The friendship between Manny Santos and J.T. Yorke formed prior to their first appearances in the first season of Degrassi: The Next Generation. They briefly dated in the third and fourth seasons. They are known as JTanny (JT/Manny), Janny (JT/Manny), or ManT (Manny/JT).
Relationship History
Overview
They had been good friends for years when J.T. developed a crush on Manny in the third season when she decided to sexualize her image. She turned him down, but the two eventually began to date for around four months; they then broke up due to J.T.'s immaturity. The two remained close friends after they broke up and all the way until J.T.'s death in the sixth season, which devastated Manny.
Season 1
In Mother and Child Reunion (1), Manny and J.T. were shown to have been good friends for several years.
When they find out about Jordan's lies in Mother and Child Reunion (2), Manny, J.T. and Toby Isaacs do their best to help out Emma Nelson.
In Eye of the Beholder, Manny and Emma run into Toby and J.T. and learn that they stayed home to look at porn. The two boys also tell them that Toby's father Jeff Isaacs and stepmother Kate Kerwin came home early and made them look at porn sites with men in order to teach them a lesson on objectifying women. Emma and Manny are amused and disgusted by their story and call them losers.
In Secrets and Lies, Emma and Manny mock J.T. about Liberty's crush on him.
In Coming of Age, Emma, J.T., Manny, and Toby are all tanning outside together.
In Jagged Little Pill, Manny and J.T. attend Ashley's disastrous party.
Season 2
In Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Toby and J.T. are all dressed up for the 7th-grade-only dance, and they greet Emma and Manny before walking into the dance.
In Don't Believe the Hype, Manny, Emma, and Kendra ask J.T. if he could make them some clothes.
Season 3
In U Got the Look, when Manny returns to school wearing sexier attire, she gains a lot of attention from boys, including J.T. At first, J.T. is reluctant to admit that he's developed a crush on Manny considering that the two of them have been strictly friends since the age of four. Still, he eventually tries to work up the courage to let her know that he is romantically interested in her but he can't seem to hold a steady conversation without getting nervous. It is hinted (though unclear) that Manny feels the same about J.T. until Sully, an older student, takes an interest in her. When J.T. finally asks Manny out, Sully rudely intervenes and tells him to go away. J.T. walks away sadly after Manny apologetically tells him that she and Sully have plans later on. Although J.T. and Manny remained distant for most of the school year, he still hadn't gotten over her.
In Never Gonna Give You Up, they briefly talked at J.T.'s locker; later J.T. blasted Spinner Mason for embarrassing in front of Manny since he likes her.
In Accidents Will Happen (2), J.T. is feeling frustrated and romantically hopeless. Thanks to Ashley Kerwin, the entire school is aware that Manny is pregnant as a result of her love affair with Craig Manning, and J.T. is seemingly hurt by the news. In addition to that, Liberty Van Zandt, whom has crushed on J.T. for years, asks him out yet again. He bluntly tells Liberty that he doesn't want to go out with her which instantly makes her question if it's because of his feelings for Manny. It is hinted that Liberty is right as J.T. remains quiet when she questioned him on the subject of Manny. Nevertheless, J.T. rejects Liberty again and both of them part ways, brokenhearted.
In It's Raining Men, J.T. sees a gloomy-looking Manny walking down the hallway at school; she ignores him when he says 'good morning' to her. However, he sympathizes with the pain that Manny has been going through all school year throughout her relationship with Craig, the pregnancy, the abortion, and her new reputation as the "school slut." In an effort to cheer her up, J.T. invites her to a party at Toby's house (with Ashley away, of course) to watch the premiere of his new commercial. Manny accepts the invitation; to J.T.'s embarrassment, however, everyone makes fun of J.T.'s commercial and laughs at him. In the end, Manny was the only one who didn't tease J.T. because of it. After he is mocked by Jay and Sean for his commercial the morning following the party he had to watch the premiere of the commercial, Manny acknowledges that his commercial "sucked." He sarcastically thanks her for this, which is followed by her saying, "But you didn't. You were great." J.T. suggests that she tell the rest of the school that and Manny declines because her words would coming from the "school tramp." J.T. tells her that he does not want to go inside the school and she reminds him that they have Darryl Armstrong's test and that they have to get "our math on." J.T. tells her jokingly that he is going to kill her and he playfully tugs her as they run inside.
