Jasper Jacks and Carly Benson

Laura Wright and Ingo Rademacher as Carly Benson and Jasper Jacks

**Jasper "Jax" Jacks** and **Carly Benson** are fictional characters and a couple on the daytime soap opera *General Hospital*.

## Casting/Background

Jax has been portrayed by actor Ingo Rademacher from 1996-2013; and from 2019 on.

Carly has been portrayed by Sarah Brown (1996-2001), Tamara Braun (2001-04), Jennifer Bransford (2005) and currently Laura Wright since 2005.

He is the son of the late, John Jacks and his late wife, Lady Jane Jacks.

She is the daughter of the late attorney, John Durant and Nurse Bobbie Spencer via one night stand.

Jax and Carly originally worked together in a business relationship in 2002 but it didn't work out too well. Carly caused Jax much grief in 2005, when Carly accidentally caused Elizabeth to miscarry his baby. After the miscarriage, in 2005, Jax was blackmailed to sell 50% of the Metro Court Hotel, his hotel, to Carly.

They were married in April 2007, then decided to divorce due to Carly's unhealthy attachment to Jax's enemy, Sonny Corinthos. Later, however, they reconciled and renewed their vows. They officially divorced in 2013.

They share a daughter named, Josslyn.

They own two hotels together, La Belle Maison in Montreal and Hawaii-Hotel in Hawaii.

In 2017, after Carly's marriage to Sonny fell apart, she and Jax slept together and Carly declared that her marriage to Sonny was officially over. Shortly after the one-night stand between them the two fell back in love. By the end of 2017 Carly and Jax were married once more.

The couple's official song is "Patience" Written by: Bob Harty and Jayson Belt; Performed by: Chad Heam.

## Storylines

* 2002-06
* 2007-08
* 2009-10
* 2010-11
* 2012-16

Jax and Carly originally began a business relationship when they opened Club101. At this time Jax was trying to keep Carly away from Sonny Corinthos, her ex-husband. Jax and Carly became best of friends and he was emotionally attached to her and he even prepared a eulogy when Carly was believed to be deceased in 2002. Carly, who grew sick of Jax, took his club and re-designed it. They then became enemies. In 2005, when Carly becomes mentally ill, she runs in front of Jax and his pregnant surrogate mother, Elizabeth Spencer. Jax takes a turn and smashes the car to avoid Carly and that trigger's Elizabeth's miscarriage. That's when Courtney was married to Jax. Things ended bad for them and Carly was overjoyed because Courtney and Carly were best fiends. Luke Spencer, an old friend of Jax and Carly's uncle, gets Carly 50% of Jax's hotel, the Metro Court. Jax is not happy but has no choice, otherwise Jax's secret of changing Courtney's child's paternity will be revealed. They make lemonade out of lemons and the agreement goes well. This is when they become attracted to each other.

Before Courtney dies, she and Jax name the baby John Michael Jacks, after Jax and Courtney's father. Carly and Jax decide to raise the child together until the real paternity is revealed by Robin Scorpio. Jax gives John back to Nikolas and John's name is changed to Spencer Cassadine. Jax left town to escape the pain but Carly follows him. The two reconcile and talk about what happened between Robin and them. Jax and Carly return to town and start dating.

Jax asks Carly to marry him. Initially, she accepts but when Jax leaves town to save his brother, Jerry Jacks, she is being pursued by her ex, Sonny Corinthos. After witnessing Lorenzo Alcazar being shot by Sonny, she is forced to marry him for the sake of not having to testify. While thinking that Jerry is somewhere in nothingness, Jax can't seem to find him so he comes home to find out that Jerry held a hostage crisis in the Metro Court and that Sonny and Carly were re-married.

Jax forgave Carly and she urged Sonny to give her a divorce but Sonny refused up until the point where he says that he loves her too much and agrees to give her what she wants. Jax and Carly finally wed the day after the divorce was finalized. Kate Howard, a new woman in Sonny's life causes Carly behavior to be a bit jealous-like. Jax doesn't realize that Carly always put Sonny first until she miscarried their miracle baby. Jax and Carly desired for a baby and because of Sonny, she miscarried it. That year, 2008, Carly's son, Michael, became more and more attached to the mob. He picked up a gun and "accidentally" shot Kate Howard and later that year, when a Carly look-alike, Claudia, arranges for Sonny to be killed, Michael himself is shot in the head because of unfortunate reasons. Over grief and sadness, Carly and Sonny get up close and personal in the limo ride back home. Jax immediately started divorce proceedings, and Carly went along, but both were heartbroken they could not make it work. During Christmas and New Year's 2008, Jax and Carly slowly start to reconcile.

