Maeve Wiley

“	Do you know how long I’ve been called Cock Biter? Four years. People I’ve never met call me Cock Biter to my face. I bit Simon Furthassle’s scrote. I had sex with four guys at the same time, I fucked my second cousin. I’ll give you a hand job for a fiver if you like. Do you know how it started? Simon tried to kiss me at Claire Tyler’s 14th birthday. I said no. So he told everyone I’d given him a blow job and bitten his dick, and that was it. This kind of thing sticks. And it hurts, and no one deserves to be shamed, not even Ruby.	”
	— Maeve to Otis[src]

Maeve Wiley is one of the main characters in Sex Education. She is portrayed by Emma Mackey. She's a lover of feminist literature as well as the ex-girlfriend of Otis Milburn and the best friend of Aimee Gibbs.

In season 1, Maeve is introduced as an intelligent and sarcastic social outcast and “bad girl” at Moordale Secondary School, who's struggling with her family situation. Maeve befriends Otis in sixth-form when the two begin a sex therapy clinic to make money off of their peers. Eventually, she stops doing the therapy just for money, as she develops feelings for Otis, who, however, starts dating Ola. Because of her brother, Sean, Maeve gets expelled from school, getting back there in season 2. And even, with the encouragement and support of Miss Sands, becomes a member of the Aptitude Scheme and Quiz Heads. She also starts doing the clinic with Otis once again, bonds with Isaac, a new neighbor from the caravan park and reunites with her estranged mother, who's come to live with her. Eventually, Maeve tells Otis about her feelings for him, but he rejects her, and she finds out that her mother has been using drugs again and decides to report it, which causes the special services to take Elsie away from Erin and put her in a foster family.

In season 3, Maeve is hooking up with Isaac and visits her younger half-sister's new home, befriending Elsie's caretaker, Anna, who offers Maeve to move in with them. On the school trip, Maeve also finds out what Otis' voicemail said, sharing a kiss with him, and later finally becoming his girlfriend, but also getting into the study in America program, which she decides to take advantage of.

In the final season, Maeve continues to attend literature classes at the prestigious Wallace University in America, simultaneously starting out her long-distance relationship with Otis. However, missing her loved ones, in combination of doubting her abilities as a writer and being surrounded by students with more privilege and wealth, causes Maeve to suffer from low self-esteem and burnout. The climax of her struggles has its peak when she learns that her mother overdosed and passed away. With the help of her friends, Maeve gets her mother a proper funeral. After meeting and befriending Otis' mother, Jean, and by her encouragement, Maeve finally decides to follow her dreams in America, and leave Moordale for good, thereby being forced to break up with Otis.

History[]

• Main article: Maeve Wiley/History

Early Life[]

Maeve was almost exclusively raised by her older brother, Sean who sold drugs, in a trailer park in the small town of Moordale after their father left them, and their mother, a drug addict, was arrested for drug dealing. A few months before Maeve reached sixth-form at Moordale Secondary School, Sean similarly abandoned her, forcing Maeve to scrap for money by doing her peers' homework for them in order to afford her caravan's rent.

Four years before the events of the series, Maeve was invited to Claire Tyler's 14th birthday party. There, Simon Furthassle tried to kiss her, but she rejected him. In revenge, he decided to spread a rumour about Maeve that she gave him a blowjob and bit his scrotum, hence her nickname "cock-biter" which swayed a large amount of people to turn their backs on her, and spread more rumours about her promiscuity or even harass her about performing sexual acts for money. This led Maeve to become an outcast within the school, as she distanced herself from the majority of people with few exceptions, such as Aimee, Jackson, and later Otis.

Throughout the Series[]

Season 1[]

During her first day in sixth-form, Maeve befriends Otis when the two help Adam Groff overcome his sexual performance anxiety and subsequent abuse of Viagra. Maeve then suggests that they begin a sex therapy clinic to help and charge money from other students at the school; where Maeve deals with business and appointment scheduling and Otis engages in sex therapy. Meanwhile, Maeve begins having casual sex with Jackson Marchetti before the two eventually start dating after Otis inadvertently gives Jackson advice on how to win Maeve over. When Maeve discovers that she is pregnant with Jackson’s child, she asks Otis to accompany her to get an abortion. She and Otis subsequently grow closer as the first season progresses, and the two secretly begin to develop feelings for each other. Maeve grows jealous when she sees Otis with Ola during the school dance, forcing her to come to the realization that she is in love with him. Jackson discovers this, and before breaking up with Maeve, he tells her that Otis was the one who told him how to win her. Maeve becomes angry at Otis for breaking her trust, but soon forgives him after he apologizes. Maeve is then expelled from Moordale Secondary when she takes the fall for her brother Sean, who returned after several months of absence and was caught selling drugs during the school dance. Later that day, Maeve decides to finally confess her true feelings to Otis, only to witness him kissing Ola. Maeve then mistakenly assumes that Otis does not feel the same way about her, unaware that Otis only entered a relationship with Ola due to similarly believing that Maeve did not love him back.

