Tired of living with her mother and stepfather and wanting a father figure for Phillip, Carol decides to propose marriage to a man she doesn't love. Meanwhile, married life doesn't seem to be all what it's cracked up to be for Maude and Walter who's argument leads to destruction in the kitchen.

While waiting for the electoral results for Election 1972, Maude and Walter recall Election 1968. Carol had just gotten a divorce and moved in with Maude. Meanwhile, Walter and Maude's relationship had reached a pivotal moment; should they marry or live together.

Maude and Walter are scheduled to play cards one evening with some friends but Maude is anything but in a card playing mood. Especially since, she just came back from a doctor's appointment with some shocking news. At 47 years old, Maude has become pregnant. Now the hard part, breaking the news to Walter.

After Carol suggests an abortion, Maude begins heavy debating over the pros and cons of having a baby at her age. Walter's ""what-ever-you-want"" attitude has Maude having a problem deciding wheather or not to keep the baby. Ultimately, Maude takes into consideration everyone's opinion and makes a final decision, she decides not to have the baby.

Maude pulls out all her high school memorabilia as she awaits the arrival of an old school friend, Phyllis Nash, who was nicknamed both ""Bunny"" because of an overbite and ""Mousie"" because of her looks. However, Maude is stunned and becomes envious when she discovers Phyllis is now a beauty with a career to match.

As a 19-year-old faces a lengthy prison sentence for marijuana possession, Maude and a group of middle-aged housewives plan a protest at a police station. The plan is to get arrested for possession and Maude is supposed to provide the pot. However, trying to get her hands on some, proves to be problematic.

Maude is stunned to discover a black man picketing in front of her home. It isn't until later that she discovers that Walter and her have unwittingly become the owners of a rundown apartment building and they are now being labeled ""slumlords"".

Walter and Maude go to Massachusetts for an appliance seller's convention. When their reservations at a upscale hotel are botched, they must share a shabby motel. This is when a squabble ensues when Maude tries to confide in Walter the angst she has over not having any meaning in her life and the troubles she's been having trying to find a job because she's a woman.

Maude plans a surprise 50th birthday bash for Walter that does not go as well as she planned since Walter is too depressed to have any fun. However, Maude hopes an old friend will be the cure for Walter's gloominess, but she is dead wrong when he drops dead before Walter's eyes.

Walter and Maude are planning on taking a second honeymoon to Italy, however, the day their plane leaves, Maude gets a tetnus shot which results in a rash. She immediatley hotfoots it down to the doctors office where she encounters a busy preoccupied doctor who perscribes her medication but doesn't advise her on how to take it, resulting in an overdose, cancellation of the honeymoon and a possible malpractice suit.

After a fire breaks out in his home, Arthur moves in with the Findlays and immediately works over Maude's nerves. Not only does Arthur keep Walter up all night playing card games, but he gives Florida work to do and insists Maude prepare his food in a certain way. Pretty soon, Maude insists that Walter throw him out.

Florida is backed into a corner by her chauvinistic husband, Henry, who has picked up a second job and orders her to quit her housekeeping job at the Findlays home. Soon it begins to cause problems for Maude and Walter as Walter takes Henry's side and Maude takes Florida's.

Carol walks into a cocktail lounge and catches a glimpse of Walter having drinks in a cozy corner with a woman who once worked for him. When Maude finds out, she immediately jumps to the conclusion that Walter is having an affair and promptly packs up his things and orders him out of the house.

An old friend of Maude's comes for a visit with news of a feud between herself and her daughter. This leads Maude to go all out and try to reconcile the two but a generation gap and financial matters are working against her attempts. Meanwhile, at the same time, Maude tries to matchmake her friend up with Arthur.

Maude is convinced that her best friend, Vivian has the ""perfect marriage"" so she is completely stunned when Vivian announces plans for a divorce. This leads Maude to analyze her supposed ""perfect marriage"".

Maude and Walter prepare for a dinner party at Cliff and Joanna Naylor's home. However, while they are getting ready, they discuss and bicker about Cliff's apparent crush on Maude and how she is flattered by him, that is until Walter breaks the news that Cliff is having an affair with someone else at the country club.

After a wild evening of drinking, Maude, Walter and Arthur awake to discover some oddities. First, Maude and Arthur shared a bed, second the guys trashed the living room and third, Walter made an obscene phone call to Maude's mother. Carol suggests that perhaps Walter has a drinking problem but he refuses to face that fact. Maude and Walter later get into a big argument while they are both drunk and Walter slaps her.

After giving Maude a black eye, Walter continues to drink. Later, Arthur sends over a recovering alcoholic to talk some sense into Walter who adamantly refuses help. When Walter discovers Maude got rid of all the alcohol, he goes ballistic and she locks him in the closet. That's when Carol makes an announcement, she's taking Phillip and is moving out

Walter declares the day ""National I Love You Day"" and gives gifts to one and all and plans to spend a romantic day with Maude. However, when a weepy, newly-divorced Vivian comes over for consolation from Maude, Walter's romantic plans get pushed aside and he takes refuge at the gym with Arthur.

At age 47 and recently divorced, Vivian begins her single career (a.k.a. husband search) by getting a face-lift; her new face receives plenty of cheers from Carol and Walter, but only jeers from Maude. This leads Vivian to state the obvious, Maude is jealous and would like a face-lift herself. Maude finally decides to have one and intends to keep it a secret from Walter until she has it done.

Carol does her best to try to keep Walter in the house as anticipation mounts for Maude's return from a 3-week stay in Boston. For which, following Vivian's lead, Maude too got a face-lift. There is only one problem: Walter doesn't notice the difference! As usual, all hell breaks loose and Walter and Maude have yet another argument.

The lazy furnace repairman, Whitnauer, has been showing an interest in Florida and she doesn't quite know what to do about his advances. This situation ultimately causes marital problems between Florida and her husband, Henry, when he catches her dancing with the man. Meanwhile, Maude and Walter are finding it hard to get Whitnauer to hurry it up on the furnace.

Maude is sky high now that she has a part-time job as a real estate agent. However, things on the home-front are not so happy as Walter, a self proclaimed old fashioned man, is not used to coming home and not having Maude to cook for him and tell his problems too. Thus, he orders her to quit her job.

Carol and her boyfriend, Chris return from a camping trip and Maude voices her old fashioned morals to Carol when he stays over and the question becomes where should he sleep, in Carol's room or in the guest room. Later, Carol and Chris make an exciting announcement, they're engaged.

Maude's constant matchmaking for Vivian has her fed up, especially since all the men have one thing on their mind. This leads Vivian to give up on men and settle for a 70-year old retired general. However, when Maude learns this, she becomes determined to show Vivian that she can do better and fixes her up with Arthur.