What Happened to Jack Hunter in Boy Meets World?

Jack Hunter joins Boy Meets World in Season 5 when he attends Pennbrook University and reunites with his half-brother Shawn. Jack later dates Rachel McGuire before joining her in the Peace Corps after graduation.

Jack is introduced in Season 5, Episode 1: Brothers when he appears at Chubbie’s Famous Hamburgers. Jack announces that he’s attending Pennbrook University and is looking for roommates for his new 3-bedroom apartment off campus.

Naturally, Jack’s inquiry catches the ear of Cory, who is looking for a way to get his brother Eric out of the house. After outlining the apartment’s amenities and listening to Cory’s pitch, Jack preliminary agrees to live with Eric.

Moments later, Shawn Hunter enters Chubbie’s with a look of disgust. Initially, Cory urges Shawn to let go of any minor infraction he’s had with Jack in the past, only to learn that Jack is Shawn’s estranged half-brother and Chet’s son.

Shawn is Jack’s half-brother, and as Lil Wayne once said, “same father, different mother.” Shawn harbors resentment towards Jack since he grew up wealthy after his mother left Chet for Jack’s rich stepfather.

Despite the emotional conflict, Jack and Shawn grow to respect one another and become a family. Shawn even rooms with Jack during his freshman year at Pennbrook at the request of their father, Chet.

Chet is Jack Hunter’s estranged father who reunites with him when Jack attends Pennbrook University in Philadelphia. Before returning to the area, Jack had moved away with his mother at a young age, and she married his rich stepfather.

In an attempt to repair their family dynamic, Chet Hunter insists that his other son, Jack’s brother Shawn, move into Jack’s new off-campus apartment. Initially, Shawn resists the proposal but ultimately moves in with Jack and Eric.

Because of Pennbrook’s close proximity to the trailer park, Chet attempts to form a bond with his estranged son, Jack, with some success. While Jack is open to getting to know Chet, Shawn often dissuades him from “getting his hopes up.”

Unfortunately, Chet dies from a heart attack in Season 6, Episode 13: We’ll Have a Good Time Then, shortly after eating Rachel’s homemade cake. After his death, Jack grieves about never truly getting to know his birth father.

Eddie Hunter is Chet’s other son, which would also make him Jack’s half-brother. Eddie’s birth mother is never revealed, so it’s also possible that he and Jack are full brothers. However, neither Jack nor Eddie ever mentions one another in the series.

Jack starts dating Rachel McGuire in Season 6, Episode 14: Getting Hitched. Rachel consoles Jack after his father’s death, which occurred in the previous episode. However, their mutual attraction to one another was previously evident.

Their relationship lasts through the remainder of Season 6 before the characters break up during the hiatus before Season 7. It is revealed in Season 7, Episode 1: Show Me The Love, that Jack and Rachel are no longer together.

Despite breaking up, the former couple remain close friends. In the series finale, Jack and Rachel decide to join the Peace Corps together.

Jack briefly dates Wendy, his neighbor from apartment 3B though a relationship never materializes. However, their connection sparks conflict between Jack and Shawn after Shawn connects with her subsequently.

Jack and Eric go on a double date with Penbrook students Jill and Carol, though it becomes evident that Jill is more compatible with Jack and Carol with Eric. However, when the boys point this out, the girls dump them.

Jack dates a witch named Millie during the episode The Witches of Penbrook. Millie asks Jack to see his apartment, and the two hit it off. It soon becomes clear, however, that Millie is attempting to sacrifice Jack.

Eric is Jack’s best friend and roommate from Season 5 through the remainder of the series. However, despite their on-screen inseparability, Jack grows to view his increasingly absurd friend as an insufferable idiot.

Their friendship is temporarily threatened when Jack starts dating Rachel, who Eric also displayed a strong interest in during Season 6. However, the roommates ultimately remain close, and Jack and Rachel break up before Season 7.

Despite Eric’s regression into stupidity, Jack often looks out for him out of pity.

Jack becomes friendly with Cory, who he first meets at Chubbie’s, before running into his estranged brother, Shawn. Since Jack initially rooms with Eric and Shawn, Cory naturally visits the apartment with frequency.

