Mary and John Winchester's relationship was complicated due to Mary's hunting background. They gradually fell in love and married, later becoming the parents of Sam and Dean Winchester. When Mary was brutally murdered by Azazel, her husband decided to go on a quest to find out what killed his wife. When he learned it was supernatural, he dove head first into the hunting world - exactly the kind of life that Mary tried so hard to protect him from.

As seen when they reunited on February 7, 2019 through time travel and Mary's resurrection, their love for each other remained as strong as ever despite years apart.

In an alternate universe, having met under the exact same circumstances, John and Mary's relationship quickly developed, but was complicated by John's attraction to hunting while Mary wanted more and more to get out of the life, although they set out to figure out their futures together and how to make it work. After witnessing this version of his parents, and providing them with a way to avoid the terrible fate that his own parents had suffered, Dean believed that they had a shot at a happy ending together.

Background[]

There were orders from Heaven to get John and Mary together in order for Sam and Dean to be born. At first, John and Mary could not stand each other, but soon a cupid came in and worked his magic. Even with the cupid's powers, the love felt between John and Mary was very real. Mary didn't tell John about her hunting background. To her, John was normal and could give her that normal life she craved. She ignored her father's misgivings about John, telling Dean, her future son and who was traveling to 1973 from the future, that she would run away if she had to, but that she was in love with John and that even though he had been through the Vietnam War, he still believed in happily ever after and was kind.

Pre-Sam and Dean[]

In 1973, John and Mary are still dating. John tells Mary he knows her father doesn't like him very much. Mary tells John that her father just doesn't know John yet. Around this time John is also thinking of proposing to Mary (Mary knows this which she reveals to Dean). Mary is also very protective of John and attacks Dean when she notices him following them.

Later on, Mary calls John and asks him to take her away. They drive off towards the waterfront. There, John proposes to Mary, but "Samuel" arrives and pulls John out of the car. John tries to reason with "Samuel", but gets his neck snapped. As Mary holds John's lifeless body, Azazel, who was possessing Samuel, offers Mary a deal. He will bring John back if she gives him permission to enter her home in 10 years. Unable to live without John, Mary agrees. John re-awakens in Mary's arms and is confused about what happened.

In 1978, John and Mary are now married and living normal lives. John works as a mechanic, and Mary stays at home. Dean and Sam soon turn up claiming to be members of Mary's family. They tell Mary about an angel coming to kill her and John. While they are talking, John gets lured away by Anna and Mary comes to John's rescue. John finds out about Mary's hunting past and is angry she never told him.

Mary takes them all to a safe house and they prepare for the angel. During this time, Mary learns they are her and john's sons who implore her to leave for her safety but she reveals to the boys that she's pregnant with Dean. Anna comes in and knocks John away. Mary comes to John's defense, but is overpowered by Anna. Just as Anna is about to deliver the kill, Michael (possessing John) kills Anna. Michael renders Mary unconscious as well as wiping hers (and John's) memory of ever meeting Sam and Dean. Michael reveals that John said "yes" to Michael when he told John he could save Mary.

Later on, a pregnant Mary and John stand in the nursery looking at an angel statue Mary bought. She tells John everything is going to be okay.

Dean is born on January 24, 1979. Between that time and Sam's birth, John and Mary's marriage strains but they make amends. Four years after Dean's birth, Sam was born on May 2, 1983.

Season 1[]

Mary and John are now parents of two. It has been six months since Sam has been born. Mary and John are putting the boys to bed. In the night, Mary notices some noise in Sam's nursery and goes to check on Sam. There she see a figure over Sam's bed, and thinks it's John. She heads towards bed but then she notices a light flickering. Mary also notices that the television is on downstairs and that John is sitting in front of it. Mary runs back to the nursery.

John wakes to Mary's screams and runs to Sam's nursery where he find her on the ceiling. John grabs Sam and gives him to Dean. John returns for Mary, but it's too late. The room is engulfed in flames. John is devastated and vengeful after Mary's death and tries to figure out what killed her. He meets Missouri Moseley who shows John the supernatural side of the world and what really killed Mary. From there out, John becomes a hunter and starts hunting the Yellow-eyed demon responsible for her death.

Even after Mary's death, John wears his wedding ring.

In Home, John is surprised to learn that Mary's spirit protected Sam and Dean.

Season 12[]

Approximately ten years after John Winchester's death, Mary is brought back to life by The Darkness, as a gift to their son Dean. Confused and disorientated, Mary not only has to accept that she has been dead for 33 years, but that John raised her children to become hunters, and thus did the very thing she tried to prevent.

Mary initially tries to cope with living with her grown-up sons, and manages for a time. She and Dean share stories, with Mary telling Dean that she believes John was a good father, something Dean doesn't argue. Dean also reveals that John did speak of Mary from time to time, allowing the boys to know more about her.

After finishing a case involving a vengeful spirit, whose evil actions were motivated by the loss of his family, Mary is reminded that she deeply misses John and her children as they once were. She decides to depart from Sam and Dean in order to adapt to the new world, much to the discomfort of her sons.

Mary soon joins the British Men of Letters organization, seduced by their promise of a world without monsters. Mary believes that by partaking in the mass-annihilation of every species of monsters, she is freeing her sons of the burden to hunt, allowing them to live normally as she had intended for them. Mary gradually bonds with Man of Letters Arthur Ketch, which leads to sex and Mary's desire to become even closer to him, though Ketch disapproves.

