from Kyle, Maxie forgave Kyle and went to another of his parties. They ended up having sex, and she spent the night. However, she didn't know that Kyle had used a web cam to film them having sex and had posted it on the Internet. When Maxie found out, she was devastated but she didn't believe that Kyle knew about the camera. She even defended Kyle when Lucas attacked him.

Mac found out that Maxie was posted on the Internet when he was looking into a porn ring operating at the school. Kyle eventually told Maxie that he had been the one to turn on the camera as part of a bet with his friends. She was devastated, but she refused to give him up to the cops in hopes that the whole thing would go away. She somehow forgave Kyle and got a fake ID to get into the Speakeasy with him. While there, Kyle's sister called Maxie a tramp and Maxie took drugs to try to feel better. She ended up overdosing and being rushed to the hospital. Mac was furious but agreed not to tell her mom what had been going on for the time being. When Kyle showed up to express his condolences, Maxie sent him away.

Kyle decided to ask Maxie to the prom over the school's PA system. She wanted to go with him, but Mac vetoed the idea. Mac threatened to send Kyle to jail and got Kyle to break his date with Maxie. Maxie was devastated, but she ended up going to the prom with Dillon in order to help him stop Georgie from sleeping with Lucas. Maxie lured Lucas up to the room that Georgie had rented and made out with him until Georgie walked in on them.

Trying to get Maxie to be more responsible, Mac told her to get a summer job. When Maxie found out the reason why Kyle changed his mind about going to prom with her, she forgave Kyle and yelled at Mac for interfering in her life. Even though Kyle tried to get her into bed with him again, Maxie continued to see him. He convinced her that the only way to get Mac off her back about behaving was to act like the perfect child. That included getting a summer volunteer job as a candy striper at the hospital. Kyle thought it was a great job because Maxie could steal drugs for them to get high on.

Reluctant and appalled at first, Maxie ended up caving in and stealing some pills for herself and Kyle to pop at the park. Maxie then stumbled home and into Georgie's room while Georgie was making out with Dillon. Maxie's true feelings started to show as she launched into a tirade about how unworthy she felt to have B.J.'s heart, considering all the bad stuff she had done. Then she passed out on the bed. When Maxie woke up, she threatened Georgie to keep quiet about the pills.

While working as a candy striper, Maxie comforted a scared heart transplant patient by relating her own story. Kyle overheard and later told her that he liked her as she was and that she didn't need to change to be popular. Just as she seemed to be more responsible, she took Kyle and his friend to crash Dillon and Georgie's private date at the Speakeasy. The group wound up being the hostages of some of Alcazar's men who were there to burn the place down. Dillon tried some fast-talking to save them, but they were actually saved when Alcazar showed up and told the men to leave.

Maxie faded a little from the limelight after that. She helped Georgie and Dillon give newlyweds Emily and Zander a Venetian "gondola" ride and hotel suite courtesy of the high school drama prop department. She also helped set up a CD player and a favorite song at Ric's request for a temporarily blind Elizabeth to listen to in her hospital room. When Georgie decided to sleep with Dillon, she enlisted Maxie's help in setting up the evening to be perfect. Maxie tried to give her sister advice on what to wear and how to set the mood. She even tried to console Georgie when the big event got ruined.

Maxie returned to town after some time away with her heart close to failing. It was almost to the point where she needed a heart transplant, but luckily the medication began to work. While in the hospital, she met Jesse Beaudry, a young cop on the run for his life. The two slowly formed a strong relationship, but Maxie was devastated when, after only a few months together, Jesse was killed in a mob-related shoot-out. She turned to her old crush and Jesse's partner, Lucky, for comfort. Lucky was struggling with his own demons. Jesse's death haunted Lucky and he was drowning in debt.

When Lucky suffered a debilitating back injury, it all proved too much for Lucky to cope with, and he ended up developing an addiction to pain medications. Convinced that she was in love with Lucky and only helping him, Maxie began stealing drugs from General Hospital to give to Lucky. They soon ended up having an affair, even though Lucky was married and very much in love with his wife, Elizabeth. Maxie resented the loyalty and devotion Elizabeth continued to inspire in Lucky and began doing what she could to both discredit Elizabeth and ruin Lucky's marriage to her. Maxie was certain that all Lucky needed was some space from Elizabeth to realize that he was in love with Maxie.