Cory even films a documentary about Jack’s life along with his roommate Eric and brother Shawn. Although Jack and Cory are never particularly close, they spend a lot of time together and maintain a cordial friendship.

Jack and Topanga are mostly acquaintances until Jack catches chicken pox, and Topanga nurses him back to health. After Topanga helps him recover, the two grow a closer bond that lasts the rest of the series.

Angela and Jack grow friendly as they exist in the same social circles, with Angela dating Jack’s brother and Jack dating one of Angela’s closest friends. In addition, Angela, Shawn, and Jack sometimes attend nightclubs together.

In Season 5, Episode 2: Boy Meets Real World, Shawn reveals that Jack once lived with him, Chet, and Jack’s mother at an apartment in South Philadelphia. This revelation directly conflicts with multiple previously established storylines.

As for his on-screen residence, Jack lives at the off-campus apartment until Rachel kicks him out in Season 7. Then, he briefly lives with Eric in the dorms before moving back into the apartment after Topanga marries Cory. 

Angela and Shawn briefly live in the apartment together but decide it’s too soon to live together. As a result, Jack, Eric, and Shawn reunite as roommates in the same apartment they occupied during Season 5.

After enrolling at Pennbrook University, Jack scores a lovely apartment off-campus and seeks out roommates at Chubbie’s. When he arrives at the hangout, he runs into Cory and his long-lost half-brother, Shawn. 

Of course, Shawn is disturbed to see his brother, as Shawn assumed their estrangement was intentional on Jack’s part. Still, Jack stops by Chet’s trailer to say hello to his birth father, who he had not seen in several years.

Shawn initially neglects to tell his father about Jack’s arrival. Later, Jack shows up at the trailer park, much to Chet’s surprise. Despite Shawn’s protests, Chet encourages Shawn to room with Jack, who promises to cover the rent for his younger brother. 

Chet ultimately donates a toaster to the new apartment, and Shawn accepts his new family member. Finally, Chet and Alan Matthews help their sons move into the apartment as they become functioning adults.

After Alan and Amy force Eric to leave their home, Eric decides to room with Jack. Since Shawn will serve as the other roommate, the three friends live together off-campus. 

But, of course, Shawn remains in high school while Jack and Eric attend their first college semester. Since Shawn lives in the apartment, Cory frequently visits to hang out with his best friend and brother.

When Rachel first moves into the apartment (to replace Shawn), Jack and Eric attempt to win her over. In some ways, Jack and Eric look at their respective courtships as a competition. 

Ultimately, Jack wins out and starts dating Rachel in the second half of Season 6. But, of course, the stimulus for their relationship is Chet’s sudden death, which allows Jack to confide in Rachel, who takes pity. 

However, their relationship doesn’t last too long, and they break up in the Season 7 premiere and are just friends afterward. 

In a strange turn of events, Jack decides to join the Peace Corps (or Peace Core, as they pronounce it) with Rachel. Jack’s previous plan was to work for his father’s company and inherit a lifetime of high-paying positions. 

However, Jack grows inspired by Shawn’s move to New York and Rachel’s humanitarian aspirations. Shawn cites one of Chet’s infamous quotes, “Money doesn’t make you rich; life makes you rich.” 

The decision is very off-brand for Jack, who had never once shown an interest in volunteering or philanthropy.

Jack and Shawn are half-brothers as they share the same father but have different mothers. The two became estranged when Jack and his mother move away and lose touch with Shawn and Chet.

Shawn reveals that he sent Jack numerous letters over the years and never got a response. Jack Hunter insists he never received the letters.

Shawn references two other siblings besides Jack throughout the series. In Season 1, Shawn references his older sister, Stacey, while convincing Cory to straighten his hair. However, Stacey is never mentioned again in the series.

In Season 3, Shawn runs into his other half-brother, Eddie Hunter, who beats up Cory for filming his computer theft. Since Shawn, Jack, and Eddie are all sons of Chet, they are all half-brothers. Of course, Eddie is never referenced again, either.