Carlos Solis


Carlos Solis is a fictional character on the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira, and is, for most of the series, the husband of Gabrielle Solis, one of the protagonists of the show.

Early life

Carlos was born in Guadalajara, Mexico to Juanita and Diego Solis. His father beat both Carlos and his mother so she told him that his father left them for a waitress in El Paso, but in "Come In, Stranger", Juanita told Gaby that when Diego beat Carlos when Carlos was 4, "she made sure that Diego Solis never hurt her son or her ever again." It is implied that Juanita murdered Diego to protect Carlos and herself from his domestic violence.
Carlos entered college on a golf scholarship. He soon started a successful career in finances. While at a fashion show, he met his future wife to whom he proposed on their third date.

Overview

Season 1

Carlos wants a family so much that he replaced Gaby's birth control pills with sugar pills as she was against the idea. Due to financial difficulties, Carlos took a plea bargain and served 8 months in jail; separately, he was tried for hate crimes against two gay men who he thought were sleeping with Gabrielle. She was actually sleeping with John Rowland, their teenage gardener. John told Carlos that he beat up the wrong guy, causing Carlos to attack him and be convicted of the hate crimes. Gabrielle originally refused to get him off doing extra time after finding out he messed with her birth control, but made him promise he would take care of the baby in exchange for her testimony.

Season 2

After the loss of the baby, Carlos got early parole from a program for Catholic inmates. Through the program, Carlos met a nun, Sister Mary Bernard, who inspired him to live a more religious life. Following her miscarriage, she told Carlos that she did want children but she wanted Carlos to want her for her, not just because she was capable of having children.
Sister Mary invited Carlos to accompany her to Botswana, and he agreed initially. When he went to the doctor in preparation for the trip, he left Gabrielle to fill out a form for him. She neglected to mention his allergy to eggs, resulting in Carlos suffering an allergic reaction to a vaccine so he stayed in Fairview. While delirious, he talked about Sister Mary in a very unreligious way, which Gabrielle reported to Father Crowley. He had Sister Mary transferred but not before she and Gabrielle had a fight.
In the season finale, Gabrielle thought Carlos was dead but discovered that he paid the gardener, Ralph, to do his community service and Ralph was hit by a car. She also discovered Carlos was having an affair with the maid/surrogate, Xiao-Mei.

Season 3

In the third season opener, Gabrielle and Carlos decided to divorce but it was complicated, due to the baby that their surrogate, Xiao-Mei, was expecting. However, she went into labour on Bree & Orson's wedding day and gave birth to a black baby. The doctor admitted that the embryos were accidentally switched and their embryo didn't take, simplifying the divorce. However, it got nasty and took a hostage situation at a supermarket to make them realize what they had turned into. Carlos' attempt to stop scheming had limited success. He moved in with Mike Delfino, taking advantage of Mike's amnesia by claiming that they were best friends. He also began dating again although he and Gaby still had feelings for each other.
He bonded with little Travers McLain after finding Travers wandering outside late at night. Spending time with him and his mother, Edie Britt, reignited his desire for children. Carlos and Edie began dating but kept it secret. However, when Carlos tells her that he doesn't want Gaby to know, Edie thinks he's still in love with her and tells Gabrielle, prompting Gaby to say that she was unhappy with Edie and Carlos dating but Edie ignored her. Carlos removed Gaby from Travers' party when he saw her making a scene and she said she was in love with Victor but he said that he and Edie would never be serious. Gaby realized he was still in love with her.
Edie's ex-husband, Charles, came to collect Travers and Edie spoke to a lawyer about shared custody, suspecting Carlos was losing interest. Charles and Edie argued and Edie threatened to go for full custody. Carlos persuaded her not to, convincing her to think of Travers' best interests, which was to stay with Charles. For the sake of Travers he agreed to commit with Edie, not to let her feel lonely and in need of a family; this made her call off the custody. Edie was upset by Carlos laughing at the idea of getting married so she asked him to move in but he refused, having signed a lease with Lillian Simms. Determined to make Carlos move in with her, she visited Lillian and lied about Carlos so Lillian canceled the lease and Edie offered him a place to stay. Carlos guessed she was responsible and she asked why he wouldn't commit. He said that he didn't love her and she said that she could be pregnant. She wasn't and Carlos was disappointed. Seeing this, Edie suggested they try for a baby and he agreed. Edie, however, was still taking birth control pills which Carlos found and dumped her, leading her to attempt suicide in the season finale.

Season 4

In the fourth season, Carlos went home to find Edie hanging. He thought she was suicidal about their relationship but it emerged that she faked her suicide attempt. She nearly died as Karen McCluskey complained to Carlos about the garbage cans but saw something in Edie's bedroom window. They went to investigate and found Edie. They rushed her to hospital rang Gabrielle, telling her that they couldn't leave. Edie used her suicide and knowledge of Carlos' finances to make him stay but Carlos was resistant. She took it further by proposing marriage and telling him if he refused, she would tell the IRS about his illegal bank account so Carlos agrees but quietly moves the money.
Edie hired a detective to spy on Carlos and discovered he and Gabrielle were having an affair. The detective took pictures of Carlos and Gabrielle kissing. She also told the IRS about the offshore bank account but they told her that the account doesn't exist. She gave the pictures to Victor and dumped Carlos. Carlos goes to see Gabrielle and she tells him that Victor tried to kill her while out at sea so she knocked him overboard. They go back to get him and when they do, Victor and Carlos fight. Victor went to stab Carlos and Gabrielle knocked Victor overboard again. When they look for him, they can't see so Gabrielle decide to frame it as suicide and let the boat go out to sea.
Carlos wants to go the police, but Gaby stops him. However, Victor is found alive. He claims to have amnesia and has forgotten what had happened on the boat, but when alone with Gaby, he threatens her, declaring that he remembers everything. Gaby and Carlos plan to leave town, but Victor attempts to kill Carlos. He runs out into the storm and Victor follows, but Victor is killed when impaled by a flying fence post. Carlos is hit on the head, rendering him unconscious and blind. Carlos lies to Gaby that his sight will return, but Gaby learns the truth when Edie congratulates her for accepting the lifelong task of caring for a disabled husband. Gabie is upset that Carlos lied but he explains that he was worried that she would not marry him, had she known the truth. Gaby tells Carlos that she is with him "for better or worse."

