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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