Season 2[]

A few weeks later as the new school term is about to begin, Maeve worked as a cashier waitress at a shopping mall. She is confronted by her mother Erin, who has had another daughter named Elsie since she abandoned Maeve years ago. Erin begs Maeve to let her and Elsie temporarily move into her trailer, to which Maeve agrees. Not wanting to become a failure and school dropout like her mum, Maeve returns to Moordale Secondary with proof that she was responsible for writing all of the school’s award-winning literature essays for her classmates, having been rejected of her return, she uses the microphone to expose the students that she helped write essays for, such as Ruby Matthews. She then threatens to reveal the truth if Headmaster Groff does not let her back in immediately. Upon being re-enrolled, Maeve is convinced to join the school‘s Aptitude Scheme and Quiz Heads group by her English teacher Ms. Sands to increase her chances of being accepted by a prestigious university after completing her secondary studies. Despite a rocky start due to her independent nature, Maeve ultimately helps the Quiz Heads win a tournament of competitions.

Meanwhile, Maeve befriends a new, quadriplegic neighbour in her trailer park named Isaac. Isaac later informs Maeve that her mom has been lying about securing a job and secretly returns to the caravan to take drugs while Maeve is at school. Concerned for her half-sister’s well-being, a heartbroken Maeve reports her mum’s actions to social services, causing both Erin and Elsie to be taken away by the authorities.

Maeve continues to conduct the sex therapy clinic with Otis. Per the advice of her best friend Aimee, Maeve finally reveals her true feelings to Otis, who always liked Maeve but assumed that she did not feel the same way about him. This revelation forces Otis to choose between Maeve and his current girlfriend Ola. Otis opts to remain with Ola, only for Ola to break-up with him upon realizing that he is in love with Maeve while she is in love with Lily. During a house party, Otis drunkenly confesses to liking Maeve significantly more than Ola, but states that he initially chose to stay with the latter out of fear that he would end up becoming a cheater like his father. He then accuses both Maeve and Ola of being selfish and “playing with his feelings”. The next day, Maeve expresses her disappointment in Otis for his hurtful words and subsequent one-night stand with Ruby. After receiving some much-needed advice from his father on never letting go of a true loved one, Otis calls Maeve and leaves a voicemail in which he apologizes for his many mistakes and admits to his poor errors in judgement before confessing his love for her. However, a jealous Isaac, who has secretly developed feelings for Maeve, deletes the message from her phone before she has a chance to hear it.

Season 3[]

In season 3, Maeve has a "breakfast club" with Isaac and his brother. She and Isaac have a connection that builds over time. During this time Maeve learns that Isaac deleted Otis' voicemail for her, and despite being angry with him for a while, Maeve eventually forgives him. Isaac clearly is in love with her and Maeve starts to connect with him, emotionally and physically. They hook up.

Maeve is also having issues with her mom and sister. Her mom is ignoring her calls, furious that she called the police on her. Elsie was put in foster care with a nice woman called Anna. Maeve goes to visit Elsie at this house and runs into her mother there.

On the France school trip, Maeve and Aimee fight because Aimee paid for Maeve's school trip fees without her knowledge and thought it was Anna this whole time. They both exchanged words including that she is completely different from Aimee and she doesn't have to worry about paying bills cause she was already rich and Aimee accuses her of pushing everyone away like she did with Otis. Maeve then strikes back saying that she doesn't get a say in her love life as she is too much of a people pleaser to break-up with Steve. Maeve and Otis then get stranded at a petrol station when going to the bathroom after the bus leaves and they open up to one another - Maeve admits that Isaac deleted Otis' voicemail and she never received it. Later, Otis finally tells her what the voicemail said and they kiss, but are interrupted by the bus that came to fetch them right at the moment. Maeve is confused about her feelings for him and Isaac.

Elsie gets taken by her mom and Maeve tries to help the police track her mom down. Eventually she finds her mom and takes Elsie home. Erin comes back and offers Maeve some money for the America program and she accepts it.

Isaac finds out about Otis and eventually takes himself out of the running, saying he wants someone who just wants him. This opens the door for Maeve and Otis to finally be together. However, Maeve gets into the America program and decided to not go until Aimee convinced her to.

Season 4[]

Maeve continues to attend literature classes at the prestigious Wallace University in America, simultaneously starting out her long-distance relationship with Otis. However, missing her loved ones, in combination of doubting her abilities as a writer, and being surrounded by students with more privilege and wealth, causes Maeve to suffer from low self-esteem and burnout. The climax of her struggles has its peak when she learns that her mother overdosed and passed away. With the help of her friends, Maeve gets her mother a proper funeral. After meeting and befriending Otis' mother, Jean, and by her encouragement, Maeve finally decides to follow her dreams in America, and leave Moordale for good.

