When Merle Dixon returned to the prison with his brother, it set Beth's world spinning upside down. She cared for him when he was wounded, and eventually developed feelings for the rough redneck. He had mutual feelings, and though the two tried to deny it for a while the inevitable happened and they wound up together. They kept it a secret for a long while, up until Merle vanished after his fight with the Governor. Since then Beth has began closing herself off from feelings. If he could leave her, who else would?
But now Merle is back and Beth isn't too sure if she's happy, or mad.