Unhappily Ever After - Main Characters

Main Characters

• Jack Malloy (Geoff Pierson): A schizophrenic, alcoholic, cynical and depressed man who hates his wholly unsatisfying job as a used-car salesman and his unhappy marriage. He gets little respect from his family, who think that he is insane or senile. He converses with a stuffed bunny (Mr. Floppy) that only he can hear. His daughter Tiffany is his only real hope in his otherwise depressing life, though he is unaware of how Tiffany often uses him to her own advantage. He and his wife tend to bicker over trivial things and she appears to dominate him. He doesn't really care about his family (except for Tiffany), despite the fact they are the cause of most of his woes. He is the sole source of income for the family and often tries to manage the money he makes, though it never gets to him as he has to pay for bills, food, expenses, allowances, and presents for Tiffany.

• Jennifer "Jennie" Malloy (née Slattery) (Stephanie Hodge): Jack's irritable and promiscuous wife, who gets along with no one in particular and is prone to jealousy. She is sarcastic, embittered and judgmental, verbally abusing Jack, and showing little compassion for her children. She particularly resents Tiffany, who is everything Jennie never was. Jennie comes across as self-centered, mean, and ill-tempered, and she is also shown to make a cuckold out of Jack. Hypocritically, Jennie is still shown to be displeased when Jack becomes involved with other women. She "dies" during season four, existing in the series as a "ghost", before coming back briefly and then leaving permanently in season 5. We hear that she divorced Jack, leaving him for another woman.

• Ryan Malloy (Kevin Connolly): The eldest son of Jack and Jennie, Ryan maintains a positive, happy-go-lucky attitude despite being stupid and disliked by virtually everyone he knows, including his parents. He occasionally acknowledges how miserable his existence is and comes across as sympathetic; in one episode, his chemistry teacher, Ms. O'Hara, blows herself up after Ryan passes her class and wins a bet where she said she'd go to a school dance with him if he did so, and Ryan is visibly distraught at both her death and what it says about how he's perceived. His inability to attract girls and his parents' overt derision of him are recurring themes throughout the show. Throughout the series Ryan manages to have a limited number of girlfriends, though the relationships are inevitably ill-fated.

• Tiffany Malloy (Nikki Cox): The "favorite" child of Jack, Tiffany is the middle child, who is seemingly perfect: smart, ambitious, popular, attractive, and still a virgin. However, Tiffany is less than virtuous; she tends to be self-indulgent, self-serving, and manipulative, often taking advantage of Jack's special treatment. Typically she will use Ryan or Ross as a scapegoat whenever she gets in trouble. She is also shown to be a practicing gold digger. Tiffany's figure has been repeatedly alluded to as a result of her suffering from some kind of an eating disorder. Tiffany is an overachiever, coveting success and frequently achieving it. She's extremely opinionated and can be very sarcastic, speaking with deadpan humor.

• Ross Malloy (Justin Berfield): The "forgotten child". The youngest and arguably the most normal member of the family, Ross is often the voice of reason, common sense, and enlightenment in an otherwise dysfunctional family. However, it becomes clear from certain episodes that Ross has issues of his own. As a result of indifferent parenting, Ross craves attention, though his attempts usually fail. In one episode, he even attempts arson. Ross is shown to adore his father despite Jack's lack of concern for him, Ross was the one who gave Jack the stuffed rabbit Mr. Floppy. He also gets the least airtime, which is the joke of some episodes. Ross dislikes his siblings Tiffany and Ryan, Tiffany for being cruel and selfish and an attention-craver and Ryan for being stupid and annoying.