JR Chandler and Babe Carey

JR and Babe
Jacob Young and Alexa Havins as JR and Babe, 2003
Duration	2003–08
Introduced by	Julie Hanan Carruthers
Profile
Other names	Jabe
Jacob Young and Amanda Baker as JR and Babe, 2008
Family Chandler, Cooney Spouse 2003, 2004–05, 2006–07 Children AJ Chandler

JR Chandler and Babe Carey are fictional characters of the JR and Babe or Jabe couple from the American daytime drama All My Children. JR Chandler was portrayed by Jacob Young. Babe Carey was portrayed by actress Alexa Havins, and then by Amanda Baker. Written as volatile and yet loving, the up-and-down romance tells of a young star-crossed couple who met one captivating night at the end of a fog-covered dock and from there are faced with much interference, significantly but unintentionally caused by each other, in their struggle for true happiness.

The love story was originally scripted by former All My Children head writer Megan McTavish, and debuted on television in October 2003. The pairing's love-hate relationship soon gained a large and loyal following, despite the characters going through periods where they were not individually thought of fondly by viewers. The couple's popularity extended beyond the soap opera medium in early 2006, when the two were prominently featured in celebrity magazine Celebrity Living. In September 2011, People magazine named them one of the supercouples of the 2000s in their tribute to the series. The couple's reign came to an end on October 23, 2008 when the writers decided to have Babe struggle for and lose her life after a series of tornadoes hit Pine Valley.

In 1992, ABC executives decided that the show needed a fresh perspective and promoted Agnes Nixon's protégé, Megan McTavish, to the position of head writer. McTavish began adding new dimensions to the show. At the start of her third stint as All My Children head writer, she created character Babe Carey. Actress Alexa Havins was cast in the role, and Babe first appeared in the fictional town of Pine Valley on October 13, 2003. She was introduced as a vixen latched onto the arm of wealthy heir to the Chandler fortune JR Chandler, having had a one-night stand with JR's stepbrother, Jamie Martin, her first night there.