Maeve tells Otis her decision to leave and they both agree that as much as they love each other, being together will hold back Maeve, they embrace and succeed in finally having sex.

Maeve then heads to the trailer park and has a conversation with Aimee and Isaac, telling them she is okay with them being together, and asks for their help in scattering her mom's ashes. They head out to a hill overlooking the trailer park. And in one final goodbye, they scatter her ashes, bidding her farewell.

Relationships[]

Romances[]

Otis Milburn (ex-boyfriend; in love with)[]

Main article: Otis and Maeve

The relationship between Otis and Maeve builds up from the moment Maeve realizes that Otis has an extensive knowledge of sex, which they could use to hold a sex clinic within Moordale Secondary School, although Otis initially refuses. The pair quickly befriend each other, as they efficiently work together and start to build a relationship based on trust and respect for each other's skills, especially after Otis waited for Maeve to go through an abortion and walked her home.

Initially, Otis would not admit that he had begun developing a crush on Maeve, even though this was obvious to his best friend Eric, but quickly had to confess the truth. This puts him in a rather awkward situation towards Jackson, who was asking Otis for advice so that Maeve would truly become his girlfriend (which happened even though Otis tried to sabotage the relationship between Maeve and Jackson). Despite this setback, Otis and Maeve remain close and even nearly kissed each other one night right before Otis awkwardly confesses that he is a virgin, ending the moment they were sharing. Still, Maeve soon realizes that she harbors feelings for Otis as well, which causes her to break up with Jackson.

Nevertheless, Maeve and Otis fail to confess their feelings for each other in time, and by the time Maeve is ready for it, she is upset upon finding out that Otis had seemingly moved on and had started a relationship with Ola. However, Otis is never able to truly forget his feelings for Maeve, which eventually prevents him from losing his virginity to Ola after Maeve is reinstated into Moordale and begins seeing Otis again by restarting their sex clinic, eventually confessing that she liked him, which deeply upsets Otis as he is trying to move on. The relationship between Otis and Maeve becomes even more strained after Otis publicly insults her and Ola while he is drunk during a party held at his home, which ends up with him sleeping with Ruby, which leaves Maeve even more disappointed in him. Otis, however, is determined to seek Maeve's forgiveness and, after a talk with his father, finally finds the courage to call Maeve and leave a message on her voicemail where he openly declares his love for her. Unfortunately for him, the recording is deleted by Isaac, thus once again preventing Otis to freely let Maeve know about how he felt about her.

After months of not talking with each other, Otis and Maeve are upset with each other with Otis believing Maeve is ignoring him and Maeve believing he isn't interested in her as he is dating Ruby, not attempting to contact her. Several weeks later, Isaac admits to deleting the recording which upsets Maeve and causes her to reconsider her feelings for Otis but accepting that he is dating Ruby, she forgives Isaac and continues to date him. However, during the school trip to France after Otis and Ruby broke up, Otis and Maeve are accidentally left at a service station for some hours. During this time, Maeve asks Otis about the message which he confirms that he is proud of her and he loves her, which culminates in them kissing just as the coach returns for them.

Back in England and both Maeve and Otis feel awkward about what happened and Maeve continues her relationship with Isaac. However, she realizes she still has feelings for Otis. As he comes to her house, confirming he loves her, they kiss again and become a couple. However, the next day Jean is rushed to the emergency room due to a complication with her birth. Maeve supports Otis through this. Later, while discussing her study abroad trip to America with Aimee, Maeve puts off going to be with Otis. However, Aimee reminds Maeve that it is an amazing opportunity so Maeve decides to go to America, kissing Otis as a goodbye.

When Maeve's in America, they struggle with a long-distance relationship. Otis becomes jealous of a friend Maeve made there called Tyrone, which later leads to their argument. Otis also becomes unsure whether Maeve even comes back to Moordale, as she's having great time in America. She eventually comes back home after getting the information about her mother who overdosed drugs and is in the hospital. Otis goes to Anna's house, where after a couple of months he finally meets Maeve and alongside Aimee, goes to the hospital with her. Maeve's mother dies and Otis and Aimee decide to stay by Maeve's side for a couple of days. Not to think about her mother, Maeve asks Otis out on a first proper date and later the two go to the movie theater. Their date is interrupted by Otis's aunt, Joanna, who was stood up by her boyfriend and decides to join Otis and Maeve. During the movie, Maeve and Joanna get drunk on a previously stolen bottle of tequila. After they all are kicked out of the movies, Otis sends Joanna back home, and Maeve takes him to Moordale Secondary, where they try to have sex but Otis feels bad after he spent a night at Ruby's house and tells Maeve about it. To make matters worse, they are caught by the guards who call Otis's mother to come and pick them up. Maeve finally gets to know Jean.

