First Lady of the United States and Ruth Rossi (River City): Difference between pages
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[[Image:Four first ladies.jpg|290px|thumb|right|Former first ladies (from left to right): [[Rosalynn Carter]], [[Hillary Rodham Clinton|Sen. Hillary Clinton]], [[Barbara Bush]] and First Lady [[Laura Bush]] at the dedication of the [[William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park]] in 2004.]] |
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|name = Ruth Rossi |
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|portrayer = [[Morag Calder]] |
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|series = River City |
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|colour = #0000FF; |
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|husbands = [[Marty Green]] |
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|father = Graham Mitchell |
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|mother = [[Gina Buchanan]] |
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|adoptive father = Franco Rossi |
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|half sisters = [[Joanne Rossi]] |
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|daughters = Eilidh Green |
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|grandfathers = [[Malcolm Hamilton]] |
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|grandmothers = Rose Hamilton |
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|aunts = [[Eileen Donachie]] |
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|nephews = [[Franco Rossi Jr.]]<br>Romeo Rossi |
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|cousins = [[Brian Henderson]]<br>Kirsty Henderson |
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}} |
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'''Ruth Green''' (née '''Mitchell''', previously '''Rossi''') is a [[fictional character]] in the [[BBC Scotland]] soap, ''[[River City (TV series)|River City]]'' and is played by Morag Calder. |
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'''First Lady of the United States''' is the unofficial title of the hostess of the [[White House]]. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the [[President of the United States]], the title is sometimes taken to apply only to the wife of a sitting President. However, several women who were not Presidents' wives have served as [[First Lady]], as when the President was a bachelor or widower, or when the wife of the President was unable to fulfill the duties of the First Lady herself. In these cases, the position has been filled by a female relative or friend of the President. |
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==Background== |
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To date, no woman has served as President. While a female President could theoretically serve as her own official hostess, it is not known what title would be applied to a President's husband, who might also serve as the host of the White House. There have been many female [[Governor#United States|governors]] of [[U.S. state]]s over the years; their spouses are typically referred to as the [[First Gentleman]].<ref>{{citation |last=Clift |first=Eleanor |title=On Being a First Gentleman |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17422966/site/newsweek/ |accessdate=2007-09-15}}</ref> |
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Ruth is the oldest daughter of [[Gina Buchanan]] and half-sister of [[Joanne Rossi]]. |
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Her mother had fallen pregnant young by her boyfriend Graham Mitchell and as a result she gave birth to Ruth. Graham couldn't cope with the responsibilities of fatherhood and walked out on Gina and their daughter. However Gina later found romance with the Italian Franco Rossi and after they married he adopted Ruth as his own daughter. A couple of years later Gina gave birth to their daughter Joanne. |
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Senator [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]] of New York, wife of former president [[Bill Clinton]], is the only spouse of a president to be elected to the [[United States Senate]] and become a [[United States Presidential election, 2008|leading Presidential contender]]. The current First Lady is [[Laura Bush]]. In addition, there are currently five former First Ladies still living: [[Betty Ford]], [[Rosalynn Carter]], [[Nancy Reagan]], [[Barbara Bush]] and [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]]. |
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==History== |
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==Origins of the title== |
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Ruth is often regarded as the more sensible, down to earth daughter of Gina. She works for the Sheildinch Medical Centre and had a series of disastrous relationships. After a pretty heavy-handed romance with PC Harry Black, which resulted in him walking out on her due to her frequent mood-swings, Ruth was diagnosed with [[Borderline Personality Disorder]]. Shocked by the diagnosis, Ruth travelled to Italy to be with her stepfather's family in order to come to terms with recent events. |
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[[Image:First-Ladies cropped.jpg|280px|right|thumb|Former First Ladies [[Nancy Reagan]], [[Lady Bird Johnson]], [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]], [[Rosalynn Carter]], [[Betty Ford]] and [[Barbara Bush]] sit together at the National Garden Gala, A Tribute to America's First Ladies, [[May 11]], [[1994]]. [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis]] was unable to attend due to illness, and died a week after this photograph was taken.]] |
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Previous to this Ruth had been embroiled in a bitter custody battle for her nephew Franco after her sister Jo was arrested for murdering Marcus, the man who raped their mother Gina. Ruth's decision split the Rossi/Buchanan family and also led to Ruth pushing her mother down the stairs, resulting in Gina being in a coma. |
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The use of the title ''[[first lady]]'' to describe the spouse or hostess of an executive began in the United States. |
