Digest: How
is this wedding different?
Dena Higley:
It's unique because it's Jack and Jennifer, but what's unique in
the world of Jack and Jennifer is that is so serious.

They're
older and they're more mature — especially Jack — and
he takes this so soberly. During the ceremony, Jennifer talks about
the passage from the Bible that says, "Love keeps no records
of wrongs," and Jack says, "Oh, my gosh, I need a woman
who would not keep a record of my wrongs." He acknowledges
his past flaws, yet they've been able to move past it.
Melissa Reeves:
They're older, wiser and absolutely know they want to be
married forever. There are no blinders to reality of life. They've
been through so much together and have more wisdom.
Matthew Ashford: One of the biggest things
for them is that there's a little person in the picture: Abigail.
Weddings are generally about two people coming together, and the
way they've structured the wedding and the vows, Abigail is right
there. This is something she really wanted to happen, so she plays
a big part in the ceremony. Lucas also steps into a place of prominence
by being the best man he says, "You don't really know me, so
thanks for thinking of me." Jack says something about losing
his best man — his brother, Steve — and Jennifer almost
lost Lucas, so they thought it would be a good fit. It's a way of
remembering that they've had tragedies, but still celebrating today.
Digest: Was it always
in the cards for these two to wind up together?
Higley: I think it was
in the cards to marry them. I'm not so sure if anyone had long term
plans beyond them getting married. When I took over, I immediately
thought, "Okay, but then what? If this is a couple we want
to invest in, then we have to think past the wedding. What makes
them watchable? What would we want to see them do?" That's
when we came up with the idea for the talk show.
Digest: How does it
play into their big day?
Ashford: Well, [this
event is] being broadcast live on
IN THE HOUSE.
As Jack, I'm not sure about it, other than the fact the wedding
is basically paid for. It's a work expense, we get the free video
and it's a write-off, so that's a good thing. We have this guy and
this camera crew running around, talking, like [
whispering],
"Now they're going to get married," and this guy couldn't
be less romantic. It's all a big show.
Reeves:
They were just caught up in the talk show, but now they're
like, "Why did we let them talk us into that? Let's hope it
helps the ratings. It's for the good of the show." They keep
trying to justify it all the way through.
Digest: Are they in
a better place to make it work this time?
Ashford: Well, we could
say yes, they're older and wiser, but older and wiser than who —
or what? People still make mistakes right and left. It's not like
I see some imminent failure, but you can be a couple and be deeply
in love and still have tremendous things that you fight about.
Digest: Jack and Jennifer
have been at the top of
Digest's Internet
polls. How do you feel about the fan support after all these years?
Ashford: It's encouraging.
I feel like we have a lot of story to tell and a lot of things to
say. That response makes me think the audience feels the same way
and wants to see this couple face things and go through highs and
the lows of life together.
Reeves:
I love our fans. They really got together and the support
is incredible. It seems like all of them jump on at one time. We
are never on that [Internet] list. I thought, "That's okay
— we've been around awhile. People are probably tired of looking
at us." And they I was like, "We're on the list!"
We're so thrilled.
Digest:
Will their love last this time around?
Reeves:
Part of me wants them to live happily ever after, but if
they live happily ever after, they probably won't get a story! I
like that right now they're floating on this cloud of forever and
ever, and then, of course, I want something just awful to happen!
Higley: I can't imagine
anyone want to break them up. I certainly wouldn't. They've come
through too much. I think
DAYS understand
this is a franchise in and of itself. They're like Bo and Hope.
If you take a couple so far, break them up so many times and then
bring them together, it smells of manipulation. It takes a little
bit more ingenuity to keep them fresh and interesting together.
Ashford: Our last lines
are, "We're finally married. We're finally happy," and
we're blithely going off again. I'm curious to see what's going
to come next. We don't want the characters take for granted because
they're together now, and in terms of writing that's a challenge.
Any time characters get married, there's a honeymoon period, and
then, "Now what?"