Throughout her journey in this strange new world, Mary wore John's wedding ring around her neck. She took it off when she slept with Ketch, and smiled fondly at it before pocketing it in her trousers.

After Mary discovers the British Men of Letters' secret plan to hunt down all American hunters, including her sons, she is captured by Arthur and interrogated by Lady Toni Bevell. Toni convinces Mary that her dream of living with a happy family inside a normal life is nothing more than a made up fantasy, by revealing to Mary about John's life following her death.

Mary learns that John had been driven to seek vengeance following her death and was not the loving father Mary assumed him to be. Toni further points out how her sons had chosen to keep this truth from her.

Season 13[]

Apocalypse World[]

In Good Intentions, while in the Apocalypse World Mary asks Bobby Singer about her counterpart and learns she never made the deal with Azazel that would resurrect John. Mary is further shocked about hearing that regret the latter had about not resurrecting the love of her life and the refusal led to the ruin of the world. According to Bobby, Mary's counterpart never moved on from losing John.

Season 14[]

During Lebanon, John is pulled ahead into the future. He is updated on what occurred in his absence and pleased by the results, as he mentions the mission to avenge Mary who shows up. When Mary walks in the door and calls out, John instantly becomes choked up at hearing her voice. Both were shocked to see one another and shared a loving embrace, as their sons looked on in happiness and left them to it. John and Mary were both sad their reunion couldn't last while time is repairing itself but decide to make the most of it by sharing a family dinner.

When John learned that Mary could disappear as the altered timeline would negate her resurrection, he didn't hesitate to return to his own time, stating that in a choice between himself and Mary there was no contest. As they ate, Sam and Dean noticed the tenderness of their love and were pleased to see this display. Before John went back to his time, he called Mary his girl and they held hands as he disappeared into the past. Mary was sad to see him go while her sons comforted her on it.

John woke up in his time, believing everything that happened was a dream and went to the Dean of his time.

In Absence, after Mary was accidentally killed by Jack, Castiel discovers that she is at peace in a special Heaven she shares with John, suggesting that they are in fact soulmates.

In Jack in the Box, Duma threatens their happiness in an attempt to force Castiel to comply with her wishes. Instead, Castiel instantly kills Duma to protect John and Mary's Heaven.

Season 15[]

In Carry On, when their son Dean died due to a vampire and goes to Heaven, he is reunited with Bobby Singer, who mentions that Mary and John have a place nearby and Dean can visit them at any time since the new God allows the souls of Heaven to exist together, sharing one giant Heaven where they can be together and happy. One of the pictures on Sam's wall when he's older is a family portrait apparently taken during the events of Lebanon before John was returned to his own time.

The Winchesters[]

In an alternate universe, John and Mary share the same meeting as their Main Universe counterparts, but unlike the hatred at first sight described by Cupid, the two display an almost instant attraction to each other. With John being drawn into hunting due to a mysterious letter from his father, their relationship quickly develops as they hunt the Akrida, although it's complicated by Mary's desire to leave the hunting life while John is increasingly drawn to it. Although John is quickly aware of his feelings, he hides them at first so that Mary has the chance at a normal life that she wants while Mary goes on a date with Kyle Reed. However, their bond is such that John is the one sent into Mary's mind to save her from the Akrida stingers as John knows her the best of the Monster Club despite being the one with the shortest history with Mary aside from Ada Monroe.

After being cornered by the Akrida, John and Mary finally share a kiss before they are saved by Samuel Campbell. Following the defeat of Loki, Mary kisses John again and they start a relationship that Mary insists upon keeping a secret at first, although John's near-death experience with the Il Soarta vampires reveals it to their unsurprised friends. However, being on the run puts a strain on their relationship, especially as John is using hunting to avoid dealing with his legal troubles while Mary is using it to deal with her uncertainty over her plans for after hunting and where their relationship fits into it, particularly if John wants to continue hunting. After defeating Limbo the Clown, the two admit to their mistakes and make up.

Following the defeat of the Akrida, Dean reveals that he had been looking for a world where his family had a chance at a happy ending and, looking at John, Mary, Samuel and Millie - his parents and grandparents - Dean thinks that he's found it. With the agreement of Jack, Dean provides his parents with his hunter's journal to help guide them through the hunting life and the Colt with a warning about using it to kill Azazel should they ever encounter him so as to help John and Mary avoid the fates of the John and Mary of his world.

Mary subsequently decides to leave town to figure out her future away from hunting while John remains in Lawrence to continue hunting and work on his anger issues, although they agree to no goodbyes and to see each other again in the future. Mary returns shortly thereafter to invite John to come with her to figure out their futures together during the day while hunting at night. With the encouragement of their loved ones, John agrees and he and Mary depart together.

Trivia[]

• After Mary's death, John had at least two lovers, Kate Milligan and Tara, who both died sometime after John did. Kate was targeted due to her connection to John while Tara was killed for being a hunter.
  • Mary is likely unaware of this, or the fact that John had a son with Kate named Adam.
  • Both were avenged by Dean.
• Mary herself goes on to develop a brief romantic relationship with Arthur Ketch and an interest in the alternate Bobby Singer, though her feelings for John appear unchanged, as did John's feelings for Mary.
• This is the first romantic couple to suffer a tragedy on the show. The next was Sam and Jess, followed by Sam and Madison, Dean and Lisa and Castiel and Meg.