Jax was planning to take a trip to Hong Kong to help his mother after Jerry's presumed death. He turned the jet around and came back to Port Charles, choosing to stay married to Carly. When he got back, however, he found out Carly was trapped in the hospital because of a biotoxin that got released in an operating room. Jax later risks his life by flying his helicopter to the top of the roof during a snowstorm to get patients out of the hospital when the hospital is on fire. Carly, though, manages to get out of the hospital, descending the stairs with Sonny. She and Jax reunite outside the hospital, and later move back in together, moving forward with their marriage.

Carly and Jax renew their vows and have a second honeymoon. In the meantime, Carly discovers a new experimental procedure that could bring Michael out of his coma. Right before the surgery is scheduled, Carly finds out that she is miraculously pregnant with Jax's baby. However, she avoids telling Jax when she finds out she might have a life-threatening disease that could cause her to die if she carries the baby. Jax finds out, though, and is thrilled, but Carly avoids telling him about the disease. She later tests positive for the disease, but insists on carrying the baby. Jax eventually finds out and tells her that as much as he wants their child, he doesn't want to lose her. He eventually comes around and supports Carly carrying the baby.

Michael's surgery is a success and he wakes up on May 15, 2009. But he's hostile towards his mother, and it's not made easier when Jax tells him that Carly's pregnant. Michael tells his father, Sonny, that he wants to come live with him. Carly doesn't like this since he would be in danger from the mob and because Sonny is now married to Claudia Zacchara, who unknown to her, was responsible for Michael's shooting. Jax knows, though, but didn't tell Carly. After talking to his little brother, Morgan, though, Michael changes his mind and goes to Carly and Jax's house. One night, when Michael loses his temper with Carly, Michael goes to live with Sonny and Claudia.

When a Zacchara mob soldier threatens Michael's life, Carly realizes he can't stay with Sonny and moves him in with his biological father's family, the Quartermaines. Carly and Jax, meanwhile, move into a new house of their own. When Claudia is run off the road in July 2009 in front of their house, Carly saves her. This causes her to faint later on, and Jax and Morgan rush her to the hospital. Claudia loses Sonny's baby, which she was carrying at the time of the accident, but Carly's baby manages to survive. Michael is later arrested for running Claudia off the road, but Carly tells Jason and Jax that it wasn't Michael. Michael runs away with his sister, Kristina Davis, to Mexico so he can avoid prosecution. Carly believes Jax's ex-wife and friend, Alexis Davis, committed the accident since the description of the car she saw matches the one Alexis drives. She is stressed out over this as well as finding Michael, and Jax becomes increasingly worried about her.

Jax later has both Alexis's cars impounded for Carly's sake to make her stop worrying. However, evidence indicates Alexis's car *was* the one that ran Claudia off the road. Alexis immediately confesses, but Jax does not buy it. When he and Carly later discuss this, they both realize the truth: Kristina, Alexis's daughter, was the one who ran Claudia off the road. Michael and Kristina are brought home by Jason and his girlfriend, Sam, and Michael comes to live with Carly and Jax. Carly goes into early labor on October 13, 2009, and Jax is there when she is brought to the hospital by Johnny Zacchara and Coleman Ratcliffe. Carly's doctor manages to stop the labor. Carly, who thought Jax was being overbearing by not allowing her to work or eat too much junk food, understands what he said is in her and the baby's best interest, and agrees to listen to him.

On October 29, 2009, Sonny holds a party for Claudia's birthday in the Metro Court. Hours before the party, he finds out that she was the one responsible for Michael's shooting. Carly decides not to attend the party, but goes at the last minute when she finds out Michael is there. Just as she gets there, Sonny exposes to everyone at the party that Claudia got Michael shot, and to protect herself, she pulls out a gun and takes Carly hostage. Jax is furious with Sonny for putting Carly in danger and keeps both Sonny's sons, Michael and Morgan, at his house even when Sonny tells him he wants them to come with him. Carly gives birth to Josslyn Jacks, Jax and Carly's daughter, while being held hostage by Claudia in a cabin. Claudia decides to kidnap Josslyn, but before she can leave, Michael shows up and kills Claudia by accident. Luckily, Jason and Sam show up minutes later and Carly and Josslyn are brought to the hospital, where Jax is waiting, and Jax finally gets to meet his daughter. Jason covers up Claudia's murder to protect Michael. Jax is upset when Carly tells him what really happened to Claudia and that she let them cover it up. She confronts him with the fact that he knew Claudia and his brother Jerry were involved and kicks him out of the house. She later lets him back in for the sake of their kids.

During Thanksgiving, they slowly begin to mend their relationship after they're stranded together by Morgan, who messed with their cars to force them to spend Thanksgiving together. By Christmas, Carly tells Jax that she wonders why she almost let him go when so few people get a chance to have a happy marriage like they do. They have a fun Christmas that year, which includes Carly falling off the roof while trying to find Jax's hidden Christmas present, but she survives with no serious injuries. Jax later reveals his present as a picture of Michael, Morgan, and Josslyn, and they celebrate Christmas as a family.

