Mary Richards found herself to be 30, single, unemployed, completely on her own, living all by herself. But she has her own car and drove to the nearest urban area: Minneapolis - St. Paul. She met with her former babysitter Phyllis Lindstrom who rented a studio apartment to her. She became the sitter for Phyllis's daughter and met Rhoda. Not long afterwards is when Mary decided to finally end the relationship with the unwilling boyfriend. She wasn't married to him, despite Roseanne's parody stating that Mary was married. Mary wanted to be a secretary and applied at WJM-TV. The position resulted in an unintended promotion that faced many challenges of both having to learn (and make mistakes) while on the job and being treated unequally by Lou and from Ted refusing to follow her orders.
By Season 5, Rhoda moved, and by Season 6, Phyllis moved. This is when Mary decided to move to a larger, much newer apartment in a skyscraper. (Rhoda, Phyllis)
After her tenure at WJM-TV, she had two separate tenures at American Broadcasting Company. She became married to a politician and had a child not long afterwards. She retired early so she could spend time with her daughter. Her husband died during their stay in Europe and she learned that her husband committed fraud which left them no money. This is when she returned to a completely different American Broadcasting Company and reconnected with Rhoda, a photographer who spent time in Europe, twice divorced, with a daughter from one of her marriages. Their daughters are the same age and named after their longtime friends: Rhoda's daughter is named "Rose" and Mary's daughter is named "Meredith". (Mary and Rhoda)
