Originally, the character of Mary was a divorcée, but there was concern that the audience would think she was divorced from Dick Van Dyke. In the early 1970s, divorce wasn’t taken lightly, by either the couple or the audience. The theme song, “Love Is All Around,” which played during the opening credits, ended with Mary tossing her hat in the air—a metaphor for emancipation, self-actualization, and the optimism of a bright future.