Sadly, Maxie was only fooling herself. Lucky was determined to get clean and save his marriage. Desperate to hold on to Lucky, Maxie faked a suicide attempt by taking a non-lethal dose of medications. Diego Alcazar found Maxie and saved her life. Maxie didn't realize that the medications she had taken could have adverse side effects with the medications she took to keep her body from rejecting her transplanted heart. Maxie's attempts to hold on to Lucky did not end there. She faked a pregnancy and then desperately tried to find a way to get pregnant. At one point, she even tried to seduce Diego. When that failed, Maxie realized that she had to devise a Plan B before people would start wondering why she wasn't showing.

Maxie decided to goad Lulu into an argument and fake a tumble down the stairs so that she could say she had miscarried the baby. The plan worked wonderfully, and Lucky proved to be quite supportive during that time. Unfortunately, Elizabeth found out the truth, and Maxie was forced to confess everything to Lucky before Elizabeth told him. Lucky was hurt but surprisingly forgiving, although he made it clear that there would never be anything more between him and Maxie than friendship. Maxie was hurt, since by that time the Spencer marriage was already in divorce court. Determined to move on with her life, Maxie found a dream job for herself. She was hired as a sales clerk in Metro Court's designer boutique. Unfortunately, that put her in the Metro Court the night it was taken over by armed gunmen, and everyone inside was taken hostage. She quickly found herself trapped inside a locked vault with one of the gunmen and a briefcase for 15 hours. During that time, she and the gunmen talked, and by the time the vault opened, they had formed a bond. After the explosion of the Metro Court Hotel, Maxie helped the gunman hide and then establish a new life in Port Charles under his real name, Cooper Barrett. First she got him a job as a security guard at the hotel and then she helped him pass his exams so that he could join the Port Charles Police Department as a cadet.

Just three things stood in the way of a true happily ever after. The first was that mob boss Sonny Corinthos learned that Cooper had been one of the gunmen in the hotel. He agreed to keep quiet if Cooper became his mole on the police force. Cooper agreed. The second fly in the ointment was Jerry Jax. Jerry had been the ringleader of the hostage-takers and knew exactly who Cooper was. He, too, expected Cooper to help him out when needed. Lastly, there was Maxie herself. Unable to be content with what she had, Maxie ended up making a secret pact with one of Cooper's military buddies, Logan Hayes. She agreed to sleep with Logan if Logan seduced Lulu Spencer and then dumped her afterwards. Maxie continued to resent Lulu for ruining Georgie's marriage to Dillon.

Maxie was so focused on avenging her sister's broken heart that she didn't realize until it was too late that the only person Maxie was hurting was Cooper. When Cooper learned that not only had Maxie made the pact with Logan but had kept up her end of the bargain by sleeping with him, Cooper ended things with Maxie. Maxie was devastated and spent months trying to reconcile with Cooper. Eventually, they did get back together, but happiness was not to be theirs. By the time they were reunited, a serial killer was stalking the women of Port Charles. Among the victims was Maxie's younger sister, Georgie.

Adding to Maxie's sorrow was the return of her mother. Maxie resented that it took Georgie's death to get Felicia to return home. Felicia explained that she'd been working with their father, Frisco, and that she had been unable to return home. Maxie didn't care. She felt Frisco didn't deserve any loyalty from anyone, including from Felicia. To Maxie, Felicia's actions were proof that her daughters meant little to her; at Georgie's memorial, Maxie made sure everyone knew what a rotten mother she thought Felicia was.

Things went from bad to worse when it appeared that Cooper was in fact the Text Message Killer. Maxie refused to believe it, even after she found Cooper dead after he hanged himself in an apparent suicide, with DNA results nearby showing that his DNA had been found under Georgie's nails after her death. Maxie enlisted Spinelli's help to get to the truth, certain that Cooper could not have murdered anyone, let alone her sister, Georgie. Maxie's faith in Cooper was justified when Diego Alcazar was revealed as the Text Message Killer.