In Our House, Liberty has temporarily gotten over J.T. as she is in a relationship with Towerz. She knows how J.T. feels about Manny, so she makes a subtle attempt to play matchmaker by convincing a reluctant Manny to attend the semi-formal and encouraging J.T. to ask her to be his date. While J.T. isn't quite certain that Manny likes him "that way," Manny appears to be eager for J.T. to ask her out. However, J.T. suddenly gets the wrong idea when he watches Manny talking to Craig from a distance. Later on, Manny approaches J.T. and asks him why he hasn't asked her out yet. He bitterly replies that he saw her with Craig. He upsets Manny when she sees that he is jumping to the conclusion that she and Craig are going to hook up again, when the truth is that Craig was merely asking her if she's been okay since the abortion. Fortunately, J.T. apologizes to Manny the following day and finally asks her out, which she accepts. This is the beginning of their first and only relationship.
Season 4
In Ghost in the Machine (1), J.T. and Manny are briefly seen walking through the hallway together on the first day of sophomore year when Liberty's younger brother, Danny, starts to flirt with Manny.
In Mercy Street, it is evident that Manny is becoming annoyed with J.T.'s immaturity. For example, while they were hanging out around Liberty's hot tub with Danny and Toby, J.T. fakes a romantic gesture by farting when Manny pulls his hand. Things get even rockier between them when Danny creeps up behind J.T. and pulls his trunks down in front of everyone, exposing his private parts. J.T. is embarrassed as he's convinced that Manny thinks his penis is small. He even asks her at school the next day if that's how she feels but Manny claims that it's not. J.T. and Manny commence to kiss when Craig interrupts them to ask Manny how her summer was. J.T.'s insecurity leads him to confront Craig in the locker room later on. Man to man, he politely tells Craig to respect the fact that Manny is his girlfriend. However, J.T. couldn't finish his statement as he gets distracted by Craig's nudity, seeing that he has an apparently larger penis. Moments later, Danny presents what he calls a "solution to [J.T.'s] little problem," a penis pump. J.T. is skeptical at first but he agrees to try it in an effort to save his relationship with Manny.
Manny walks in J.T. using his penis pump.
Meanwhile, Manny is talking to Liberty about her annoyance and discontent with J.T. When Liberty suggests that breaking up with him is the best thing to do, Manny insists that she doesn't want to hurt him. So, she accepts J.T.'s invitation for some time alone at his place. Manny shows up to J.T.'s candlelit bedroom and the two of them attempt to make out on his bed. They are both nervous for two different reasons; J.T. wants Manny to be impressed with his "new growth" while Manny wants to work up the nerve to end the relationship. When Manny steps out of the bedroom for a brief moment, J.T. begins to use the penis pump again for good measure. Unfortunately, Manny catches him and leaves his house in shock. The next day at school, J.T. desperately approaches Manny, who quickly runs away as he tries to apologize. He explains that he was simply jealous because he felt that Craig had something that he lacked. Manny states that it is maturity, not in terms of endowment, that Craig has and J.T. lacks. Having cleared it up for him, J.T. asks Manny for a second chance but she decides that the relationship is over. J.T. was hurt over the breakup for quite a while but he eventually gets over it. Nonetheless, J.T. and Manny remained good friends until the very end.
In Back In Black, Manny tries to talk some sense into J.T. when he is refusing to be a good friend to Toby Isaacs by going to Rick Murray's funeral. When he won't be the bigger person, Manny says she remembers why she broke up with him.
In Voices Carry (1), Manny, J.T., and Liberty are all involved in the Drama Club. When J.T. and Liberty are forced to re-write their vampire play, they change it to a Degrassi musical, which Manny refuses to do. Manny tells Liberty to convince J.T. to come back and brainstorm ideas for another musical.
In Voices Carry (2), Manny, along with the rest of the drama club, refuses to do J.T. and Liberty's play that mocks Principal Raditch.
