Joyce Gunvalson

**Joyce Gunvalson** was a main character from the eleventh season until the fourteenth season of ***Why, Me?***. She was notable as she was the character who was most distant from the group and was the longest to warm to one person other than her best friend and later love interest, Jax.

## Summary

In Season 11, Joyce is introduced to Northdale when she befriends Jax, on a plane ride there. Not in any contact with any one of them before, most of the gang are a bit distant from Joyce as she moves into their house. With the relationship between Jax and Joyce getting closer, a new housemate, rocks the boat and starts to show Joyce’s jealous side. With tensions soaring through the roof, Max threatens to kick her out. As things are turned around, Joyce gets to know Northdale and introduces Mary and Keira to her culture. However, as something positive happens, so does something negative, as an intervention is staged when Joyce is caught stealing items from a local store, her growing friendships are at steak and an ugly past is unveiled. As Joyce begins to prove to the gang that she is a good person, trust is hard to win back when an ancient-family necklace is misplaced, not all the gang believe her motives. However, time is a good healer, as she is a particular help when one of the gang gets a shocking diagnosis and she helps the gang out when there is a massive burglary. As she proves the gang that she has good intentions, she gets a regular spot on their YouTube channel and she fights off trolls while building bridges with the gang. Drama is never far from her, though, as her relationship is on the rocks with Jax as issues with her mother leaves a huge disagreement. Once all is cleared up, Jax asks Joyce to be his girlfriend and she gladly accepts. In the season finale, Joyce is said to be ‘mending family feuds‘.

In Season 12, Joyce moves out along with Jax, and in with Jax’s friend, Ricky. She finds this dynamic ‘perfect’ as she finds some of the gang ‘full on’ and wished for a bit more privacy. Joyce runs into some trouble when she finds out her boss has been playing her while she has served for him and therefore plans a little revenge. She asks Jax if he can convert to her religion to make her and his life easier but this causes tension between her and Max. In the remaining part of the season, she challenges Ricky to a calorie war, she also hunts Ricky down when she believes he is a bad liar and is lying. She invites her mother over from Puerto Rico but manages not to make the best impression of her boyfriend after some of the gang muck it up. Finally, she plays a few pranks at the 100th birthday bash for Northdale which causes a few laughs.

In Season 13, Joyce starts the series in a worried state as her boyfriend, Jax, goes missing and she files a police missing report. As all returns back to normal, she moves back in with Max, after Ricky faces financial issues. When Keira goes through a nasty break up, Joyce is there, along with Mandy, to cheer her up and organise a ”single” party. Joyce gets herself in a really severe situation when all the gang turn on her as they realise that she has been gambling, using the money made from the popular YouTube videos, along with lying to Jax. However, things cannot get worse when a prank about a pregnancy test, seems to turn into reality and Joyce’s world comes crashing down.

In Season 14, Joyce challenges bestie, Mandy, to a couple’s challenge, gets embroiled with a break-up with Jax after he mistakes her for someone else. A former pageant ‘friend’ tracks Joyce to Northdale and scaremongers the gang. She finishes off paying off her debt to the gang after her scandal last year. Her friendship is also tested with Jax once again as she is told to relocate to Puerto Rico to carry out her family duties. She also hosts a whodunnit on her new dress and supports her boyfriend during a bootcamp course.

## Appearance and Personality

Joyce is a Hispanic tall lady who likes to bring joy and happiness into other’s lives but doesn’t like to be crossed. Shyness is explained as the reason as to why she is so distant at the beginning of her arrival. She loves the colour red and is obsessed with her fitness. Smart and edgy is her style after a revelation about her pageant days. Mother-of-one, her daughter is not to be messed with.

## Casting

On March 19, 2032, original cast member, Mary De La Wary, was announced to be returning to the show for the first edition of the revived series. Alongisde this, Gunvalson, was announced to be the only new cast member for the eleventh season and the first revived edition. Gunvalson lasted four seasons on the show before the announcement came; on June 7, 2036, that Gunvalson, alongside, Jax Garcia and Ricky Diaz, would not return for the fifteenth season. Reported on *Radar Online*, Gunvalson was said to not have been approached by bosses to return and had therefore been sacked.

However, *Tanzania*, published a statement, basically stating that they wished her well but her exit was for “creativity purposes” and they said that things had been discussed between producers and Gunvalson; which Gunvalson denied. Gunvalson’s agent later spoke out on her behalf and said: “Something could have been done to fit me in”. Post this statement, Gunvalson’s contract was terminated from the network and she also finished her run on the series, *The Chen Den*.

## Episode Count

This information lists the character’s absences:

## Trivia

* Gunvalson has spoken only negatively of her time on the show since her departure.