‘The Simpsons’ Finally Addressed the Mystery of Moe’s Missing Fiancée

Even after 36 years on the air, The Simpsons still hasn’t answered a number of lingering questions, like whatever happened to the Simpson family’s rumpus room? Or, when exactly did Barney fall off the wagon? And who really shot Mr. Burns?

One nagging mystery that has seemingly baffled fans for the past several years is the whereabouts of Moe Szyslak’s fiancée Maya. 

Springfield’s resident bartender/panda trafficker first met Maya back in Season 20’s “Eeny Teeny Maya, Moe.” And after a smattering of appearances, the pair ultimately got engaged in Season 33’s “The Wayz We Were.”

But aside from a brief cameo in the opening credits of “Homer’s Adventures Through the Windshield Glass,” which was the show’s 750th episode, Maya hasn’t been seen or heard from in over four years.

As we’ve mentioned before, Simpsons fans were especially confused about Moe’s relationship status after last season’s “Homer and Her Sisters,” in which Moe meets Patty and Selma for the first time, and aggressively hits on Marge’s chain-smoking sisters. “I always dreamed of hooking up with twins, ever since I saw that old commercial for the movie Twins,” Moe tells Homer, adding, “I think I’m in love over here.”

Moe’s interest in the Bouvier twins, coupled with Maya’s prolonged absence, even led some fans to theorize that Moe might have been secretly married and divorced off-screen. 

But the newest episode, “Men Behaving Manly,” has finally cleared things up. In it, Homer, Chief Wiggum, Kirk Van Houten and pretty much every guy in Springfield are sent to a “man camp” (run by an alpha huckster played by Albert/A. Brooks) in order to better themselves. Moe is there too, and he reveals that he was sent by Maya.

Before anyone even gets a chance to ask where his fiancée has been, Moe explains that, owing to his vaguely-defined Eastern European heritage, before they get hitched “there’s a five-year period where we can’t see or talk to each other.” 

Then, at the very end of the episode, after several of Moe’s fellow campers have reunited with their spouses, Moe embraces Maya. But the heartwarming moment is interrupted when Moe is reprimanded by an elderly woman who appears to be his mother. “Four-and-a-half more years,” she cautions. 

So the good news is that Maya still exists, hasn’t died and is seemingly still in love with Moe. The bad news is, she probably won’t be seen again for quite a while — or, depending when the series ends, possibly never again.