This is true love. This Is Us fans have been obsessed with Jack and Rebecca’s relationship since the show first premiered in September 2016, and it’s easy to see why. The iconic TV couple, played by Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore, had their ups and downs through the six seasons of the critically acclaimed NBC drama, and fans are still rooting for them heading into the May 2022 series finale.
This Is Us follows the epic relationship between Rebecca and Jack Pearson as well as their three children (also known as The Big Three): Kevin (Justin Hartley), Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown). The show moves along while jumping around the past, present and future — revealing new parts of their history all the time.
Chronologically, Rebecca and Jack’s love story begins in the 1970s, and their romance spans several decades and faces many losses and challenges. As the series started, viewers saw the emotional effects and trauma the couple suffered from after losing one of their triplets during childbirth. Jack’s struggle with alcohol abuse also played a big role in their relationship.
One of the most challenging struggles the Pearson family faced –– and the biggest storyline of the show –– was Jack’s untimely death.
In season 1, Jack’s death is briefly mentioned but is never fully explained. It wasn’t until season 2 that the audience learned what exactly happened to Jack. Many fans theorized what could have been the cause of Jack’s demise. But before the show revealed the reason, Moore spoke to Us Weekly exclusively about it and offered fans some moral support.
“Everything will be answered. We’re leaving nothing on the table. Everyone will know everything,” she shared. “I’m excited about that, because I feel like it’ll sort of relieve a little bit of pressure. People will know, and then we’ll be able to get back to telling the story of this family, and I think it’ll make things that much more bittersweet moving forward too.”
So what brought Jack and Rebecca’s romantic love story to a tragic end? Jack suffers a heart attack after saving the Pearson family from their home catching on fire caused by a malfunctioning slow cooker.
While many thought This Is Us wouldn’t have much more to share about Jack and Rebecca’s relationship after his death, the Emmy-winning drama continued to highlight more about what made those two such a dynamic pair. In flashbacks, the audience sees Rebecca and Jack have a relationship full of love and affection.
“The fact that we’ve managed to keep Jack involved in the storylines going through the six seasons — after we learned everything we needed to know about him in season 3 — is wonderful,” Ventimiglia shared to TV Insider in April 2022.
Even though Jack and Rebecca’s love story came to an end, fans were hopeful to see more of their relationship. In February 2022, Ventimiglia exclusively told Us, “there may be a bit of a bit of magic at the end” of the series, and the penultimate episode ended with Jack and Rebecca’s reunion in the afterlife.
Scroll below to see a complete relationship timeline of Jack and Rebecca from This Is Us.