In Secret (2), J.T. and Manny perform Dracula.
In West End Girls, Liberty and J.T. give Manny her ballots to vote for King and Queen of Prom. Later, J.T. jokes that Paige and Manny can be the first matching prom queen since they're wearing the same dress.
Season 5
In Venus (2), Manny walks over to J.T. and Toby and asks what they're watching on the Internet and J.T. responds by showing her a video of a monkey sniffing his butt and Manny, who doesn't seem very happy, says it's very funny.
In Foolin', Manny, Liberty, Emma, J.T., and Toby all go out to see a movie together. After J.T. makes a joke about his sex life with Liberty to Toby, Liberty overhears and dumps soda down J.T.'s pants. Manny is in the background, surprised. Later, Emma, Manny, and Toby are staring at J.T. and Liberty talking to the police officers while in class.
In Turned Out (1), Mr. Simpson plays a tape from J.T.'s after school job as a children's host on television, which Emma, Manny, and Liberty all find adorable.
In High Fidelity (1), J.T. and Toby are shown laughing and smiling during Manny's fight with Darcy.
In High Fidelity (2), Manny and J.T. host Degrassi's variety show together.
Season 6
Manny is in tears after hearing that J.T. is dead.
In Rock This Town, J.T. overhears Manny talking about her tragic breakup with Craig and tells her that he is sorry. A bored Manny thinks about having some type of party over the weekend, so J.T. says to throw one for Liberty's birthday. This excites Manny, and J.T. walks away with a smile. Later, when Manny is at the hospital with Emma, Sean, and Toby, she is upset, crying, and blaming herself for what happened to J.T. She is even more upset when she finds out that J.T. died.
In The Bitterest Pill, Manny attends J.T.'s funeral. She later defends J.T. by telling Toby to take back the kiss from Liberty.
Season 7
In We Built This City, Manny, Emma, Toby, and Liberty put a graduation cap by a photo of J.T. on the J.T. Yorke Memorial. They turn his cap, as if he has graduated alongside them, and they all smile together.
Trivia
- They both had plots dealing with teenage pregnancy: Manny got an abortion in Accidents Will Happen (2) while J.T.'s girlfriend Liberty Van Zandt gave birth to a boy in Together Forever.
- Manny is the first girlfriend of J.T.'s to be pregnant at some point. The second and third were Liberty and Mia, respectively. However, only Liberty was pregnant with his baby.
- Manny had a conflict with J.T.'s friend Paige Michalchuk.
- They were both friends with Toby Isaacs, Emma Nelson, Liberty Van Zandt and Sean Cameron.
- They knew each other since they were four years old.
- Liberty convinced Manny to break up with J.T.
- Toby told J.T. that it seemed like Manny was never really into the relationship.
- Manny convinced J.T. to support Toby and go to Rick Murray's funeral in Back In Black.
- J.T. had conflicts with two other guys Manny has dated: Spinner Mason and Jay Hogart.
- J.T. gave Manny the idea to throw Liberty a birthday party in Rock This Town.
- In Rock This Town, Manny was present at the hospital when J.T. was pronounced dead.
- They both dated a Lakehurst Secondary School student during the Degrassi/Lakehurst War: J.T. dated Mia Jones while Manny dated Damian Hayes.
- They were friends before the first episode.
- Manny was friends with two of J.T.'s other girlfriends: Liberty Van Zandt and Mia Jones.
- They both made their first appearances in Mother and Child Reunion (1).
- They appeared in all 15 episodes of Season 1, as did Emma and Toby.
- Manny attended J.T.'s funeral and memorial service at Degrassi in The Bitterest Pill.
- They were both members of the Degrassi Drama Department.
- In White Wedding (2), they both attended Archie Simpson and Christine Nelson's wedding in January 2003.
- Manny was J.T.'s first girlfriend.
- Manny appeared in Kevin Smith's film Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh! while J.T. was a member of the film's crew.
Rival Relationships
Timeline
- Start Up: Our House (321)
- Broke Up: Mercy Street (404)
- Reason: Manny believed that J.T. was too childish/immature.