Maxie continued her pursuit of a career in fashion when she was hired to work at Crimson magazine as Kate Howard's personal assistant. Maxie was disappointed when she learned she had to share the job with Lulu. Although Lulu had no interest in fashion, Carly arranged for Lulu to be hired, and Lulu jumped at the chance to compete with Maxie. The rivalry between Lulu and Maxie shifted from competing for men to competing for Kate's praise.

Both Maxie and Spinelli still deeply missed Georgie. The pair developed a deep friendship as they grieved. Maxie knew Spinelli had a crush on her, and she surprised him and herself when she kissed Spinelli. Maxie was interested in Spinelli, but her interest in hurting Lulu took precedence when she agreed to work with Claudia Zacchara. Claudia would pay Maxie if Maxie were able to seduce Claudia's brother, Johnny, away from Lulu. Maxie broke up a few dates between Lulu and Johnny, but the plans were set aside when Lulu's ex-boyfriend Logan was murdered. Logan attacked Maxie when he went looking for Lulu at the Crimson offices. Logan then went after Lulu, and she stabbed him to death. Maxie helped Johnny and Claudia cover up Lulu's crime.

Maxie was shaken by Logan's attack on her and by his death. She turned to Spinelli for comfort and slept with him. Afterwards, she accompanied Spinelli on a stakeout to get information about a Russian mobster named Andrei Karpov. A car rushed at them, and Spinelli pushed Maxie out of the way to protect her. When Spinelli required emergency surgery, Maxie did not initially trust Matt Hunter to perform the surgery because of his suspicious behaviors and constant flirtation with her. Eventually, Maxie acquiesced and gave permission for Matt to perform the surgery. Maxie bonded with Matt when he saved Spinelli's life, and she learned Matt was actually investigating a counterfeit drug ring in Port Charles.

After Spinelli's surgery, Maxie moved into Jason's penthouse temporarily to take care of Spinelli. Both Jason and Spinelli worried about Maxie when one of Karpov's associates knocked her unconscious in the park. Matt Hunter saw her at the hospital and continued to flirt with her, despite her proclamations that she was devoted to Spinelli.

Spinelli was concerned when Maxie moved into an apartment with Lulu because Johnny would also be living with them. Maxie swore that she had abandoned her deal with Claudia and was too busy to seduce anyone because she was planning Robin and Patrick's wedding. Maxie had her turn at jealousy when Winnifred, an FBI computer genius, began spending time with Spinelli. Maxie worried that she was not smart or interesting enough to hold Spinelli's attention. She was also concerned that she was not good enough for him.

Johnny shared Maxie's feelings of inferiority regarding his relationship with Lulu. Both Johnny and Maxie agreed that they were destined to hurt those they love because they destroyed anything good in their lives. They shared some kisses at Johnny's garage, but they pulled away. Johnny drove Maxie home, and they found Robin's minivan on the side of the road during a winter storm. Maxie and Johnny found Emma and Robin in the snow, and they cared for Emma when Robin went to help at the hospital. A deadly bio-toxin had been released. Maxie tried to go in after Spinelli when she learned that he was inside, but Johnny pulled her out.

Maxie and Johnny were able to explain why they had been together the night of the winter storm, but Lulu and Spinelli sensed the growing attraction. Both Lulu and Spinelli were jealous when Kate hired Johnny to escort Maxie to Crimson events. Maxie proved she cared for Spinelli when she helped rescue him from an art thief named Cassandra Prescott, but Maxie continued to be drawn to Johnny. Spinelli pushed Maxie away after he witnessed a kiss between Maxie and Johnny.

In order to win Spinelli back, Maxie invented a stalker. Spinelli soon realized Maxie had faked her distress, but the pair worked together to uncover that Kate Howard was sabotaging Crimson. Spinelli hoped Kate would be fired so she could no longer require Johnny to be Maxie's escort. Kate kept her job, and Johnny stopped escorting Maxie after Lulu and Johnny broke up. Although Spinelli was not ready to trust Maxie yet, he allowed Maxie to help him investigate the death of Mayor Floyd's mistress, Brianna Hughes.

