MR:
Hi, I'm Melissa Reeves of DOOL. Now you know there have always been
very complicated relationships on soaps, but J&J - they seem to
take the word complicated and bring it to a whole new level.
SCENE:
Jennifer crying in kitchen before they kissed.
DR: (Soap Center consulted Dr.
Gilda Carle, author, psychologist and monthly contributor to SOD)
What is at the heart of J&J's problems?
SCENE: Jennifer crying to Jack
in kitchen, saying "This is about a relationship, Jack, that went
terribly wrong)
MR: It seems our whole relationship
has been obstacles that we have had to overcome.
MA: The problems in their relationship are mostly of
his making.
DR: Basically there are four
traits that ultimately make for disaster in any relationship and
guess what? J&J have them all.
VO: From the beginning, J&J's
relationship was unstable.
DR:
Beware of the adage, opposites attract.
MR: We started out as such adversaries
and so completely opposite.
VO: Despite their differences,
the couple tied the knot in 1991.
SCENE: from Jack's bedroom and the telephone.
DR: These two people were headed
for disaster because they never came together with the same kinds
of values.
SCENE: J&J saying their wedding vows: Jennifer:
"We made it Jack, in spite of everything."
VO: Or so they thought.
MA: Jack was experiencing a fear of commitment on every
single level and still is.
SCENE: Jack telling Jennifer he loves her in
the cave.
DR: Commitment-phobes is certainly
another indication that a marriage is not going to last. Most commitment-phobes,
like Jack, always have a justification for their behavior.
SCENE: At mall by park bench where
Jenn says "No I dumped you", and Jack saying "Because you felt rejected".
SCENE:
From Abby's birth.
MA: (Talking over scene) The
reality is suddenly your becoming a "We" and there is going to be
another one on the way, and I think all that stuff is freaking him
out inside.
MR: You know the whole thought
of 'I'm going to have to provide for them' just made him more neurotic
and this is always their problem.
SCENE: Jack's last day talking to
Abby, kissing a sleeping Jennifer.
VO: When daughter Abby
was diagnosed with aplastic anemia caused by toxic waste in the
community, Jack accepted responsibility. As a young politician he
allowed the dumping of dangerous chemicals. His guilt leads to the
third relationship disaster for the couple.
DR: Emotional distancing is
another one of those four factors that certainly signal relationship
disaster.
MA: He just decided he wasn't
worthy of living and Jennifer should and could and would do better
without him and so he ran away.
SCENE: Jack leaving house for last time.
MR: This is when
Jennifer really needed him the most and he again couldn't be there.
SCENE: By fire in Africa.
VO:
Jack's absence left Jennifer desperate, vulnerable and divorced.
DR: In order for a relationship
to last two people have to be physically together.
SCENE: In mall by bench: Jennifer says "You
had all these schemes that you chased all over Northern Africa leaving
me and your daughter high and dry.
VO:
Single, Jenn hoped to fill the void that Jack never could.
SCENE: Africa scene with Colin.
DR: Loving out of lonliness...when
Jack took off and here was this physician who seemed to pay some
attention to her and she just got overwhelmed by the possibility
of a fantasy love affair.
SCENE:
Jack with Abigail after he kissed Jennifer.
VO: J&J, still divorced, decided
to live together for the sake of their daughter, but what about
the shape of their relationship?
MR: J&J's whole relationship
has just come to a boiling point and they don't know what to do.
DR: So here are the options:
J&J can either split up entirely so that they don't have to demonstrate
this kind of constant tug of war in front of their daughter
SCENE: Abby coming into B&H's kitchen
and saying "You're doing it again."
DR: they can
get some professional help. J&J..., I'm available.
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