Five-year jump

Carlos and Gaby have two daughters, Juanita and Celia Solis. Carlos is still blind and they have been downgraded to lower class.

Season 5

Five years after Season 4, Carlos' life has changed dramatically. Despite medical doubts, Gaby unexpectedly got pregnant twice. While Carlos viewed Gaby's pregnancies as "miracles", she was less enthusiastic and worried about money. Carlos became a massage therapist to keep them afloat.
Early in the season, Carlos learned that his sight can be restored. He happily anticipated seeing his wife for the first time in years and his daughters for the first time. Gaby, however, was worried that he wouldn't recognize her and find her unattractive. When his sight is restored, Carlos finds his daughters and wife beautiful and notices that Gabrielle sold nearly all her valuable belongings to support their family. He eventually took a high-paying business job so he could give Gabrielle and his daughters a better life.
In episode 17, Carlos became president of the company he was working at, due to the death of Bradley Scott. Later in this episode, he hired Lynette Scavo.
In the season finale, Aunt Connie claims she is dying and needs someone to care for her granddaughter, Ana. Carlos agrees, to pay back the aunt who did so much for him, despite Gaby's protests. Ana seems nice but is a schemer who can get guys to do what she wants by flirting.

Season 6

Two months have passed and Carlos and Gaby continue to look after his niece, Ana. While Gaby complains about Ana's bad behaviour, Carlos is more sympathetic and urges his wife to sign the papers that would make them Ana's legal guardians. Eventually, Gaby agrees. Lynette tells him she is pregnant and he makes her choose - her job or her family. When Lynette threatens to sue, Carlos responds by giving her an impossible amount of work to do in one night and when she couldn't complete it, fires her for incompetence. However, he rehires her after she saves Celia from an out of control airplane and she agrees not to sue.
However, one evening, Carlos finds Danny and Ana fooling around and attacks Danny. Angie overhears Carlos threatening her son and comes running, throwing a vase against the wall and proves that she is just as strong-willed as Carlos, who releases Danny. When he and Gaby try making amends, they overhear her and Nick arguing about her shaded past.

Season 7

Carlos finds out that Juanita is not their real daughter, but hides it from Gaby, afraid that it will hurt her. When Gaby eventually finds out, they go out to look for her real daughter, Grace. Over first meeting her, they see Grace throwing a tantrum over an expensive jacket, and know that Grace is Gaby's real daughter. They also find out that her parents are illegal immigrants, though Grace is a citizen. Her father gets arrested after not showing the police a license, leaving Grace's non-biological mother to go in hiding. Even though Gaby and Carlos try multiple times to take in Grace at her house, Grace's non-biological mother insists she stay with her. He supports Gaby when she goes into therapy after she begins to lose it, and later goes to Gaby's hometown with her to confront her former stepfather who is now dead, but instead Gaby sees a teacher who she confided in and didn't believe her, causing to Gaby to tell the woman she should feel ashamed and not her. They leave the town and Gaby puts the past behind her.
When Andrew seeks rehab for drinking, he decides to come clean to Carlos over running over his mother. Bree and Gaby both try to stop him and when Carlos invites Andrew to a camping trip, they suspect the worst. They chase Carlos to the woods and when they see him with a bloody towel and dirty shovel, Bree blurts out what Andrew did just before her son returns. Carlos is outraged, not only with Andrew but with Bree and Gaby for hiding the truth. He tries to force Andrew to drink in his mother's memory and walks out of the cabin. Andrew, Bree and Gaby find him at his mother's grave as Andrew talks to him about what happened and Carlos decides to forgive him. When Bree comes to thank him, however, Carlos coldly says that he can't forgive her knowing the truth all these years and hiding it from him and tells Bree their friendship is over. This changes, however, after Carlos kills Gaby's stepfather, who returned to Wisteria Lane and was tormenting her. The two appear to have reconciled after Bree agreed to not say a word to anybody.

Season 8

The first episodes of the season depict Carlos trying to overcome the guilt for killing Alejandro. Because of this, he starts drinking. After a number of incidents, Carlos decides to go to rehab. While in rehab, he discovers that what counselors do has much more impact on people's lives and is more helpful than his own position as a business executive. For this reason, Carlos decides to become a counselor himself after coming out from rehab, resigning to his post as director. At first, he faces opposition from Gaby, but she eventually supports him and finds a job herself as personal shopper. Gaby's job turns out to be better paid than Carlos', and he starts to feel uncomfortable with the idea of Gaby playing the family provider role.
When it turns out that Bree may face 20 years to life sentence, both Carlos and Gaby are about to confess that they committed Alejandro's murder; in the end, Mrs. McCluskey herself confesses she committed the murder, after overhearing a conversation between Carlos and Gaby, and is left without charges due to her advanced age and health condition.
It is revealed at the end of the finale that Carlos helped Gaby to start an online shopper company, which eventually leads to her becoming a host in her own talk show. Carlos and his family leave Wisteria Lane 1 year after the events of the series finale, and move to a mansion in Los Angeles where they argued happily ever after.