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Ruth later returned to Sheildinch from her trip in Italy desperate to make amends with her family. She announced that she was married, but many people believed this to be a fable conjured due to her mental illness. However, her husband [[Marty Green]] soon turned up and Ruth proved everyone that she was happy and ready for married life when they later had a wedding blessing. |
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In the early days of the republic, there was no generally accepted title for the wife of the President. Many early first ladies expressed their own preference for how they were addressed, including the use of such titles as "Lady", "Mrs. President", and "Mrs. Presidentress," [[Martha Washington]] was often referred to as "Lady Washington." |
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However their marriage was far from plain-sailing. Marty was desperate to start a family, so Ruth came off her medication in order to conceive. After discovering that she was pregnant, Ruth suffered a miscarriage due to the shock and stress of learning of her husband's affair with [[Iona McIntyre (River City)|Iona McIntyre]]. Ruth then later went back on her medication. |
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According to legend, [[Dolley Madison]] was referred to as "first lady" in 1849 at her funeral in a eulogy delivered by President [[Zachary Taylor]]. However, no written record of this eulogy exists.<ref>[http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=4 http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=4] ''Firstladies.org'' </ref> |
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Marty and Ruth's marriage seemed to run smooth once more despite obvious hostility towards Marty from Ruth's family, in particular her grandfather Malcolm. However Ruth was soon left devastated when she contracted [[syphillis]] from Marty and then learned that he had been visiting [[prostitutes]]. She threw him out, only to discover days later that she had fallen pregnant by her husband a second time. |
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Sometime after 1849, the title began being used in [[Washington, D.C.]] social circles. The earliest known written evidence of the title is from the [[November 3]], [[1863]] diary entry of [[William Howard Russell]], in which he referred to gossip about "the First Lady in the Land." |
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After learning to her relief that the baby had not contracted syphillis, she found a friend and confidante in [[Zoe Cullen (River City)|Zoe Cullen]]. She was then shocked when Marty returned to Sheildinch, having heard of Ruth's pregnancy. In spite she told him that she'd had an abortion, leading to Marty confessing that Zoe was the prostitute that had gave them both syphillis. Hurt, Ruth then began wreaking out her revenge on Zoe, and also decided to raise her baby with her best friend [[Scott Wallace (River City)|Scott Wallace]]. |
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The title first gained nationwide recognition in 1877, when newspaper journalist [[Mary C. Ames]] referred to [[Lucy Webb Hayes]] as "the First Lady of the land" while reporting on the inauguration of [[Rutherford B. Hayes]]. Mrs. Hayes was a tremendously popular First Lady, and the frequent reporting on her activities helped spread use of the title outside Washington. |
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However Scott soon found romance with his boss Manu, which led to Ruth going to all lengths in order to break them up for fear of Scott leaving her and the baby on their own and starting a new life with Manu. When they realised what she was doing Scott confronted Ruth and moved in with Manu, resulting in Ruth having a spectacular revenge on both Scott and Zoe on [[2 September]] [[2008]] when she sabotaged Scott and Manu's launch of the new Murdoch show homes and announced to a packed Tall Ship that Zoe was the prostitute who had slept with Marty and given both of them syphillis. This destroyed Zoe's relationships with both her boyfriend [[Rory Murdoch (River City)|Rory]] and her sister [[Nicki Cullen (River City)|Nicki]], but Ruth's plan slightly backfired as she was still all on her own. After pushing everyone else that was close to her away, including throwing her sister Joanne and nephews Franco and Romeo out of her flat, Ruth went into premature labour on [[23 September]] [[2008]] and gave birth to a daughter alone in her flat. She was found the next morning by Scott, Manu and [[Shirley Henderson (River City)|Shirley Henderson]]. |
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A popular 1911 comedic play by playwright Charles Nirdlinger titled ''The First Lady in the Land'' popularized the title further. By the 1930s it was in wide use. Use of the title later spread from the United States to other nations. She also loved art too. |
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The acronym '''FLOTUS''' is sometimes used for "First Lady of the United States," by analogy to the more well-known acronym "POTUS" for "President of the United States." |
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The wife of the [[Vice President of the United States]] is sometimes referred to as the [[Second Lady of the United States]], but this title is much less common. The term "first lady" is also used to describe the wife of other government [[chief executive]]s or a woman who has acted as a leading symbol for some activity, for example, [[Aretha Franklin]] has been called "the First Lady of [[soul music|Soul]]." The [[United States Presidential election, 2008|next First Lady]] will likely be either [[Cindy McCain]] or [[Michelle Obama]], the wives of the Republican and Democratic nominees, respectively. |
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==Role of the First Lady== |
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[[Image:First Ladies at Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.jpg|thumb|left|280px|First Ladies [[Lady Bird Johnson]], [[Pat Nixon]], [[Nancy Reagan]], [[Barbara Bush]], [[Rosalynn Carter]], and [[Betty Ford]] at the dedication of the [[Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]], November 1991]] |
