Mellie Grant

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“	If you knew the sacrifices that I have made, the things that I have given up, and the pieces of myself that I have given away for you, and you treat me this way. You declare war on me, and you shame me, and you make me beg for scraps when I have done nothing but fight for you.	”
— Mellie confronting Fitz, in Everything's Coming Up Mellie

President Melody "Mellie" Margaret Grant is the 45th and current President of the United States. She was also a junior United States Senator from Virginia and Former First Lady of the United States. Her relationship with her former husband, President Fitzgerald Grant, is constantly tested due to his infidelity and her betrayal of his trust on various different occasions. After her opponents, Vice President Susan Ross and Businessman Hollis Doyle drop out of the presidential race, Mellie becomes the Presumptive nominee of the Republican primary, she is then nominated at the Republican Convention with her Vice Presidential candidate Jake Ballard.

About

The character of Mellie Grant was credited as a Guest Star in the first season and became a series regular beginning the second season.

History

Personality

Mellie is highly educated and eloquent. She often lets her emotional stresses affect her motives, however she has the ability to see the "bigger picture" and overcome her own problems for the purpose of the President and his administration. Mellie later announces her candidacy for the us senate seat vacated by Susan Ross after she became vice president.

Relationships

Fitz Grant - (Melitz)

Fitz and Mellie were introduced to each other by Fitz's father, Jerry Grant. Jerry initiated a political marriage between Fitz and Mellie because he appreciated Mellie's "old money blood". Mellie confesses that she and Fitz were never in love, but were always partners. ("Molly, You in Danger, Girl / The Other Woman")

During the election, Fitz and Mellie are having trouble coming off as relatable to their constituents because their marriage is struggling. With Olivia Pope's intervention, they start to be more like a warm, loving couple, like the couple one would want to invite into your house. This gathers Fitz more votes. Mellie is shown to be very loyal to her husband's campaign at this time, going through great lengths to ensure that he is elected. She fakes a miscarriage on national television to garner sympathy from female voters. ("The Trail")

During Fitz's Presidency, Mellie becomes increasingly impatient with Fitz for various different reasons. She is annoyed at his lack of decisive leadership and attempts to make a few major decisions of her own. She is extremely annoyed when she finds out about Fitz's affair and possible pregnancy with Amanda Tanner. Yet she still remains loyal to Fitz and devises a plan to protect his presidency and consequently, her First Lady status. ("Grant: For the People")

After the affair with Amanda Tanner, Mellie is no longer accepting of Fitz and Olivia's relationship. She grows angry every time she finds out that Fitz has seen Olivia. Eventually she becomes so angry that she demands that Fitz sleep in another bedroom because she doesn't want to sleep with a man whose dream of Olivia Pope causes him to have an erection every night. ("Hunting Season "/ "Beltway Unbuckled")

Mellie first admits that she knows about Olivia and Fitz's affair after Fitz takes Olivia to view the The Constitution of the United States. The trip is traditionally taken with the future president and his first lady, so Mellie deduces that Olivia's presence with Fitz there meant that Olivia was romantically involved with him. ("Happy Birthday, Mr. President")

Mellie notices that Fitz has been hostile to those around him including his children after he discovers Olivia is not the woman he thought she was. So Mellie attempts to get back on his "good side". She then gives an explosive speech to Fitz after Fitz ranted about her lack of mothering skills. She tells Fitz the truth, that their children did not want to come home because Fitz had become an angry, bitter, man who was constantly drinking. ("Snake in the Garden")

For more on Mellie's relationship with Fitz visit their relationship page: Fitz and Mellie

Andrew Nichols - {Meldew)

For information about Andrew's relationship with Mellie visit their relationship page: Meldrew

Hal Rimbeau

After Olivia receives a concussion during her confrontation with Jake Ballard, Fitz visits Olivia in the hospital. Mellie finds out from Hal Rimbeau that Fitz had not left Olivia's side since he arrived at the hospital. When Fitz comes home, he finds Mellie packing away her things, she's decided to move across the street to Blair House. Mellie then tells Fitz that she is tired of dealing with Fitz's infidelity, and she is leaving him. She gives Fitz 36 hours to decide whether he wants to be with her and the family, or be with Olivia. If not, she threatens to expose the truth about Fitz's infidelity at a press conference and ruin his political career. ("Seven Fifty-Two" / "A Woman Scorned")

When Olivia's name was released as the President's mistress Mellie went to Hal to see if he knew anything about the person who leaked the name to Vanessa Chandler. For once he lied to Mellie, this time he sided with his President. ("It's Handled")

Allies

Olivia Pope - (Mellivia)

Mellie and Olivia used to be friends and once had a trusting relationship. However, once she found out that Fitz was having an affair with Olivia, Mellie began to loathe Olivia. Her hate was not because of the affair itself, but because she realized that Fitz really loved Olivia. Mellie realized it wasn't just a fling (like the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal); so she hated her merely because her husband loved someone else. Mellie knew that deep down, whatever she did was never going to truly bring Fitz back to her, as he was in love with another woman. Mellie loves Fitz, so the fact that he no longer loves her the way he used to brings on hatred and anger. In the third season, Mellie finally begins to accept that her husband is never going to come back to her, though they both do have compassion for each other. The only thing left for them to be is allies. Mellie realizes that she owes it to Fitz for fixing the election, and the only way to right that wrong was to give him the chance to win on his own, and he would only be able to do that with Olivia. So she begs Olivia to come back, stating that Fitz can't breathe or sleep and essentially live without her, which made her realize that she too needed Olivia. Her compassion for Fitz allowed her to finally accept where her relationship with her husband stood. Mellie and Olivia will never have the relationship they had three years ago, but Mellie clearly states that they can be one thing: allies. They both owed it to Fitz. Mellie comes to realize that the only way of mending the wrongs in Defiance was to accept that he loved Olivia, and to bring her back because she was the only person that could get him reelected, as well as the only person he could be happy with.

Elizabeth North - (Melizzie)

After Huck tortures her, Elizabeth goes to Mellie Grant for help. Mellie seduces Andrew and is able to steal his mobile phones; including the burner phone that he is using to contact Ian Woods. Elizabeth then gives the phones to Olivia Pope & Associates; telling them to leave her family out of it. Mellie tells Elizabeth she needs to do something about Andrew "He needs to be shut down, shut up, rendered mute". Mellie reminds Lizzie that she slept with Andrew after Huck tortured her and threatened to her her daughter Jane. ("Where's the Black Lady?")

When Rowan asked Mellie for a list of names, Mellie told Elizabeth to get the list. Not knowing that the list contained names of jurors that would later be on the B613 cases. Later, it is revealed that Rowan had huck kill all of the jurors on their bus. Now knowing what the list was for, Mellie tells Elizabeth everything that happened between her and Rowan. Elizabeth helped Mellie become Virginia's new Senator, but Elizabeth told Fitz about Rowan threatening Mellie; not knowing who Rowan was. As retaliation, Fitz kicked Mellie out of the White House and had Elizabeth replace Cyrus as the new Chief of Staff; Fitz fired Cyrus. ("You Can't Take Command")

Trivia

It has been speculated amongst fans about whether or not her real first full name is "Melody" or "Millicent". In the episode, First Lady Sings the Blues, it was finally stated that her first name is "Melody".