From Maya to Victoria, given Jacob's history with women Charity is totally right to be concerned about Sarah
Jacob's had a rollercoaster love life!Jacob Gallagher has managed to break Sarah Sugden’s heart twice in as many weeks, and now he’s facing the wrath of her grandma, Charity.
And frankly, we think he deserves it! Because Jacob’s history with women is, well, chequered, to say the least.
Jacob was undoubtedly damaged by his grooming and abuse at the hands of his teacher Maya Stepney, so perhaps that’s why he’s proved very careless with the hearts of his girlfriends since.
And that’s not really a surprise given the role models he has. His dad David Metcalfe is a serial monogamist who has a long list of failed marriages and relationships to his name. Not to mention very questionable taste in partners – Maya was his girlfriend when she was grooming teenage Jacob, and he also had a very toxic romance with serial killer Meena Jutla.
And let’s not forget that Jacob’s mum Leyla Harding has been very unlucky in love.
article continues below
But while all that is a reason for Jacob being so careless with other people’s feelings, we don’t reckon it’s an excuse. Here’s a rundown of all his romances and where they went wrong – perhaps next time he’ll get it right.
Jacob’s history with women: Liv Flaherty
Liv liked Jacob but he didn’t feel the same way – until he did. But it turned out his youthful romance with Liv was actually a cover for his grim abuse at the hands of Maya.
Jacob was so determined to keep his feelings for Maya a secret that he used Liv, not caring about how she felt. Not cool, Jacob.
Maya Stepney
Of course, Jacob’s bad behaviour at that time wasn’t entirely his fault – he was being groomed by teacher Maya. She convinced him that the pair were in love. Maya was in a relationship with Jacob’s dad David at the time, but she still managed to persuade Jacob – who was just 15 when their romance began – that they were meant to be. When Jacob turned 16, the pair slept together.
It took Jacob a while to realise that their relationship was based on Maya’s manipulation and he struggled to get over it. Maya was later jailed for exchanging inappropriate text messages with Jacob.
Leanna Cavanagh
With his heart still shattered after Maya, Jacob turned to Leanna who had feelings for him. They slept together but Leanna – who had never slept with a boy before – was devastated when he turned on her. He told her he’d only slept with her because she was nice to him. He said he’d never be into her.
Jacob did see the error of his ways, and apologised to Leanna. She forgave him and the pair agreed to go back to being friends.
But the pair grew closer and by Leanna’s 18th birthday they were in love and planning to go travelling together.
Tragedy struck though when Leanna was murdered by Meena, leaving Jacob’s heart shattered once more.
Jacob’s history with women: Victoria Sugden
It took Jacob a long time to recover from Leanna’s death, and when he eventually fell in love again, Emmerdale viewers were not on board!
Because Jacob fell for his dad’s ex-girlfriend Victoria Sugden!
Victoria was in fact closer in age to Jacob than she had been to David, but she was still nine years his senior, and her previous role as his sort-of-step-mum made the whole thing feel a bit ick.
The pair were really into each other, and ploughed on with their romance despite the disapproval of everyone around them.
David was so horrified by his son’s new relationship that he disowned him and moved to London (which we can’t help thinking was a bit of an over-reaction). Leyla wasn’t happy about it either, and nor was Jacob’s grandfather, Eric Pollard.
But the romance was short-lived (thankfully because it made us cringe).
Sarah Sugden
Now Jacob’s being hot and cold with Vic’s niece, Sarah. He’s admitted he likes her but he’s worried about her health condition that could mean she dies young. And he’s already upset her by criticising her drinking when she ended up in A&E, and flaunting one-night-stand Sian in the village.
Could they make a go of things? Only time will tell.
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV, with an early release on ITVX at 7am.
Classic Emmerdale usually airs weekdays at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm on ITV3.
Follow our Facebook page @EmmerdaleInsider for the latest Emmerdale spoilers, news and gossip. Or find us on Twitter @EmmerdaleInside. Let us know your thoughts!
