Jobeth Reynolds (née Foster) is a fictional character in the American television series Melrose Place, the second series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise. Portrayed by Daphne Zuniga, Jo Reynolds appeared in the first four seasons of Melrose Place. She also appeared in the pilot of "Models Inc." (Melrose Place first spin-off) and later appeared in two episodes in the 2009 series revival.
Storylines
Arrival at Melrose Place and relationship with Jake (1992-1993) Jo arrived at the Melrose Place apartment complex from New York City to escape from her stormy marriage to Charles Reynolds. Afraid of exposure, she is initially unfriendly to her neighbors and hesitant to allow anyone into her personal life. As the story progresses, Jo meets her match in gruff "bad boy" Jake Hanson, and the two begin a tempestuous romance. Alike in their passion and stubbornness, they fight and reunite repeatedly. Jo is threatened when the complex is bought by the aggressive Amanda Woodward, who has an obvious attraction to Jake. After a further series of fights and miscommunication, Jo loses Jake to the conniving Amanda.
Reed Carter, arrest for murder, pregnancy and custody battle (1993–1995) A new love entered her life when Jo attended a high school reunion and bumped into an old high school acquaintance named Reed Carter. Soon, Jake was a distant memory as she began a seemingly great love affair with Reed. However, she discovered that Reed was secretly dealing drugs. When he found out that Jo was aware of his illegal activities, Reed kidnapped and tortured her, holding her captive in a boat he used to share business with Jake and Amanda. Reed brutally raped and ultimately tried to kill Jo, but she killed him to escape his abuse. Jo was immediately tried for the death of Reed and almost lost it all in court. After settling down with being proven not guilty, new troubles plagued Jo. She found out a few months later that she was pregnant by Reed and wanted to get an abortion. With help from Jake, who was beginning to realize the feelings he still had for her, she got through the pregnancy.
A couple of months before Jo was due to deliver, Reed's parents arrived at Melrose Place. The Carters wanted revenge on her for "killing their son" although they knew Jo shot Reed because of his abusive nature. Nothing Jo did would satisfy them. She tried to tell them that she would settle out of court, but the Carters sued her for custody of their grandson. The Carters' attorney convinced the court that Jo was not a fit mother. In a shocking turn of events, Jo lost the custody of her child to the Carters before it was even born. She also ended her friendship with Alison, who was supposed to testify on her behalf but showed up high on uppers in the courtroom the day she was to testify.
Jo slowly began to die inside, going through depression and not feeling the work of her beloved photography job any longer, when Kimberly Shaw showed up. Shaw showed that a ray of hope still survived: She was going to help Jo fake her own child's death, so that Jo could go into hiding back in New York City and raise her child there, and the Carters would never know. They even set it up with switched hospital records that would declare Jo's baby dead. Through the months preceding the due date, Kimberly and Jo were able to trick the Carters into believing their grandchild was dead.
When the baby boy, whom Jo named Austin, was born, Kimberly suffered one of her imbecilic head colds, and decided to steal Jo's baby and keep it for herself. For weeks, Jo struggled to prove that her son was in danger, but still alive, despite what the birth records stated. Once a blood test was performed by Michael Mancini, Jo was revealed to be the baby's mother. After extreme pressure from Dr. Peter Burns, then Chief of Staff of Wilshire Memorial Hospital, Michael conceded and set Kimberly to work on Christmas Day, and while she was gone, he gave baby Austin back to mother Jo, the perfect Christmas present.