Eventually, Spinelli and Maxie started dating again, and Spinelli started proposing marriage. He proposed after a night in bed, he proposed after he serenaded her at Jake's, and then he proposed after asking her Uncle Mac for permission, which he was not granted. At the same time, Maxie was offered a promotion to Junior Editor at Crimson. Maxie stalled in giving Spinelli an answer until Mac forbade her from marrying Spinelli. She accepted Spinelli's proposal out of rebellion and planned to procrastinate on making any wedding plans, until Kate decided to use the wedding for a feature in Crimson.

Maxie privately confessed to Jason she did not want to get married, but she would go through with the wedding because she loved Spinelli and did not want to hurt him. Unbeknownst to Maxie, Spinelli overheard her conversation with Jason. When the wedding day arrived, Maxie and Spinelli stood at the altar to be married until Spinelli stated he could not marry her because they were not ready. Maxie was relived, and she and Spinelli celebrated their non-wedding with karaoke at Jake's.

While on an errand for Kate, Maxie became a witness in the murder of Claudia Zacchara. Maxie was outside Kate's estate, waiting for a delivery, when she saw Sonny in a bloody shirt. It occurred on the same night Claudia disappeared. When Maxie was questioned by the police and later when she was called to testify in court, she did her best to protect Sonny out of loyalty to Spinelli and Jason.

Although Spinelli was Maxie's non-husband, she still fell into her familiar pattern of cheating when she met an eccentric artist named Franco, and she had a one-night stand with him. She felt guilty afterwards and was horrified when she learned Franco was a psychopath obsessed with Jason. Maxie debated telling Spinelli the truth, especially after Franco sent Jason compromising pictures of Maxie. When Spinelli overheard Maxie admit she had slept with Franco, he was deeply hurt by her betrayal. Their relationship was strained. Maxie decided Spinelli would need to cheat, as well, to get their relationship back on track, but he refused.

Maxie continued to encourage Spinelli to cheat on her, to no avail. They tried to work past her interlude with Franco, but it still plagued their relationship. Spinelli and Maxie bonded at Christmastime when they recognized the pain and loss they both felt over losing Georgie, as it was the one-year anniversary of her death.

Spinelli wanted to repair his relationship with Maxie, so he set up a fake investigation in which he could emerge as Maxie's hero. His plan did not work, and they were trapped in a storm drain until Johnny rescued them. Maxie developed pneumonia, which became more dangerous because she was a heart transplant recipient. While Maxie was in critical condition, she had a vision of Georgie trying to lead her to the other side, but Maxie fought her way back and recovered. Maxie did not blame Spinelli for what had happened, but Spinelli felt guilty for endangering Maxie's life, and he agreed with her Uncle Mac that she deserved someone better than him.

Maxie and Spinelli drifted further apart when Spinelli sank into a depression after Jason went to prison. Spinelli disagreed with Jason's decision to voluntary go to prison to protect Sonny's son Michael. Spinelli was focused on freeing Jason from prison and punishing those involved in sending Michael to prison. Maxie wanted to pull Spinelli out of his funk, so she decided to refocus his attention on her. She planned to make Spinelli jealous by dating Matt Hunter. At first, Maxie tolerated Matt for the purpose of her plan, but as they spent more time together, she was surprised to learn she enjoyed spending time with him. Maxie was conflicted about her relationships with Spinelli and Matt, and was unsure which one she should pursue. Spinelli decided for her when he ended their relationship after he saw her kissing Matt.

Even though Maxie still cared for Spinelli, she continued to date Matt. Despite her new relationship, she was still jealous when Spinelli became enchanted by Brenda Barrett.

Maxie was hurt when Matt doubted her claim that she had seen Lisa Niles try to inject Robin with a syringe. She eventually convinced Matt to help her search Johnny's apartment for the syringe. They did not find the syringe, but they overheard a conversation between Lisa and Johnny that confirmed the syringe existed. Matt apologized for not believing Maxie, and she forgave him.

Maxie tried to make amends with Liz after the death of Liz's son Jake. When Maxie went to visit Liz, she accidentally found paternity test results that proved Lucky, not Nikolas, was the father of Liz's son Aiden. Maxie tried to convince Liz to tell Lucky the truth, and she did not understand Liz's reasons for keeping the secret. Maxie showed extreme restraint when she kept the secret to herself.