Carly is infuriated with Jax after discovering his involvement in Michael's shooting and throws him out. She later lets him back in for the sake of her children, but still keeps her distance from Jax. During Thanksgiving, Morgan sabotages both Carly and Jax's cars to force them to spend Thanksgiving together for the sake of his baby sister. Jax and Carly do spend Thanksgiving together, and they slowly begin reconciling. Jax has found out that Dominic Pirelli, Sonny's new recruit into the mob, is actually Dante Falconeri, Sonny and Olivia's son who is an undercover cop.

He helps Dante build his case against Sonny, wanting him out of his and Carly's lives. When Dante is not able to produce solid evidence, Jax makes a recording of Sonny implicating himself in Claudia's murder and plays it for Dante, but Dante is not impressed. Jax later deletes the recording, as he has just got Carly back and he doesn't want to lose her again, and leaves arresting Sonny "up to Detective Falconeri." Josslyn was christened on January 29, 2010. Jax admits to helping Dante bust Sonny, leading Carly to move out and file for divorce.

In spring 2011, Jax becomes convinced that Carly is an unfit mother due to her constant association with Jason and Sonny and decides to fight her for full custody of Josslyn, though Carly merely wants joint custody. He hires Alexis as his defense, but Alexis repeatedly tries to convince him to compromise with Carly; recalling that her own attempts to keep Kristina safe from Sonny's world did nothing but convince Kristina that Sonny didn't love her.

Despite Alexis' advice Jax refuses to listen, and after several arguments, finally demands that Alexis actually start acting like his attorney and tell him how to beat Carly in court. Jax asks both Robin Scorpio and Olivia Falconeri to testify on his behalf and against Carly but they both refuse. Jax quickly resorts to underhanded tactics to improve the odds of winning custody of Josslyn, digging up dirt on Shawn Butler, who had been hired by Jason as a bodyguard to Josslyn and Carly, and provoking Shawn into attacking him in public, forcing Carly to fire him. He also went so far as to issue subpoenas for Brenda, Michael, and Morgan to testify on his behalf.

Sonny threatens Jax to back off and begins to suspect that Jax paid off the court appointed mediator Grace Yang in the custody case. When Brenda is forced to testify she inadvertently lets it slip that she and Alec were just shot at the night before on Sonny's property, strengthening Jax's case. Outside the courtroom, Sonny, Jason, and Carly realize that Jax did indeed pay off the mediator since she never saw Carly interact with her kids, and still passed judgment on her. Sonny tells her he'll take care of it as Jason and Carly walk off. Sonny goes on to confront Grace and got her on his side through blackmail. Sonny and Grace create a scenario to frame Jax for drug possession and attempted rape. Jax returns to his suite that night and Grace was there to discuss his case. She serves him drugged coffee as they talk. When Jax realizes the coffee is drugged, Grace locks herself in the bathroom and calls the police, while Jax bangs on the door, yelling.

Jax regains his senses at the police station, where he is handcuffed to a table. Detective Ronnie Dimestico tells him that in addition to assault, they found drugs in his room and he resisted arrest when the police came. Jax pleads his case, saying that Sonny set him up, but Ronnie tells him that the evidence points at him. Brenda later comes over and Jax tells her to somehow get Sonny to confess.

While Jax is at the station, Michael shows up to pay a parking ticket, and Jax tells him to tell Carly to pay his bail to prove she wasn't involved. After he's released, he goes to Carly's place and threatens her, promising she'll lose Josslyn. Carly denies she was involved, but Jax doesn't buy it and leaves. The next day, the judge came to a decision, and Jax was devastated when Carly received sole custody of Josslyn. On July 21, 2011 Jax says goodbye to Michael, Morgan, and Josslyn and left Port Charles.

Jax leaves town with Brenda, who had also decided to leave Sonny as a result of him framing Jax. Jax drops Brenda and Alec off in Rome and then heads to Paris. He eventually returns to Port Charles in late 2011 determined to get Josslyn away from Carly. He sneaks into the house he used to share with Carly and takes Josslyn. He is stopped by Shawn but manages to get past when Shawn has a PTSD attack. Jax heads toward the airport but his car breaks down and he heads to Robin's house instead. Shawn manages to follow Jax to Robin's house. After a meeting at Robin's, Shawn convinces Jax to give Josslyn back to Carly.

Later on, Sonny comes to Robin's house, intent on killing Jax because he blames him for Brenda leaving him. Just as he holds the gun up, Robin stops him and gets hurt in the process. Jax leaves so that he won't get arrested by the police. At the airport, Jax is waiting for takeoff, but flies into the air without permission from air traffic control to avoid the police. As he starts flying, his plane starts to shut down, and he realizes that Sonny messed with his plane. Dante later reports that Jax's plane crashed into the harbor and he is presumed dead.

