A deleted scene from The Boys season 1 suggests that Homelander wasn't always so evil — or at least, Queen Maeve didn't think so. The Boys is Amazon Prime Video's ultra-violent satire of the superhero genre, based on the comic book series of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. In this world, "Supes" are corrupted by their power — both in terms of actual abilities as well as social and monetary power — making them incredibly dangerous threats. Chief among these is Homelander, who is heavily implied to have been made into a monster intentionally by the corporation that created him, Vought International.
The most powerful character in The Boys is Homelander, the controversial leader of the Seven whose celebrity status is threatened in season 2 when a video of his violent nature surfaces in the U.S. Homelander is one of the most popular characters from the satire series; although he is despicable, there is something undeniably sympathetic about the Supe. Homelander is evil, but he is also deeply lonely — and the show hints that had he been given a more nurturing upbringing, he would have been a better person.
Audiences have a general idea of what Homelander's origins were; The Boys revealed Vought raised him in a lab from infancy in the season 1 episode "The Self-Preservation Society." In season 2, Dr. Jonah Vogelbaum even tells Butcher that as a child, Homelander was a "sweet" boy. Vogelbaum expresses regret for his role in "creating" the Homelander who, as an adult, is a secret menace, protected by Vought's expert public relations team. What remains unclear is when Homelander truly became evil. While Vogelbaum's statements suggest he and his peers corrupted Homelander as a child (before he became Homelander proper, and still went by his real name: John), a deleted scene from season 1 [via YouTube] further suggests that this transformation actually occurred in adulthood — well into this career with The Seven.
In the deleted scene, Homelander confronts Queen Maeve about their breakup. He approaches Maeve in the washroom, initially reminiscing about old times before accusing her of pulling away from him approximately "two years ago." While Maeve appears cool and collected as she denies the allegation, Homelander notes that her heart rate is up — implying she is lying. The subtext of the interaction is that Maeve is afraid of Homelander, and despite her insistence that they broke up because he was unfaithful, her behavior suggests she left him because of this fear. Given the timeframe he suggested — two years prior — and his assertion that she hadn't behaved like that before, it's likely an event triggered the change.
The deleted scene — while not included in the official release — does provide a glimpse into Homelander's superhero career before the events of The Boys. Queen Maeve dated Homelander for a reason; while it's possible that Homelander had hidden his true nature from her for the majority of their relationship, it's equally as likely that Homelander changed over time. Vogelbaum indicated that he had been a loving and gentle boy; likely, Homelander's transformation into the sociopath he is in The Boys was gradual and was no doubt exacerbated by his fame.