Mel Burke

"You took me to the most romantic restaurant in Toledo for the bouillabaisse!"

- Mel to Joey

Councilwoman Melissa Alison "Mel" Longo (née Burke) is one of the main characters in Melissa & Joey. A local politician and fierce individual, she is determined to keep her future bright, regardless of her past actions. She is the aunt of Lennox and Ryder and after a multi-million-dollar scandal from the parents, Mel winds up becoming the legal guardian of the pair. When Mel realizes she needs help with looking after two children, she enlists the help of Joe Longo.

In 2015, Mel learns that she is pregnant with twins while simultaneously announcing her candidacy for Congress.

Personality
Mel is a former wild-child turned city council woman. When her sister ends up in prison and her brother-in-law flees after a multi-million dollar scandal hits his company, Mel takes custody of her teenaged niece and nephew.

Unfortunately, Mel is completely unprepared for this new responsibility. Still struggling to abandon her past party-girl ways while trying to make a name for herself in local politics, Mel has even more trouble abandoning 'Cool Aunt Mel' in favor of her new parental obligations. In many ways, Mel herself straddles the line between adolescence and adulthood, her behavior and the nature of problems frequently mirroring those of her fifteen-year-old niece. Many episodes feature her reconciling her inner rebel teenager with her duty to set a good example.

She is impulsive, dramatic and very high-energy. She loves junk food almost as much as she loves a nice glass of red wine after dinner. She isn't overly concerned with her health and exercise, though it's clear that she takes pride in her physical appearance. She enjoys shopping (especially shoe shopping!) and dressing in stylish business attire and she puts a lot of effort into haircare. Despite this, Mel doesn't come across as overly vain or arrogant. Instead, she appears highly confident and spontaneous. She is a natural flirt and has a witty sense of humor.

She can, however, be overly critical, and picky, especially when it comes to men. She is quick to find flaws in others, Joe in particular, and gets irritated when people muscle in on her territory (though she herself is quick to get involved in other people's business). She isn't naturally an angry person and while she is otherwise confident in other areas, she sometimes struggles to assert herself when she is worried about hurting another person's feelings. She is known to sometimes skirt around the truth, or even sculpt it, and dislikes being put in the position of the 'bad guy.' These qualities often lay the basis for much of the drama that springs up around the house.

Joe Longo
Joe Longo is Mel's 'sexy ass nanny who states he’s a domestic manager ' (see: Nanny) and the two of them share a playful love-hate relationship. Mel frequently rubs on Joe's various lifestyle choices, including but not limited to his taste in women, his obsession with bodybuilding and, of course, his hair (or lack thereof). She seems to see him as being a bit of a self-congratulating egomaniac and delights in cutting him down to size with a snappy remark when the opportunity presents itself.

Still, despite all his faults, Mel does look to him (often grudgingly) for help and advice, particularly when it comes to her relationship-of-the-week. She also acknowledges his good influence on the kids and his ability to efficiently run the household, though she has never admitted this to him in person. As the series goes on, we see Mel become more protective of Joe, putting their friendship first over any other conflicting interests and going to great lengths to spare his feelings when they're about to be hurt by a third party. She sometimes even gets a little jealous of his girlfriends.

It's clear that Mel is attracted to Joe and vice versa, but for whatever reason the two of them remain firmly in denial. In the season one finale, both of them seemed to be contemplating the prospect of taking their relationship to a new level once Joe moves out of the house, but after a hasty kiss and an abrupt change in Joe's living and money arrangements, both of them acknowledge that 'it would be kind of weird.' In season two, its back to the status quo though the viewer will notice that they've grown more affectionate with one another.

In the second half of the third season, Mel and Joe start to date. Mel and Joe become engaged in Right Time, Right Place. After a failed wedding in Your the One That I Want when Mel learns that Joe has a daughter he never knew existed and tells him right before they say their vows. They finally tie the knot in the season 3 finale At Last while Mel is on pain killers in the hospital (she fell off the roof).

After months of trying to have a baby, Mel finally gets pregnant in 2015; it is subsequently revealed that she is pregnant with twins.

Lennox Scanlon
Lennox is Mel's feisty and rebellious teenaged niece. The two of them were close before the scandal forced Lennox into Mel's custody, with Mel taking Lennox out to the latest concerts and bailing her out of trouble at school. Now, however, Mel struggles between being the 'cool Aunt' and setting a good example. They frequently butt heads over what is age appropriate for a high school sophomore as opposed to an adult woman, Mel's wild child past often posing a hypocritical challenge.

