I'll be honest. When I was designing Irene initially, I assumed she would have far narrower appeal than what she appears to have. From my polling, she is the third most popular character after Meredith and Brooke. I was initially going down the "hot to the player, but repellant to MC" road--essentially a female Pepe LePew (cartoon sfx as she runs off screen). The player would have the choice if they wanted to pursue her romantically, which is why the two "wine tracks" are in there.
Below is some more detail on how Irene evolved for those curious, which I've spoilered in case they come off as self-serving or masturbatory: