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Jack Holden was first seen in episode 4020 when he responded to a neighbour's complaint that the noise at Tasha and Robbie's party was too loud. Sparks flew instantly as Martha argued with him that he was giving them a lecture and called him a jerk. The following day Martha's car was pulled over for speeding by the same police officer as the night before who this time introduced himself as Jack Holden. He was seen for the third time at the end of the episode, when much to Martha's disgust he moved, with his father Tony and brother Lucas into the house next door to the Hunters.
It soon became clear that the Holdens were hiding a secret and Martha in particular became hell bent upon finding out what. When Harry Chambers came to town with the news that Jack was responsible for the death of his daughter, the locals, led by Martha reacted with fury. A town meeting allowed both sides of the story to be heard as it was revealed Jack shot the girl in self-defence as she carried out an armed robbery, the Summer Bay community accepted Jack's innocence.
Though Martha apologised she still refused to be friends with him, retaining her resentful attitude. Jack however liked her and pursued her with some serious flirting eventually asking her out only to be met with the response: "I'd rather listen to 'my heart will go on', on repeat than go on a date with you." Jack refused to give up though and it quickly became obvious that despite her protests Martha liked him too. A series of practical jokes ensued, a game of pool where Jack pretended to play badly, staking a nude run on the outcome, only to win the final game leaving Martha to accept the dare, which she did and a drinking competition followed which Jack won. In an attempt to even the stakes Martha found out from Tony that Jack was terrified of spiders so planted one in his room but it backfired spectacularly when he found it, coming out of the shower, fell and hit his head and was found with blood pouring from his ear.
After surgery it became apparent that Jack had a problem with his hearing and when more surgery failed to solve the problem he was told that potentially he may have lost his hearing for good, spelling the end of his career. He quickly cheered up though when Martha came to visit him but failed to tell him she was responsible. She was busted later though when Jack found the fake spider and realising what had happened, reacted furiously to her eventual confession. After a pep talk from Tony he decided to forgive her but refused to be friends but this time Martha wasn't taking no for an answer. She returned with beer and Jack finally caved on the condition she did something for him. The condition turned out to be jumping off a cliff, Martha's phobia but Jack never thought she would go through with it so as she prepared to jump, he stopped her and they finally shared a kiss.
Their relationship was soon to be threatened again when Jack returned to work, lying about his hearing and Martha found out, insisting he told his superior. When Jack failed to do so, Martha and Lucas told Tony sparking more fury from Jack who admitted he still hadn't forgiven her for the spider prank and they split up.
Despite his obvious feelings Jack gave his police partner Corey Henderson permission to ask Martha out and they became a couple but Jack's jealousy merely increased. At Hayley and Kim's buck and hen nights, Tony made Jack see he was jealous, Corey offered to step aside and Jack declared his feelings to Martha but she declined, saying it was too late.
Martha and Corey stayed together and the gap between Jack and Corey grew with Jack becoming increasingly suspicious of Corey's lies. Following Irene's declaration that Corey was poisoning her Jack started investigating and tried to warn Martha off but she thought he was just jealous and accepted Corey's invitation to move to the City with him. On the day she was due to leave jack finally found the evidence that Corey had been drugging Irene and after saving her went looking for Corey only to find he'd already left with Martha. Martha meanwhile had figured what was going on and Jack arrived just in time to save her.
Afterwards Jack found Martha in Noah's and tried to comfort her but Martha remained terrified until Jack forced her to confront Corey and cured her fear. At this point the two went back to being friends but they continued to flirt until at Baby Noah's christening a comment from Matilda and Lucas suggesting that they were meant to be together led to Jack and Martha doing just that, sharing a kiss and reuniting.
Following Lucas's rebellion Jack and Martha talked about settling down and being a family so Jack recruited Robbie and Tasha to help him convince Martha he was against marriage in order to put her off the scent. His prank backfired though when Martha failed to show for the dinner after considering ending things but after an explanation from Tasha, Martha surprised a disappointed Jack with rose petals all over the front room and proposing to him.
A near death experience for Jack at the hands of Zoe convinced Martha to bring their wedding forward and the perfect wedding was planned until Zoe crashed the reception by exploding the venue. Jack was seriously injured and rushed to hospital where it was revealed his liver was damaged and he underwent a liver transplant. Martha meanwhile was part of a group of burn victims who Rachel arranged to go to the city for plastic surgery, except that the helicopter crashed in a storm and Martha was missing, presumed dead. In her absence Jack grew closer to Tasha who, with Robbie missing, was feeling the same as him but both were relieved when Martha and Robbie were found alive and JM were reunited.
The reunion was short-lived however and after a series of rows about Jack working too and not putting enough effort into their marriage, Martha moved out.
The split became permanent when Jack, on realising that Peter Baker was still alive, was badly bashed and ended up in hospital. Martha donated blood to help him through surgery but confided in Alf that she no longer loved him. Whilst Jack was in hospital Martha met and spent the night with a man who introduced himself as Ash Nader, he was later revealed to be Jack's old friend. After much agonising Martha and Ash finally told Jack about their night together and Jack finally realised that his marriage was over.
In the meantime Jack started dating his physiotherapist Sam and became close to her son Rory but Sam was on the run from her abusive, drug dealing ex husband. Jack assured Sam she would be safe in Summer Bay and the two have seemed pretty solid until the recent revelation that Ash was actually married with two children whilst seeing Martha. Add to that Martha's decision to abort her baby, the fact that she's chosen to confide in Jack and the fact that he is desperate to help her, seemingly at the expense of his relationship with Sam, it doesn't look good for Jack's latest romance.
In the meantime Jack started dating his physiotherapist Sam and became close to her son Rory but Sam was on the run from her abusive, drug dealing ex husband. Jack assured Sam she would be safe in Summer Bay and the two seemed pretty solid until Sam's psycotic ex turned up after her. Although Jack came to her rescue Sam decided she could no longer be safe in Summer Bay and after a heartfelt goodbye, she and son Rory fled.
With Martha's heart broken after the revelation that Ash was married, most of Jack's time was spent trying to convince her to stop her downward spiral into drink. Taking an instant dislike to her new older boyfriend and the fact that she was working in his club, Jack was further horrified, on Peter's stag night to find Martha working not as a barmaid but as a pole dancer.
Jack attempted to frame Cam for drug dealing but Cam got wind of the plan and planted them instead on Martha who was arrested, forcing Jack to remove the evidence and get her off. With Cam losing the club and Martha after his desperate attempts to save the club by selling her backfired, Cam torched the club, not knowing Martha was trapped inside. Luckily Martha managed to phone Jack in time and he came to her rescue. With Cam now out of the way and Martha seemingly back to normal Jack looked to be hoping for a reconcilliation. His hopes were dashed however when Martha told him she wanted to remain friends.
Jack was involved in trying to rectify the mess between his father and brother in the aftermath of Beth's death and got revenge on Naomi for hurting his family by reporting her for misconduct. He and Martha began spending time together as friends and both did a good job of convincing the other that they were interested in other people.
They eventually agreed to try a date and went on a picnic in the country but when a farmer started shooting at them Jack went into police mode and chased after him. With it starting to rain, a furious Martha began walking back and when Jack returned for her she was nowhere to be seen. He returned to her flat and shouted an apology to her but Martha wasn't there, she had crashed down in a barn. She was discovered by Annie and Geoff Campbell and Geoff gave her a lift back into town. She treated them to milkshakes and had a shouting match with Jack, causing Geoff to intervene on her side. Jack tried to make up for it with flowers and chocolate but Martha gave them to Geoff telling him that despite being married Jack still managed to get her flowers she was allergic to and chocolates she hated.
Deciding to stay friends they spent a day skinny dipping before being caught by Lara. They arranged a dvd session together but whilst in Noah's Jack accidentally found the divorce papers that Martha had received weeks before. Angry with her, he made her believe he really wanted a divorce when the opposite was the case. Convinced that Jack really was over her Martha convinced him that she too wanted a divorce and they both reluctantly signed the papers.
A few days later Jack was assumed missing in a boat in a storm and a frantic Martha destroyed the papers. The occupants of the boat later turned up safe and well but Jack wasn't with them, he had never been on the boat. Martha went round to his house to tell him she didn't want a divorce but found him with his ex girlfriend Sam installed in the front room. Jack had decided that it was fate and that it was Sam he was meant to be with.
When her psychotic ex returned to town and kidnapped Rory Jack took off in pursuit and broke several rules whilst rescuing Rory safely but was only spared disciplinary action by Lara lying for him. Jack confided his work troubles in Martha infuriating Sam with the fact that he and Martha remained so close whilst he was keeping stuff from her. She demanded that Jack break off his friendship with Martha and Jack reluctantly agreed.
Jack, Sam and Rory moved in with Rachel and began building a home. They were shaken when Rory went missing on a day trip from school but relieved when they were picked up by Cassie and Henk. Sam upset Jack though by shutting him out of Rory's parenting but after a long chat she agreed to let him in more and he proposed to which she accepted.
He was furious to find out though that Martha had destroyed the divorce papers so that they were still married, leaving him desperate to get the divorce through before Sam found out. They were told they needed marriage counselling but their counsellor, Dan refused to grant them his permission, saying the had unresolved issues and leaving Sam furious.
After a heart to heart with Jack, in which he admitted he cared for her but his future was with Sam, Martha contacted Morag and got her help in pushing through the divorce. Martha was to cause him more problems though when he began getting blackmailed about hiding evidence for Martha earlier in the year. With the new cop in town, George, finding out, Jack was forced to toe a line and allow his dodgy colleague to get away with crooked deals. With Martha on his case Jack issued George an ultimatum but George was already plotting to set him up at work. Finally coming clean to Sam and at her suggestion, Jack managed to remove the evidence that implicated him.
He was set up by George to look like he was involved in a bank robbery but when he finally clicked he was shot and wound up in hospital. With Sam refusing to leave his side, Jack didn't wake up until Martha came to visit him. With his memory doubtful he believed himself very firmly still in love with Martha.
Jack had a nightmare and raced round to see Martha who sent him away. The next day she confronted him and told him she didn't think he should be marrying Sam. Unfortunately Rory overheard and Jack was forced to explain to Sam, who banned Martha from the wedding. Relations further deteriorated when Sam caught Martha trying on her wedding dress and insisted on buying a new one.
When Martha was attacked by the hospital stalker, Jack blamed Sam and later refused to leave Martha's side causing Michael to hit him. Handed an ultimatum by Sam, Jack met Martha where they kissed before she ran away. The next day he asked her to meet him but he was held up by Rory and by the time he arrived she had given up and headed off so Jack headed to the church, preparing to go ahead with the wedding rehearsal. With Martha and Michael due to leave the bay, Jack was warned off attending their farewell by Michael and they left without Jack telling her how he felt. With Martha out of the picture, Jack went ahead with his wedding to Sam.
After returning from his honeymoon Jack was involved in the search for Johnny Cooper and comforted Sam after she was declared a hero for knocking him out and putting him in a coma.
Thanks to Nicom for help with this profile
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