Maeve's still mad at Otis after he told her about staying the night at Ruby's. Desptie this, before the funeral Maeve asks Otis to pick up flowers as Sean didn't do this. Otis accompanies Maeve and after the funeral the two make up, after Otis promised nothing happened between him and Ruby that night. They try having sex once again, but it doesn't work out. The next day Jean invites both Otis and Maeve for dinner, as she wants to get to know Maeve better. Maeve also decides not to continue her education at Wallace, going to Cavendish to become its student. While sitting there, she realizes that it is not what she wants and leaves. Later Maeve comes to Otis's house but Otis is late and she is forced to sit with Jean, with whom she eventually shares an emotional talk, which helps her to realize what's important to her. After the dinner, Maeve and Otis try to have sex again, this time successfully. The next day Maeve wakes up early as she's going back to America. She once again says goodbye to Otis and eventually leaves. Maeve also puts a farewell letter on Otis' bedside table, which he finds and reads in the final scene of the series.

However, it is said by the creator Laurie Nunn that eventually, 10 years after the series ended, she sees them eventually together and more mature together. This confirms that they do end up together, even if it's off-screen.

"Yeah, I’ve always been pretty sure that Otis and Maeve wouldn’t end up together," she said. "They’re 17, and I think it’s really hard if you meet your soulmate when you’re 17. And I’ve always sort of imagined that they might get together 10 years down the path when they’ve matured and grown up a little bit." - CBR.com (Published 9th Oct 2023).

Isaac Goodwin (former love interest; hook up; close friend)[]

Main article: Maeve and Isaac

Isaac is Maeve's next-door neighbor at the trailer park in which she resides, Isaac attempts to spark a friendship with her upon realizing that they were both abandoned by their respective parents at a young age. Isaac later helps Maeve to spy on Erin when she suspects her mother of lying to her. After Erin’s unwilling departure, Maeve goes to Isaac for comfort. However, Isaac develops obsessive romantic feelings for Maeve, and deletes a voicemail message on her phone left by Otis in which the latter confesses his love to her. However he later on admits this to Maeve, causing her to ignore Isaac for weeks as he broke her trust, but the two later reconciled and eventually had sexual intercourse. During Erin's supposed kidnapping of Elsie, Otis and Isaac volunteer to stay by Maeve's side, but Isaac sees that something was going on between them and eventually left Maeve to sort the kidnapping on her own. Maeve later moves out, and says goodbye to Isaac.

After a couple of months, the two meet again at Maeve's mother's funeral, during which Isaac shows Maeve his support, telling her to tell everyone the truth about her mother, who she really was. Maeve also gives Isaac and Aimee the green light for their relationship, wanting the two to be happy. Isaac's also present when Maeve's scattering the ashes of her mother above the caravan park, saying goodbye to her.

Jackson Marchetti (ex-boyfriend)[]

Main article: Maeve and Jackson

Jackson is an athletic swimmer at Moordale Secondary. Jackson and Maeve begin having casual sex at the start of sixth-form. While Jackson seeks to solidify their relationship, Maeve expresses no interest in having him as a boyfriend. It is only when Otis inadvertently advises Jackson to start taking an interest in Maeve's hobbies and to stage a grand gesture does Maeve agree to be his girlfriend. Their relationship does not last long, however, as Jackson soon comes to the realization that Maeve is truly in love with Otis when he notices the former's jealousy upon seeing the latter with Ola at the school dance. Accepting that Maeve will never be able to fully reciprocate his feelings for her, Jackson decides to break up with Maeve and remains hostile towards both his ex-girlfriend and Otis in the subsequent school term.

Despite this, Jackson comes to Maeve's mother's funeral in season 4, showing her his support, despite Maeve breaking his heart 2 years earlier.

Family[]

Sean Wiley (older brother)[]

Sean is Maeve’s older brother who took care of her in the trailer park after their parents abandoned them. Sean originally attended Moordale Secondary too, but was expelled for disruptive behavior and drug dealing, causing him to abandon Maeve for many months as well. Upon returning, Sean was once again caught selling drugs at the school but Maeve takes the fall for him this time, only for Sean to abruptly leave her yet again.

Sean reunites with Maeve when she comes back from America after hearing about her mother overdosing. The two meet outside the hospital, and later get to know about their mother's death. Later, they become in charge of organizing the funeral, after which the siblings have a massive argument as Sean reveals to Maeve that he's afraid of ending up like their mother. He goes away, leaving the funeral ceremony. Later, Maeve is informed by Dodgy Mo that Sean decided to leave Moordale to finally become clean. This was another time Sean left Maeve without saying goodbye.