Skye later finds Jax passed out at a warehouse amid a parachute. When he wakes up, he says that he barely made it out of the plane before it crashed. He asks Skye for help to get out of town. When Skye leaves to find him what he needs, Carly shows up, and Jax hides from her. He listens as she begs for Jax to be alive. Shawn later joins her, and they talk about Jax during the better times of his marriage to Carly. Jax is surprised when he hears Shawn say that Carly wants to cut Sonny out of her children's lives once and for all.

Carly tells Shawn she now understands why Jax wanted to get custody of their daughter, and doesn't know how to tell Josslyn that her dad is never coming home. Shawn tells her to hold onto hope that he's still alive, and they leave. Skye returns with cash and some fresh clothes for Jax. With one last look, Jax, now confident that Josslyn will be safe in Carly's care, departs Port Charles.

Jax returns to Port Charles again in late 2011 and the truth that he is still alive is revealed to everyone. Carly is attacked by all of Jax's friends and enemies for keeping the secret that she suspected Jax was still alive. Jax returned to comfort Michael over the loss of his girlfriend Abby and also to convince him to stay away from Sonny's business. Michael finally decides to head in a different direction in life after some fatherly advice from Jax and he gives up his desire to enter the mob business. Shortly thereafter Jax leaves town again.

Jax returns to Port Charles in August 2012 after Carly calls him and informs him that Josslyn is sick and in the hospital. When Jax arrived, Josslyn was well again, but Jax vowed that he wouldn't leave town until he figured out who tried to hurt his daughter. It's soon revealed that his brother Jerry Jacks ordered Ewen Keenan to had kidnap Josslyn and give her an anti-toxin to inoculate her from the dangerous pathogen that he released on the Port Charles water supply. Jerry held the antidote for the pathogen at ransom, demanding a sum of $88 million. Jax and Carly were part of the "one percenters" group that Todd Manning pulled together in an attempt to meet Jerry's monetary demands.

Jax helps the Port Charles Police Department in taking down his brother and aided in the process of securing a cure of the pathogen. He is injured from the explosion which presumably kills Jerry and Carly is devastated, thinking that she has lost him again. However Jax survived the explosion and reunited with Carly at the hospital. Before leaving town, Jax expressed some concerns over Carly's budding relationship with Johnny Zacchara, but Carly assured him that she would be fine. They shared goodbyes at Kelly's and Jax returned to their home to spend some time with Josslyn before leaving town again.

Jax returned again on April 1, 2013 as part of the 50th anniversary of *General Hospital*. He arrived on Carly's doorstep and she was very happy to see him. He reunited with Carly and Josslyn and gave Josslyn a present. When Carly asked about the nature of his visit, Jax informs her that they are still legally married because there was a filing error with their divorce papers, so he needs her to re-sign them.

Having just ended a relationship, Carly took the mishap with the papers as a sign and tried to romantically reconcile with Jax, stating that he has always been the guy for her, and all the other relationships she had were unsuccessful attempts to get over him. Jax turns down the idea of a reconciliation but reassures her that they will always have a connection through Josslyn. He also informs her that he needs her to sign the divorce papers again because he is engaged to Brenda Barrett.

Carly is furious to hear about Jax's engagement to Brenda, because she thinks Brenda will break Jax's heart again for Sonny. Carly bets Jax $1 million that Brenda was with Sonny right then trying to reconcile their relationship. Jax denied Carly's claims, stating that Brenda loves him and they reconnected when he visited her and her son, Alec Scott in Rome. He asks Carly to sign the papers and bring them to the Nurses' Ball before leaving. After Jax leaves, Carly heads over to Sonny's house and sure enough finds Sonny and Brenda together, with Brenda asking Sonny about giving their relationship a second chance.

The next day, Carly heads to Jax and Brenda's room at the Metro Court Hotel. She hears Brenda in the middle of lying to Jax and spills the news that Brenda was in fact with Sonny last night wanting a reconciliation. Carly's intrusion forces Brenda to be honest with Jax and admit that she wants to get back together with Sonny. Jax is furious and hurt by this news and breaks off his engagement to Brenda. He thanks Carly for keeping him from making another mistake in marrying Brenda before leaving town.

Jax returns to town in July of 2016, to stop Carly from looking into the identity of their daughter Josslyn's kidney donor.

In 2017, after Carly's marriage to Sonny fell apart, she and Jax slept together and Carly declared that her marriage to Sonny was officially over. Shortly after their one-night stand the two fell back in love. By the end of 2017 Carly and Jax were married once more.