Tad Martin met Dixie Cooney when he rescued her from Adam Chandler (David Canary), who had seduced Dixie and gotten her pregnant in hopes of raising the baby with his wife, Brooke (Julia Barr). Once Tad revealed who the father of Dixie's child was, Brooke divorced Adam, who then married Dixie. Things took a turn for the worse when Adam convinced Dixie she was insane and tried to put her in a mental hospital. Eventually, Tad saved her, and they fell in love and got married. 

However, it wasn't smooth sailing from there. Dixie's family didn't approve of Tad, whom they thought was a cheating ladies' man. Her family members paid a woman to lie about sleeping with Tad. When Dixie heard that and believed it, she separated from Tad, craving distance. Heartbroken at the separation, Tad fell into bed with Brooke English, and when Dixie found out that he had actually cheated, they got divorced.

Their love was too strong to be pushed aside just yet, though. Tad and Dixie couldn't stay away from each other. Dixie was kidnapped by Billy Clyde Tuggle (Matthew Cowles) who intended to marry her. Tad rescued her once again, and they planned to remarry upon reuniting. But their happily-ever-after was not meant to be.