Erin Wiley (mother)[]

Maeve's mother, Erin, finally returned after being clean for 13 months with a 3-year old daughter, Elsie. Claiming to have her life sorted out, Maeve agrees to let her live with her in the caravan. After being told by Isaac that her mum is secretly sneaking back into the caravan, Maeve catches her mum to which Erin admits that she was fired but is looking for work, Maeve issues Erin a final warning.

Maeve reports Erin to social services, after getting proof from Isaac that she is using again, in fear of her Elsie's safety. Erin and Elsie are both taken in by social services, with Erin making it to Maeve that she will never forgive her for what she has done.

All throughout season 3, she and Maeve eventually reconcile, providing her the fees to go to America to further her studies after Maeve helped her escape the police.

Erin passes away throughout the season 4 storyline and Maeve wants her to give her a proper goodbye, organizing her a funeral. Maeve later decides to scatter her mother's ashes in the caravan park.

Elsie Wiley (younger half-sister)[]

Maeve first meets her 3-year old half-sister, Elsie, when her mum returns to visit her at work. At first, Maeve was not fond of Elsie, but this quickly changed after spending time with her. Maeve babysits Elsie, alongside Cynthia, while her mum was at work or NA meetings. In fear for her sister, Maeve reports her mum to social services after discovering that she is using again, resulting in both Elsie and Erin being taken in.

Anna Charles (mother figure; former roommate)[]

Anna is Elsie's foster mother, who offers Maeve to move in with her in season 3. Despite this, Maeve leaves to America in the end of the season and eventually comes back in episode 4.4, after getting the news about the passing of her mother. After all, Maeve after a while of hesitation decides to go back to America to carry on with studying there.

Friends[]

Aimee Gibbs (best friend)[]

Aimee is Maeve's best friend who was originally a member of the school's "Untouchables" clique and thus, refused to be seen with the "unpopular" and "cock-biting" Maeve in public. Aimee later abandons her more sociable and popular friends out of loyalty to Maeve, and the two begin hanging out outside of school as well. When Aimee is sexually assaulted on a bus in the subsequent term, Maeve accompanies her in reporting this incident to the police, and eventually supports her in overcoming her fear and anxiety over taking the bus again.

Aimee secretly pays for Maeve's trip to France, which angers Maeve when she finds out. The two fight, but later come to an understanding and make up.

Since Aimee and Maeve both have bad relationships with their mothers, they decide to become each other's moms. When Maeve told Aimee that she wouldn't be going on the study trip to America to avoid hurting her relationship with Otis, Aimee talks to Maeve as her mom and convinces Maeve to go to America.

After starting attending Cavendish without Maeve around, Aimee feels lonely and develops a bond with Isaac, Maeve's sort of ex-boyfriend. Maeve comes back home to bury her mother and Aimee decides to be by her side all the time, knowing that's what her friend needs right now. Aimee also decides to tell Maeve about liking Isaac; Maeve doesn't seem to mind it, but later tells Aimee she wouldn't feel comfortable with them being a couple. Aimee bakes cupcakes for the funeral and helps Maeve with organizing it, as Sean left Maeve with this all alone. Some time after the funeral, Maeve comes to the caravan park, where she meets with Isaac and Aimee and tells them she's okay with them being together and she was just afraid of losing them both. Later Aimee and Isaac help Maeve with scattering Erin's ashes over the caravan park, saying goodbye to her. After this, Maeve decides to go back to America to chase her dreams, whereas Isaac and Aimee can finally enjoy their relationship.

Tyrone Harris (friend)[]

Tyrone is Maeve's friend. The two are very close and spend a lot of time together, as Ellen and Chris are hooking up all the time. Maeve and Tyrone's close friendship was the reason of Otis' jealousy, who didn't know that Tyrone was gay. Tyrone was also the one who comforted Meave when she got sad after Ellen got the internship at Molloy's that she wanted to get.

Ellen Rasmussen (friend)[]

Ellen is Maeve's friend, with whom she shares a room in a dorm. The two get along well and are close. Ellen secretly reads an exerpct of Maeve's book and sends it to a publishing house, wanting to increase her friend's chance to become a professional writer, knowing it was her dream.

Chris (friend)[]

Maeve is Chris' friend. The two are in the same friend group.

Steve Morley (friend; former teammate)[]

Steve is Aimee's gentle boyfriend who later becomes Maeve’s teammate on the Moordale Quiz Heads. Steve and Maeve met via Aimee, who was best friends with Maeve and was dating Steve. The two attended the Aptitude Scheme classes together, and later, were teammates in the Quiz Heads. Shortly after Maeve got into the team, Viv and Dex, other members of the Quiz Heads, didn't like Maeve individualism, as she didn't cooperate with them while answering the questions during the competitions. When Viv and Dex ask Miss Sands to remove Maeve from the team, she asks Steve if he feels the same way as his teammates. Not looking at Maeve, he nods, but in reality, he likes Maeve and didn't want to get rid of her. Eventually, Steve lets Maeve down, but she forgives him, after she gets back to the team some time later.