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"First Lady" is not an elected position, carries no official duties, and receives no salary. Nonetheless, she attends many official ceremonies and functions of state either along with, or in place of, the President. There is a strong tradition against the First Lady holding outside employment while occupying the office.<ref>{{cite book |last=Caroli |first=Betty Boyd |title=First Ladies from Martha Washington to Laura Bush |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2003 |pages=200}}</ref> The first lady frequently participates in [[humanitarian]] and [[Alms|charitable]] work; over the course of the 20th century it became increasingly common for first ladies to select specific causes to promote, usually ones that are not politically divisive. It is common for the first lady to hire a staff to support these activities. Additionally, many have taken an active role in campaigning for the President with whom they are associated. Hillary Rodham Clinton took the role one step further when she was, for a time, given a formal job in the Clinton administration to develop reforms to the health care system. |
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If the United States were to have a female President, it is commonly presumed that the husband of a female President would act as an analogous "First Gentleman". This was the situation portrayed in the fictitious television series ''[[Commander in Chief (television)|Commander In Chief]]'', in which President [[Mackenzie Allen]]'s husband Rod Calloway was titled as "First Gentleman", but President Allen's mother ultimately joined the [[First Family]] and acted as the official hostess at the White House. |
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==Office of the First Lady== |
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The Office of the First Lady of the United States is accountable to the First Lady of the United States for her to carry out her duties as hostess of the White House, and is also in charge of all social and ceremonial events of the White House. The First Lady has her own staff that includes the [[White House Social Secretary]], a [[Chief of staff (politics)|Chief of Staff]], [[Press Secretary]], [[White House Chief Floral Designer|Chief Floral Designer]], [[White House Executive Chef|Executive Chef]], etc. The Office of the First Lady is a branch of the [[Executive Office of the President]] (EOP). |
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==First Ladies of the United States== |
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:''For a complete list of the first ladies, see [[List of First Ladies of the United States]]'' |
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[[Image:First Ladies National Historic Site - Saxton House.JPG|thumb|right|175px|The [[First Ladies National Historic Site]].]] |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [[River City]] |
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*[[First Lady]] - Use of the title outside the United States. |
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*[[Second Lady of the United States]] - Wife of the Vice President of the United States. |
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*[[First Ladies National Historic Site]] - In [[Canton, Ohio]]. |
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*[[List of United States First Ladies by Longevity]] |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*http://www. |
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/tv/rivercity/characters/ River City Cast] |
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* {{cite web |
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|title=Office of the First Lady |
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|url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/firstlady/ |
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|accessdate=October 7 |
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|accessyear=2005 |
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}} |
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* {{cite web |
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|title=First Lady's Gallery |
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|work=The White House |
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|url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/ |
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|accessdate=October 7 |
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|accessyear=2005 |
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}} |
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* {{cite web |
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|title=The National First Ladies' Library |
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|url=http://www.firstladies.org/ |
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|accessdate=October 7 |
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|accessyear=2005 |
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}} |
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*[http://www.dadashopping.net/work.php?code=behind_every_great_man_stands_a_great_woman Paper on the role of the first lady and the influence she holds over the President] |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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{{Lists of US Presidents and Vice Presidents}} |
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[[Category:First Ladies of the United States| ]] |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi}} |
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[[de:First Lady]] |
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[[Category:River City characters]] |
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[[fa:بانوی اول ایالات متحده]] |
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[[fr:Première dame des États-Unis]] |
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[[he:הגברת הראשונה של ארצות הברית]] |
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[[nl:First Lady van de Verenigde Staten]] |
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[[pt:Primeira-Dama dos Estados Unidos da América]] |
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[[simple:First Lady of the United States]] |
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[[sv:USA:s första dam]] |
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[[th:สุภาพสตรีหมายเลขหนึ่งแห่งสหรัฐอเมริกา]] |
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[[vi:Đệ nhất Phu nhân Hoa Kỳ]] |
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Revision as of 15:33, 10 October 2008
| Ruth Rossi | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Morag Calder | ||||||||||||||||||
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Ruth Green (née Mitchell, previously Rossi) is a fictional character in the BBC Scotland soap, River City and is played by Morag Calder.
