Lynette Scavo is a fictional character from the American comedy drama television series Desperate Housewives, which aired on ABC from 2004 to 2012.
[19] In 1998 the Scavos met Mary Alice Young, Bree Van de Kamp, and Susan Mayer, followed by Gabrielle Solis in 2003.
Lynette struggles to cope with her four children until Preston and Porter are prescribed medication for ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder).
When Tom finds out what Lynette had done, he forgives her, and decides to become a stay-at-home dad, and so she has to go back to work and take over as the breadwinner for the family.
Ed Ferrara, the boss, is the seemingly cool guy but his faults lead to Tom getting fired after working with her at the agency for a while.
She and her mother, Nora Huntington, use the back child support from Tom to move to Fairview so Kayla can get to know her father, stepmother, and half-siblings.
Following a nasty fall out of bed, Lynette undergoes a CAT scan which reveals swollen lymph nodes.
While undergoing chemotherapy, Lynette wears wigs to conceal her illness and avoid the pity of friends and neighbors.
When Lynette learns that Glenn left Stella because he is gay, she tells her mother that she appreciates the time they've spent together.
A short time later, a tornado threatens Fairview and Lynette persuades her elderly neighbor, Karen McCluskey, to let the Scavos shelter in her cellar.
He is sad to send her away, but in time the family (and Tom and Lynette's marriage) recovers from the strain placed upon it by Kayla.
Tom is having a mid-life crisis - he often sides with his disobedient sons, and he starts a band with the other neighborhood husbands, all to the irritation of his wife.
Unfortunately, legal bills and the payoff to Anne have left the Scavos broke and Tom is forced to sell the pizzeria.
In the finale, Lynette starts feeling ill and fears her cancer is active, although she is pregnant with another set of twins.
He then gives her a huge amount of work to do in one night, but when Lynette attends her daughter's Christmas pageant instead, Carlos subsequently fires her.
Lynette pulls Renee aside and tells her that it is inappropriate to be so close to Tom and demands that their current friendship be toned down.
Renee later apologizes to Lynette and is forgiven, and reveals that she has just bought Edie Britt’s former home on Wisteria Lane.
She overhears a new client of Lynette and Renee's, and suggests that she ask her daughter for her favorite characters to paint on her wall.
Susan eventually reveals that she feels the nanny job is beneath her, and is shamed to be the poor person in her group of friends.
When they return home Tom leads Lynette to believe that he will be spending a while in an apartment near to his work offices.
The two talk for a while and Lynette confesses that when she thought Tom had left, she felt relieved, leading the pair to finally decide to separate.
The four ladies agree to cover up the murder to protect Carlos, stuffing the body in a wooden box used as a table at the evening's dinner party.
However, after Renee comments that Tom has been taking care of himself lately (dressing smartly and working out) and suspects he has been dating someone, Lynette becomes worried.
She goes to a gym class with Renee to spy on the trainer she believes Tom is seeing, but realizes he is actually dating the woman's mother, Jane, leaving Lynette devastated.
Terrified of what would happen to her children if she is caught by Chuck, Lynette confesses her secret to Tom just as he is about to leave for Paris with Jane.
Just as Lynette is getting used to single life, Porter and Preston move back home, needing a place to stay after losing their apartment.
This memory finally causes Lynette to make the decision to fight for her marriage, win Tom back, and dissolve his romance with Jane.
It's revealed in the final moments that the two move to New York, Lynette becoming a successful businesswoman and eventually watching over six grandchildren.
"[25] Along with costars Marcia Cross and Teri Hatcher, Huffman was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Comedy Series in 2005.
Mayes cites Lynette's storylines with her children as proof that Cherry "recognizes that every mother has been driven to the edge by her kids at one point.