the character first develops a romance with rick forrester (young), who is volunteering as a waiter at the local coffee house "dayzee's". maya assumes he is homeless. "i think maya brings out something in rick that fans aren't used to seeing" mosley said of the relationship. in march 2013, it was announced the series had cast ricky paull goldin as maya's jealous ex-boyfriend, jesse. with rick's ex-girlfriend caroline spencer (linsey godfrey) still pursuing him, rick and maya start dating and jesse threatens that new relationship. "he's absolutely the last person" maya expects to see. according to mosley, maya sacrificed so much for jesse "that she lost her freedom." though she should be angry jesse is still a man she fell for and had a child with. the relationship is also plagued by maya's insecurities. for maya, rick is the "fairy tale." "maya is really in love with rick" but she feels insecure about him working so closely with caroline. rick is not supportive enough. at the same time, she falls for carter walton (lawrence saint-victor) who "consistently supportive" mosley said. for maya, carter is a "good guy" and he is her "good friend" first. for the first time, maya is reminded how different she and rick actually are when he isn't there for her. maya and carter become engaged in september 2013 but when maya constantly tries to hold off wedding plans, they split up because she still loves rick.