Despite their differences, Lennox does not hesitate to approach her aunt with problems, especially those pertaining to boys and whatever social justice project she seems to be working on at the time.

Ryder Scanlon
Ryder is Mel's awkward seventeen year old nephew. Even though he is at least two heads taller than her, Mel is very protective of him. She sees him as a being a bit geeky and is not too worried about him getting into too much trouble at school (though she does show immense concern when she thinks he is being bullied). Ryder sometimes comes to her for advice, though for the most part, he seems to be closer with Joe and Lennox than with his aunt. He has a tendency to walk in or overhear awkward or inappropriate conversations between his aunt and Joe.

Dani Mancini
Dani is Mel's stepdaughter, she is the result of a one-night stand between Joe and Felicia Mancini at a New Year's party.

Trivia

 * Her full name is Melissa 'Mel' Alison Burke
 * Her sister Meredith is in prison so she is looking after Lennox and Ryder.
 * She used to get fake IDs from a guy named Wallie
 * She drank a lot at 15.
 * Her dad's chauffer, Charles, taught her how to drive.
 * She is the Councilwoman for Toledo's 7th district.
 * She is married to Joe Longo
 * Before her and Joe started dating she obviously cared about Joe but tried to not show it but miserably failed because of her nervousness.
 * When she was younger she used to be a witch (possibly Sabrina Spellman) and all her memory got erased but in Witch Came First she got her magic back and had to defeat The Dark Lord. She also had to choose between her magic and Joe but she chose Joe so all the memory she had of her magic and her battling the Dark Lord got erased.
 * When she accidently made Elena hate Joe and she was helping him win her back she revealed her true feelings for him subtly but Joe didn't realize.
 * In the first 2 seasons and half of season 3 she was constantly denying her love for Joe.
 * She is a really bad cook.
 * She got engaged once but during the ceremony she turned him down saying he wasn't the right guy for her.
 * She is the boss of Joe.
 * She broke her leg when she fell of the roof in At Last.
 * She is really bad at keeping secrets.
 * She likes to sleep with the windows opened and with the blankets piled up.
 * She has seen Joe shirtless before.
 * When someone makes fun of her niece or nephew, she stands up to them.
 * She used to have a punch line called "You just got Burked!" but she gave that up as she realized she was sending the wrong message to people.
 * Her favorite hairdresser is called Calista.
 * She is the stepmom of Dani.
 * She is very easy to trick.
 * She keeps some chocolate hidden in her purse.
 * Every Christmas she dresses up as Santa.
 * Before her and Joe started going out, you could tell Mel liked him because she had a dream that they were dancing together, unless it was just a medical thing and it wasn't her fault for dreaming.
 * She can make Joe tell the truth when she knows he is lying.
 * She was upset in Let's Get it Started when she wanted a baby but found out that no married couple who had a baby ever have sex again so she wrote a contract saying her and Joe would be the first to accomplish on still having sex after they have a baby which meant she obviously have strong feelings about Joe.
 * She obviously enjoys fighting with Joe as it is "their thing".
 * Very disorganized.
 * Her dad was never at her birthday.
 * When her dad wanted to make it up to her for never being at her birthday he gave her a car but she rejected it.
 * In 2015 she learned that she was pregnant with twins that they called Zackery Joseph 'Zack' Longo and Mackenzie Alison 'Mack' Longo.

Quotes

 * "Boyfriends come and go but friendships last for months." - 2.04
 * Oh no, not another intervention. I’ve already gotten rid of so many of my vices. I mean, I don’t have anything left except purses and chocolates. Please don’t take away my purses (grabs Joe’s arms and pleads). It’s where I keep my chocolate. 1.12
 * "Who asked Joe to intervene? He thinks he has to rescue me? He thinks I can’t take care of myself? I mean, sure, I start the occasional kitchen fire and he has to put it out. And invite a conniving reporter into our house, even though he warned me not to. And I depend on him in a lot of ways. But he should let me take care of (looks at him on the TV screen) …myself… " - 1.07
 * "Well, there is one couple who has managed to defy the odds, you know? One couple who, you know, fought endlessly for three years but still managed to fall in love. The couple we've been looking for to inspire us? It's us!" - 4.05