Marlena met John Black when he was going by the name of Roman Brady. She believed him to be her "dead" husband and the father of her children, Samantha and Eric. After Roman's death, Marlena struggled through her grief, and depended on her Salem friends. But, there was someone who didn't want her to get over her pain, and that someone was Victor Kiriakis. He had recently arrived in town and was accompanied by a mysterious bandaged man called The Pawn. When The Pawn escaped from Victor's grasp, he was taken to the hospital where Marlena's voice miraculously calmed him.
As he regained his strength, this brainwashed, unknown man was released from the hospital and chose to call himself John Black. But, Marlena was strangely drawn to him and was shocked to learn that John was really her beloved deceased husband. He regained his memory and he and Marlena rekindled their love affair.
Soon another villain appeared in their lives, Orpheus. It looked like Marlena had been killed when a bomb exploded in the couple's home, but Orpheus had actually kidnapped her. She was being held captive on his private island. After some detective work, Roman learned that Marlena hadn't been killed and that he might be able to rescue her. Orpheus knew what Roman was going to do, and made sure he wouldn't succeed. Just as Roamn landed on the island, Marlena was put on a plane and her beloved stood horrified as the plane exploded. But what he didn't know was that Marlena had survived and was in a coma. She escaped her captor at the time, Stefana, and came back to town, just in time to see her beloved Roman propose to Isabella! After revealing herself to Roman, the two searched for the person who held her captive. While there, they found the real Roman, who had also been held captive, on the small island in the Caribbean where Marlena had recovered.
Upon returning home, the threesome tried to figure out how each other fit into their romantic triangle. Roman reverted back to his original identity of John Black and the real Roman and Marlena reunited. But, passion was never too far from John and Marlena's grip - and the look in their eyes when they were near each other was clearly evident to those close to them, particularly Roman, who denied their attraction to one another.
John married Isabella, but she later died of pancreatic cancer and in a video she recorded shortly before her death, asked Marlena to watch out for him. Marlena took that vow to heart and when she wasn't with John physically, he was never far from her thoughts. Their feelings for each other hit a crescendo during a party, when they snuck off to a deserted room and acted on their passionate feeling. Unbeknownst to them, Marlena's daughter Sami was witnessing the torrid scene. Marlena soon found she was pregnant and kept the news a secret. It was revealed when she was taken to the hospital one evening after a car accident. She later told Roman, but covered up the possibility that the child could belong to John.
The jig was up when Stefano had Peter steal Sami's diary, where she chronicled the event and used the information to ruin baby Belle's christening. Roman left Marlena and town, and later, the two divorced. He just couldn't forgive her indiscretions. John and Marlena continued to be close, even when he found he ws falling in love with Kristen Blake, Stefano's adopted daughter! He later found he was a priest and was the man who successfully exorcised Marlena when she was possessed by the devil. Their bond will forever be through their child, Belle, but their friendship will transcend through the rest of their Salem lives. <3 |
