April Ludgate felt her life was pointless until she met Leslie Knope. Leslie became a role model and mentor for her and helped April find her true purpose of life. She even thought of Leslie as a second mother, however this was not fully seen up until the night she felt darkness and her whole world dissolving in minutes.
April and her two children were in the car while her husband Andy was driving a car. The car smashed into her parents leaving them dead. Despite April seeming like a bitch, she was devastated and left Andy and her kids and went to Chicago and did not tell anyone where she was going. The town was devastated and so was her family. It was not until Leslie went looking for her that she was found. Without Leslie she would have died.