Matt's relationship with Maxie almost ended due to a misunderstanding. Maxie found a ring in Matt's jacket pocket and believed he was going to propose to her. Maxie tried to put the brakes on their relationship, but Matt realized why Maxie had been so panicked. He explained that the ring belonged to Robin and that he had picked it up on Patrick's behalf. Matt assured Maxie that he wasn't ready to get married, either, so they ended the evening on a fun note by playing a game of Twister in Maxie's bedroom.

When Lisa Niles exacted her revenge against Robin and Patrick, she also included Maxie, since Maxie had continually attacked Lisa in defense of Robin. Lisa had a gun, and she took Robin, Patrick, Steve Webber, and Maxie hostage in a hospital conference room. When Spinelli learned Maxie was in danger, he climbed through an air vent to protect Maxie. Lisa tried to shoot Maxie, but Spinelli jumped in front of a bullet to protect her. Maxie was concerned for Spinelli after he awoke from surgery with a different personality. She blamed herself for the trouble Spinelli was creating by believing he was Jackal, P.I.

Maxie consulted with Jason regarding her concerns over Spinelli and she decided that Jason should propose to Sam as a way to pull Spinelli out of "Jackal, P.I." mode. Jason did not follow Maxie's logic but he made plans to ask Sam to marry him. Maxie providing Jason with assistance in choosing a ring for Sam, but when she tried it on it slipped off and fell over the balcony ledge. She took Spinelli into the sewer with her to search for the ring in hopes of jogging his memory about their past together. He was unable to recall who he was but the ring was found.

The obsession with helping Spinelli caused a rift in Maxie's relationship with Matt. Maxie often cancelled her plans with Matt or spent her time with him brainstorming new ways to bring back the former version of Spinelli. During this time, Matt befriended Elizabeth which made Maxie jealous. Despite Maxie's feelings toward Elizabeth, the two women worked together when they were kidnapped and held hostage by the Zacchara organization. Each had inadvertently witnessed crimes of the Zacchara family and were being held hostage. Maxie escaped and ran straight into danger but Spinelli protected her. Afterward, he kissed her and she believed his true personality had returned.

Both Elizabeth and Maxie were checked out at the hospital after their ordeal. Maxie appreciated all Spinelli had done for her, especially after Matt was more concerned over Elizabeth than her. Maxie remained jealous while she planned the nuptials for Sam and Jason. Matt attended the reception as her date but she and Spinelli grew closer as he gave a toast about love that was directed toward her. Despite Spinelli's words, Maxie remained with Matt and asked him to join her as the subject of a feature in Crimson after his cancer research was published. The article focused on the pair as a couple, specifically the role Maxie played in supporting Matt's career. Matt declined the offer and was dismayed that Maxie had tried to make his success about her.

A combination party had been planned to celebrate Robin's birthday and Matt's research publication but Matt invited Elizabeth to be his guest instead of Maxie. She was hurt by his decision and decided to crash the party which was held on a chartered boat. While Maxie waited on the pier to join the party, she pulled Anthony Zacchara out of the water. He informed her that Lisa Niles was on the loose and thanked Maxie for saving him. He promised to owe her a favor.

Maxie pushed her rescue of Anthony aside and she made it onto the boat. She had expected to find Elizabeth in Matt's arms but instead found blood on a doorknob and a dead boat captain. The police arrived shortly after and Maxie learned that Lisa Niles had been onboard but had gone missing. One officer questioned Maxie's red-stained hands but she explained that a bottle of nail polish had exploded in her purse. Later when Lisa Niles turned up dead, Maxie and everyone else on the boat was considered a suspect in her murder.

In the aftermath of Lisa's death, Maxie noticed that Matt, Robin, and Patrick acted strangely and she was concerned someone close to her had killed Lisa. Mac refused to drop the case so Maxie called in her favor from Anthony Zacchara. He arranged for someone else to confess to the murder, but considered Maxie to be in his debt instead. In the meantime, Lulu married her boyfriend Dante and moved out of the apartment she shared with Maxie. Soon after, Anthony coerced Maxie into planning his wedding to Tracy Quartermaine. Anthony dropped in on Maxie occasionally to discuss the wedding and Maxie felt unsafe living alone. She asked Matt to move in with her but he declined. Spinelli moved in as her roommate instead.