John

John Haywood is a major character. He was a regular character from Season 1, up until Season 3, and then became a recurring character from Season 4 through Season 6. He is Jake's God Father.

Biography
John was a caring character, and the oldest of three brothers, the other two being twins. He grew up in the country on a farm with his parents, though mother died in an accident on their farm when he was only a child, and his father committed suicide a couple of years later due to stress, leading him to be raised by his grandparents. Because of his upbringing, John had a caring heart, and was often drawn to those in need, helping wherever possible, which ended up being one of his biggest strengths, but also biggest weakness. During his time on the show, John cared for a number of people, including; Jake, Maria, Gabbie, Nick, Angie, Danny, Ben, Nial, and Hannah, though some people, such as Nick, would take advantage of his kind hearted nature. As some point, he met a girl named Renee, who was a "former" drug addict, and the two developed a relationship, though John soon realized she was still using. Renee pleaded and told John she would get clean, thus John decided to give her a second chance. John's desire to help others kept him in his relationship with Renee longer than necessary, and he felt he was unable to leave. Eventually, Renee revealed she was pregnant, and John knew the baby wasn't his due to him distancing himself from Renee, and Renee told John the father was a man named Paul. Knowing the dangers of Paul, John and Renee decided to claim the baby was theirs, and wrote their names on the birth certificate, though given the timing, Paul was always suspicious. He soon got the truth out of Renee, and wanted to get revenge on John. Fearing for his life, John was desperate to get away, and through luck, this was exactly when Edie called him to come and take care of Jake. On a whim, John decided to pack up his things in the middle of the night, and take Edie up on her request, taking Maria with him. John managed to keep his whereabouts safe for some time, though Renee managed to find out where John was hiding, and was on her way to visit him when the bus crashed and killed her. Once the police informed John of her death, instinctively he wanted to go back to his old life and find out where Paul was, assuming the only reason Renee was going to see him without Paul was because he was in danger. However, when John arrived, he realized Paul died of an overdose, and thus came to believe Renee was coming to tell him that, but ultimately came to realize he'd never know the real truth as to why she was on the bus. Though the thread of Paul was gone, he still continue to keep the truth of Maria's parents hidden, only confiding in Gabbie. John started to develop feelings with Angie, though her she was more interested in flirting than pursuing anything due to her secret past. Eventually, she let her guard down, and the two developed an on-off relationship for the majority of the first season, before ultimately parting ways in the Season One finale. John spent the Second Season dealing with Renee's death, and helping Jake through his adolescent growing pains. His caring side continued to show when he convinced Nial to take a job in Chicago to be with his family. In the shows Third Season, John was instantly drawn to a young lady named Hannah. Hannah was very mysterious and he eventually learned she was a runaway bride from a sexist gentleman's cult. The two's relationship blossomed, though Hannah distrust towards men caused some tension, the managed to work it out, and Hannah moved in with John. Towards the end of the Third Season, Hannah was tricked back into the cult, and was once again held captive.

Development
John was part of the original set of characters first conceptualized for the show, and went through a number of changes because of this. Originally, John never had a daughter, and instead was the mystery father of Jake, waiting for the right time to tell him, as explained in the Season One Rewrites. It would then be revealed in the Season Two Rewrites that John wasn't actually Jake's father, and instead was having financial issues and manipulated Jake into believing his story. Once the main foundations of the show were set, the writers decided to have John act as the father figure of the show, and gave him a number of characters that he'd care and look out for. Originally, his secret with Maria was going to be different, with John also being a drug addict, though this time clean, and took Maria away from his using wife; Paul did not exist in this era.

Trivia

 * He was originally written as Jake's father, but was quickly changed after the Season One Rewrites.
 * One of the writers had a soft spot for breakup songs, which is why there are a lot of duets between John and Angie in the shows first season. The writers have said they wanted to include more duets between the two, but felt adding anymore would be overkill.
 * They have revealed a number of songs they planned them to sing, which include