Background
Ruth is the oldest daughter of Gina Buchanan and half-sister of Joanne Rossi.
Her mother had fallen pregnant young by her boyfriend Graham Mitchell and as a result she gave birth to Ruth. Graham couldn't cope with the responsibilities of fatherhood and walked out on Gina and their daughter. However Gina later found romance with the Italian Franco Rossi and after they married he adopted Ruth as his own daughter. A couple of years later Gina gave birth to their daughter Joanne.
History
Ruth is often regarded as the more sensible, down to earth daughter of Gina. She works for the Sheildinch Medical Centre and had a series of disastrous relationships. After a pretty heavy-handed romance with PC Harry Black, which resulted in him walking out on her due to her frequent mood-swings, Ruth was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. Shocked by the diagnosis, Ruth travelled to Italy to be with her stepfather's family in order to come to terms with recent events.
Previous to this Ruth had been embroiled in a bitter custody battle for her nephew Franco after her sister Jo was arrested for murdering Marcus, the man who raped their mother Gina. Ruth's decision split the Rossi/Buchanan family and also led to Ruth pushing her mother down the stairs, resulting in Gina being in a coma.
Ruth later returned to Sheildinch from her trip in Italy desperate to make amends with her family. She announced that she was married, but many people believed this to be a fable conjured due to her mental illness. However, her husband Marty Green soon turned up and Ruth proved everyone that she was happy and ready for married life when they later had a wedding blessing.
However their marriage was far from plain-sailing. Marty was desperate to start a family, so Ruth came off her medication in order to conceive. After discovering that she was pregnant, Ruth suffered a miscarriage due to the shock and stress of learning of her husband's affair with Iona McIntyre. Ruth then later went back on her medication.
Marty and Ruth's marriage seemed to run smooth once more despite obvious hostility towards Marty from Ruth's family, in particular her grandfather Malcolm. However Ruth was soon left devastated when she contracted syphillis from Marty and then learned that he had been visiting prostitutes. She threw him out, only to discover days later that she had fallen pregnant by her husband a second time.
After learning to her relief that the baby had not contracted syphillis, she found a friend and confidante in Zoe Cullen. She was then shocked when Marty returned to Sheildinch, having heard of Ruth's pregnancy. In spite she told him that she'd had an abortion, leading to Marty confessing that Zoe was the prostitute that had gave them both syphillis. Hurt, Ruth then began wreaking out her revenge on Zoe, and also decided to raise her baby with her best friend Scott Wallace.
However Scott soon found romance with his boss Manu, which led to Ruth going to all lengths in order to break them up for fear of Scott leaving her and the baby on their own and starting a new life with Manu. When they realised what she was doing Scott confronted Ruth and moved in with Manu, resulting in Ruth having a spectacular revenge on both Scott and Zoe on 2 September 2008 when she sabotaged Scott and Manu's launch of the new Murdoch show homes and announced to a packed Tall Ship that Zoe was the prostitute who had slept with Marty and given both of them syphillis. This destroyed Zoe's relationships with both her boyfriend Rory and her sister Nicki, but Ruth's plan slightly backfired as she was still all on her own. After pushing everyone else that was close to her away, including throwing her sister Joanne and nephews Franco and Romeo out of her flat, Ruth went into premature labour on 23 September 2008 and gave birth to a daughter alone in her flat. She was found the next morning by Scott, Manu and Shirley Henderson.