After Aimee got sexually assaulted on the bus, both Maeve and Steve try their best to take care of Aimee. Aimee starts to push Steve away, whereas Maeve convinces her that she shouldn't break up with him, and tells Steve to give Aimee some time.

In the new term, Steve and Maeve spend lots of time together at school. Their friendship status is unknown after Maeve left to America.

Joe Goodwin (friend)[]

Joe was Maeve's neighbor and friend. In season 2, out of Maeve's ask, Joe, alongside Isaac, break into Maeve's caravan in order to look for drugs in there, as Maeve suspects that her mother is using again. The two often had breakfasts together in Joe and his brother, Isaac's caravan.

Emily Sands (friend; former tutor)[]

The English teacher at Moordale Secondary School who supports and encourages the initially unenthusiastic Maeve to aim higher and strive for excellence. Maeve is Ms. Sands’ most favored student due to her nature as a “brilliant writer”, and the latter even helped the former to get re-enrolled into the school after she was expelled. Ms. Sands later recruits Maeve for the school’s Aptitude Scheme and Quiz Heads team to help increase her chances of getting into a prestigious university after her secondary studies. In season 3, Emily wants Maeve to apply to Gifted and Talented study programme in the US, which later she does.

Thanks to Emily's encouragement, in the season 3 finale, Maeve leaves to America to develop her potential even more.

A couple months later, Miss Sands goes to Maeve's mother's funeral, after which she reveals that teaching Maeve was one of the biggest privileges of her tutoring career.

Eric Effiong (friend)[]

Eric seems to look up to Maeve, as he was very excited about her when Otis started sex therapy business with her. Eric is also a huge fan of Maeve and Otis' relationship. When Otis' having a small gathering at his house, Eric decides to invite Maeve there, knowing that Otis would be happy if she came.

When Maeve comes to Otis' to inform him about her leave to America, she also says goodbye to Eric. When Maeve comes to Otis' to inform him about her leave to America, she also says goodbye to Eric. After a couple of months, Eric attends the funeral of Maeve's mother, showing her his support.

Ola Nyman (friend; former rival)[]

Maeve first saw Ola kissing Otis and later formally met in the hallway during the school dance. Maeve slowly begins to dislike Ola and she notices that Otis and Maeve are not simply friends. Both of them had a tension very early on, when Ola and Otis were going to have sex, Maeve texted Otis and Ola saw it, later wanting him to cut ties with Maeve. During detention they both had in episode 2.7, they made up, noticing that fighting over a boy doesn't make any sense.

In episode 3.2, when Hope announces the introduction of the school uniforms, Maeve, Ola, Lily and Aimee sit together in one of the classrooms, listening to the announcement.

Vivienne Odusanya (friend; former teammate)[]

Viv is Maeve's friend and Quiz Heads teammate. Shortly after Maeve got into the team, Viv and Dex, didn't like Maeve's individualism, as she didn't cooperate with them while answering the questions during the competitions. Girls made up in during detention in episode 2.7, and became friends. Viv also comes to Maeve's mother funeral.

Lily Iglehart (friend)[]

Maeve and Lily had a detention together in episode 2.7. After detention, Lily, Maeve and other girls went to a junkyard to smash some stuff and ease their pain. In episode 3.2, when Hope announces the introduction of the school uniforms, Lily, Maeve, Ola and Aimee sit together in one of the classrooms, listening to the announcement.

Cynthia Jenkins (friend; former landlady)[]

Cynthia was so caring for Maeve as she always was so kind and warm towards her. Despite that, Cynthia was often reminding Maeve about paying rent.

Jean Milburn (friend)[]

Jean first heard about Otis and Maeve's situation from Aimee in episode 3.6, when she explained why she thought they were a great match for each other. After Jean gave birth to Joy, Otis tells her that there was somebody called Maeve that was very important to him.

Jean and Maeve finally met in episode 4.5, when Jean picked Otis up from Moordale Secondary after he and Maeve were caught there by the guards. Some time later, Jean invited Maeve over for a dinner to get to know her better. The two had a chat, during which Maeve opened up in front of Jean, who eventually encouraged her not to let one teacher dedicate her future and to go back to America. Maeve really appreciated this and did what Jean advised her to do.

