On the surface Roman seemed to have it all - looks, personality, a good body and he could cook! He was also mature, sensitive and very perceptive to boot! He certainly turned a few heads when he arrived in the Bay but was he really what every woman wanted?
'Blink and you missed it'
It was over so quickly that many people won't remember Roman and Rachel's brief flirtation, but they had a 'moment' or two that made us think that it could lead somewhere. However, Roman had a rival for Rachel's affections, Tony, who tried to discourage Roman from pursuing her due to her being 'fragile'. However, Roman saw past this and the flirtation increased on a night out to celebrate Roman buying into the Diner. As the champagne flowed so did the conversation and the night ended with a kiss on Rachel's doorstep. This was cut short by the news that Reverend Hall has escaped, but after Roman's heroic efforts to capture him, Rachel rushed off to find Roman to see if he was OK. However, Colleen threw a spanner in the works when she pointed out how similar Roman was to Kim. Rachel then opted for the committed family man, Tony, and the rest is history! Roman didn't put up a fight which was for the best in the end as they turned out to far better friends than lovers.
Perfect Partner Rating: 1/5 - It was never meant to be and Roman never really made any effort to fight for her. They definately wouldn't have worked as they were looking for very different things from a relationship.
'Inevitable conclusion'
Even though Roman and Martha's attraction was apparent quite early on it was Martha who made the first move by asking Roman to dinner, as Roman seemed reluctant to embark upon a small town romance. Martha decided it would be a good idea for Morag to be there to act as a chaperone and it seemed at first that Roman and Morag had more in common! However, when Morag went down to the Diner for coffee, things heated up and Roman and Martha were soon kissing on the couch. The relationship grew from there and accelerated rapidly when Martha and Morag were forced to move in with Roman after the collapse of the Diner. They seemed to adapt to the situation well and even Martha discovering that Roman was in the SAS and had a 17 year old daughter didn't dent their blossoming romance. Something that did, however, was Sam's death. Martha finding herself incriminated in Sam's 'murder' only helped strengthen her bond with Jack and Roman began to see that he would never be able to break that bond. He broke off the relationship and told Martha to sort out whatever it was she had to sort out with Jack... and the rest is history. Despite their breakup, Roman and Martha continued to be good friends and he supported her when she found out she was pregnant and after the subsequent death of their unborn child. He was also there for her through her cancer treatment and following Jack's death.
Perfect Partner Rating: 4/5 - If not for Jack this relationship could have really took off, but poor Roman was never going to be able to compete so he did the noble thing and stepped away from the situation. However, he does lose marks for being slightly over protective following Jack's death.
'High Maintenance'
When Charlie arrived in the Bay there was an obvious attraction between her and Roman. Despite their differences about Morag, their passionate relationship grew but Roman told Charlie that he wanted to keep things casual as he wasn't ready for anything serious. Charlie agreed to this but deep down was hurt that he didn't want her fully involved in his life. It was then she decided to go on a date with Angelo seeing as Roman was neglecting her. This spurred Roman into action and after her date with Angelo he told her wanted to be with her and only her. Things seemed fine for a while but the cracks soon began to show as Roman still didn't seem willing to give Charlie the commitment she craved. This was especially apparent when Charlie thought Roman was asleep and she told him she loved him. It emerged that Roman wasn't asleep and the look on his face told us that he didn't exactly feel the same way. Their relationship continued to stutter along and Roman supported Charlie through her fathers illness but it wasn't long before the cracks began to open up again. The catalysts for this were each of them taking opposing sides over the Aden/Belle/Angelo love triangle and the interference of Roman's ex, Natalie. She tried to stir things up and planted seeds of doubt in Roman's mind as well pointing out to Charlie how Roman still wasn't over Martha. After thinking about things Roman decided to break things off with Charlie and told her that they just weren't working. Charlie was devastated and begged him to give their relationship another chance but Roman was adamant they were over. Later, Roman told Nicole that he just didn't love Charlie like he was supposed to.
Perfect Partner Rating: 3/5 - On the surface this looked like it was meant to be but Roman's reluctance to commit to Charlie meant it was never going to work. He was also still pining for Martha and no matter how hard she tried Charlie wasn't who he wanted at that time in his life.
'Short but sweet'
Leah and Roman struck up an immediate friendship when he arrived in the Bay and she lined him up as a Partner in the Diner. Their friendship grew and Roman helped Leah through some difficult moments after Dan's death. It wasn't until almost a year later that we noticed a certain chemistry between the pair. It all started at Leah's 30th birthday when Roman caught a drunk Leah in his arms. Later she told him how sweet and sexy he was and kissed him. Unfortunately it was at that point that she was sick all over him! The next day Leah couldn't remember what happened so Roman didn't tell her about the kiss or her throwing up. Over the next few weeks Roman and Leah got closer. They couldn't take their eyes off each other at the speed dating event and started flirting at every opportunity at work, despite Leah going on a date with another guy, George. When Leah remembered about the kiss at her birthday part she started acting oddly around Roman. He picked up on it and asked her what was wrong. She confessed that she had remembered the kiss but to her surprise he said that he wouldn't mind trying it again! They decided to keep their relationship a secret at first but VJ's opposition to it caused tension between them and while they were having a discussion in the car about it, Brendan fired a rock at the car seriously injuring Roman. Leah kept a vigil by his bedside but when Roman came out of his coma and discovered he was blind he broke things off with Leah as he didn't want to be a burden to her.
Perfect Partner Rating: 3/5 - We never really got the chance to see how good they could be together but the initial stages were very promising. It was a case of 'If only....' with this one unfortunately.
Was Roman the perfect partner?
He could have been if he was with the right person. To him, Martha was right person but unfortunately he wasn't the one for her. To Charlie, Roman was the right person but no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't commit to her. Rachel was a non starter. Leah could have been the one but we will never know how that could have worked out. Even though there were doubts about his commitment, Roman had all the attributes of a perfect partner - he was sensitive, caring, intuitive, smart, funny and he was a good cook! What more could a woman want!?