Darren and Libby's split hurt Ben as Darren had been the only father he had known. Libby enrols Ben at Erinsborough Primary and he becomes friends with neighbour Mickey Gannon (Fletcher O'Leary). Libby meets Daniel Fitzgerald (Brett Tucker) and they start a relationship. Ben begins to look up to Dan and sees him as a father figure. Libby and Dan marry and Ben is a page boy at their wedding. Libby also finds out she is pregnant and Ben is excited to have a younger brother or sister around. However, Libby loses the baby, which makes Ben sad. Ben starts to feel out of place in his family as he was the only one with a different surname. Libby allows Ben to change his name to Fitzgerald, but this causes friction between Libby and Stephanie Scully. Ben tells Steph that he will leave his name the way it is, but Steph realises that it is none of her business and Ben changes his name.