Joanna Franklin (friend)[]

Joanna and Maeve first met on the day of Otis and Maeve's first official date, when Joanna was stood up by Dan and decided to accompany Maeve and Otis at the movie theater. Joanna also calls Maeve a goddess referring to her look. During the movie, Maeve takes out a bottle of tequila she stole and starts drinking it with Joanna, who later starts throwing popcorn at the people sitting in front of them and because of that, all three are eventually kicked out of the movie theater.

Sarah (friend)[]

Sarah is a woman Maeve met in the abortion clinic. The two had abortion on the same day. Sarah was the one who was comforting Maeve before, during, and after the whole abortion procedure, convincing Maeve that despite having a couple of abortions, she feels way more guilty about the kids she decided to have, as she perceives herself as a bad mother. Despite that at first, Maeve felt annoyed by Sarah's loud and straight-forward behavior, she eventually befriended with Sarah, whom she started to perceive as strong and brave person.

When Maeve's leaving the clinic, she sees Sarah hugging with her daughter. Sarah also notices Maeve; she smiles and winks at her.

Dex Thompson (former teammate)[]

Dex is Maeve's former Quiz Heads teammate. Shortly after Maeve got into the team, Viv and Dex, didn't like Maeve's individualism, as she didn't cooperate with them while answering the questions during the competitions.

In season 3, Maeve, alongside Otis also helped Dex out after he had his clothes taken away and later was made to walk around school naked. Maeve and Otis end up giving Dex advice that made Dex realize that he shouldn't be ashamed of the lenght of his penis and that he should be more creative while having sex with his girlfriend to finally please her.

Rivals[]

Thomas Molloy (former enemy)[]

Molloy is Maeve's literature teacher at Wallace University. Because of both Maeve's and Molloy's tough personalities, they have different opinions on many things, which causes quite a beef between them. Maeve gives Molloy the first chapter of her book to rate it and after doing so, he criticizes her and discourages from becoming a writer. This crushes Maeve and encourages her to end the course. However, thanks to Jean, she eventually decides to chase her dreams and not to let the mean teacher ruin her future. Maeve goes back to America and gets a call from a publishing house willing to read some more extracts from Southchester., which cheers her up.

Some time later Molloy calls Maeve to his office and owns up to his mistake and apologizes for it.

Hope Haddon (former enemy)[]

Hope Haddon was Maeve's former guide throughout school as the new headmistress, giving Maeve the promise to help her in getting the funds for her scholarship if Maeve follows the rules. However, much to her shock Maeve discovers Hope's negative side, after she commits horrible acts of atrocities towards students, and giving them the wrong sex advice. Maeve tries to get Otis to help her on this, to which he initially declines. However, he eventually agrees to help her, and eventually Hope is kicked out of Moordale.

Ruby Matthews (former enemy)[]

Ruby is always on the front line when it comes to making fun of Maeve or calling her by her cruel nickname even after she has helped her without expecting any compensation. During episode 2.1, Maeve, irritated by Ruby's behavior, revealed to the whole school via the loudspeakers that she was one of her many clients for writing false essays. Although the animosity between them has so far never been more than a deep mutual contempt, the revelation of Otis having his first sexual intercourse with Ruby may have changed the situation as it seems to have particularly affected Maeve. Their association became eventually even tenser, as rumors began to resurface that Otis and Ruby were having casual sex, and then they decided to publicly announce their relationship. Maeve decided to act oblivious and move on with Isaac but after learning about him deleting Otis' message and circumstances following their trip to France, Otis and Maeve reconciled their relationship in front of Ruby's eyes. It's unknown what Ruby thinks about Maeve currently, but seeing Otis and Maeve after they kissed was visibly upsetting for her. A couple of months later Ruby and Maeve meet again at Cavendish College, when Maeve comes there to enrol. Ruby sees her with Otis, which makes her feel extremely uncomfortable. Later the two bump into each other in a corridor and Ruby says hi to Maeve and expresses her condolences for her's mother, probably wanting to normalize their tense relationship, but Maeve is frigid to her, just like Ruby's been to Maeve for all those years; Maeve asks if cock biters get a free pass when they have a dead mum and leaves.

Anwar Bakshi (former enemy)[]

Similar to Ruby, Anwar often mock Maeve and calling her a "cock-biter" all the time, bullying her whenever he can. It seems Anwar hate Maeve because of her rivalry with Ruby. After the closure of Moordale Secondary Anwar and Ruby lost touch and Anwar became indifferent to Maeve.

Olivia Hanan (former enemy)[]

Olivia and Maeve had a tense relationship as Olivia was part of the Untouchables, and the two clearly disliked each other. Olivia was often calling Maeve names and made fun of her poverty, whereas Maeve didn't like the way Olivia and rest of the Untouchables were treating Aimee when she was part of their clique. The only moments when Maeve and Olivia were actually nice to each other were after they both got detention, when alongside other girls they went to the junkyard to smash some things and let their pain out and morning after that, when Maeve, Olivia and rest of the girls decided to help Aimee overcome her bus trauma. After these situations Olivia stopped being mean to Maeve, as she noticed that she wasn't that bad as she'd always thought.

Michael Groff (former enemy)[]

The Headmaster of Moordale Secondary School that holds a grudge against Maeve because of her brother Sean. He later expels Maeve from Moordale for supplying drugs on school campus during prom, as she was taking the fall for her brother and protecting him and Otis. Mr Groff reluctantly reinstates Maeve after she and Miss Sands both threaten to expose that Adam's award winning essay, amongst others, was written by Maeve.

Simon Furthassle (enemy)[]

Simon is the boy who started Maeve's nickname "cock-biter" by telling everyone that she bit his scrotum in the middle of a blowjob when in truth, she pushed him away while he tried to kiss her at Claire Tyler's 14th birthday party.

Personality[]

“	Pessimists outlive optimists.	”
	— Maeve to Otis, in Episode 6

Maeve is a highly intelligent teenager with a bold and sarcastic personality who generally keeps to herself. Described by Otis as a pessimist with “gems of nihilistic wisdom”, she possesses a sardonic and morbid sense of humor - commonly mocking and insulting her peers, a lot of the time. She is distrustful of almost everyone, which can be traced back to her upbringing and scarcely reliable family.

Despite her harsh and “mean” exterior, at her core, Maeve is a kind soul who likes to help people in need. She has proven capable of demonstrating extreme acts of kindness and compassion towards those closest to her, such as Otis and Aimee. Due to her mother abandoning her and her brother, Sean, along with the bullying she sustains, she is a quite defensive person, rarely opening herself up. However, as she begins to be in company with people like Otis and her best friend Aimee, she begins to reveal a softer side to her tough nature.

She has demonstrated a high aptitude for English literature, history, and philosophy, among other subjects. She is an avid reader and writer who enjoys literary novels by authors like Jane Austen, George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Roxane Gay, and Jhumpa Lahiri. According to Otis, Maeve also has a "great taste in music" and listens to bands like Joy Division, Nirvana, Sløtface, and Bikini Kill. Maeve deeply enjoys feminist literature, often drawing inspiration from them, and applying it to her life.

Appearances[]

	Episodes
Season	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total
One	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	8
Two	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	8
Three	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	8
Four	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	8
Total									32
Books
Sex Education: The Road Trip					Sex Education: A Guide to Life
✔					M
✔ = Appeared					M = Mentioned
- = Did not appear					P = Pictured

Memorable Quotes[]

Trivia[]

• Maeve is extremely fond of reading feminist literature, especially A Room Of One's Own by Virginia Woolf. At Moordale Secondary, she was the only student who took that book out of the library since 1972.
• Maeve's number is 07700 900453 as revealed in season 3.^[1]
• Maeve's locker number at Moordale Secondary was 120, as it was shown throughout the first three seasons.
• When Maeve was a baby, Erin called her The Michelin Man due to how large Maeve was.^[2]
• According to Erin, Maeve learned the alphabet when she was about 1 year old.^[3]
• Maeve is right-handed.
• Maeve's interested in water polo and crochet.
• In the past, Maeve was responsible for running illegal cock fights.
• Maeve's favorite authors are Virginia Woolf, Roxane Gay and Sylvia Plath.
• Maeve loves listening to Joy Division, Nirvana, Bikini Kill and Sløtface's music.
• When Maeve was five, her favorite food were pancakes with chocolate chips and whipped cream, that her older brother made for her.
• Maeve read all of the Jane Austen's books by the time she was 12.
• While attending Moordale Secondary, Maeve could gauge the depths of Mr. Hendricks's personal despair, basing on the Hawaiian shirt he wore on a particular day.
• She hates fun fairs.
• Maeve hates her birthday. She thinks celebrating the day she got pushed out of some random vagina against her will is stupid.
• Maeve has a scar on her right hand; when she was 8, her mother didn't take her to school, as she used to sleep a lot then. That's why Maeve wanted to make herself breakfast and she got burned while doing it. Then, her brother had to call an ambulance.
• According to Cynthia and Jeffrey, Maeve used to cause lots of trouble when she was little. Once, she pissed on their doorstep.
• Maeve cuts the crusts off her toasts.
• She bites her fingernails when she's nervous, and sometimes when she's feeling shy.
• Maeve's favorite food is pizza, lasagna, fish and chips and also peanut butter on toasts without the crusts.
• She can't ride a bike, as she didn't have anyone who could have taught her.
• Maeve is one of the six characters to appear in every single episode of the show.

Gallery[]

Sex Education Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Maeve Wiley.

Promotional Images[]

Episodic[]

References[]

Overview • Gallery