By the time That ‘70s Show final episode aired in 2006, Mila Kunis’ Jackie Burkhart had been romantically tied with all the males in her friend group aside from Topher Grace’s Eric Foreman. First she and Ashton Kutcher’s Michael Kelso were a thing, then she dated Danny Masterson’s Steven Hyde for a while, and at the end of eighth and final season, she and Wilmer Valderrama were together. It looked like those two kids had a bright future ahead of them, but as was teased in the That ‘90s Show trailer, those two weren’t seen together at all in this Netflix original series.
Alas, it turns out that Jackie and Fez didn’t last, with the former instead ending back up with Michael Kelso post-That ‘70s Show, an even more amusing pairing these days given that Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher are married in real life. So what happened in the 15 years between That ‘70s Show’s conclusion and That ‘90s Show’s beginning that led to Jackie and Kelso getting back together? That’s what we’re here to go over.
Warning: SPOILERS for That ‘90s Show Season 1 are ahead!
Kelso Is The Reason Jackie And Fez Broke Up
In the episode “Lip Smackers,” the first full That ‘90s Show episode to feature Fez following his cameo at the end of “Free Leia,” Debra Jo Rupp’s Kitty Forman stops by Fez’s salon, Chez Fez, to see if she can break up with him on behalf of her neighbor, Andrea Anders’ Sherri Runck. During the conversation, Fez recollects how his and Jackie’s relationship ended, revealing that the split happened shortly after That ‘70s Show ended, i.e. around 1980.
While Jackie and Fez were vacationing in Jamaica, the former found the latter talking on the phone with Kelso, and she then went back home to reunite with her ex-boyfriend. Fez stayed at the Jamaican resort five more days to get over his heartbreak. Cut to 1995, Fez is doing well for himself running Chez Fez, which has turned him into a minor celebrity in Point Place, Wisconsin, and he’s obviously been enjoying his time with Sherri (although Red succeeds in splitting Fez and Sherri up, they’re back together by the time of this Netflix show’s finale, “Kids and America”). Nevertheless, it’s clear that Fez is still hurt from his breakup with Jackie a decade and a half later.
Kelso And Jackie Still Don’t Have A Stable Relationship
So Fez and Jackie weren’t meant to be, but how is Jackie doing with Kelso these days? After all, if she was willing to get in touch with him so soon after she and Fez got together, then surely she must have realized that he was the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, right? Perhaps at the time, yes, but in the long run, history has continued to repeat itself with these two.
At the end of That ‘90s Show’s first episode, “That ‘90s Pilot,” right after Mace Coronel’s Jay reveals that his last name is Kelso to Red, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis’ characters show up, with Michael Kelso propping up his son and poking some fun at Red’s expense at Jay and Leia spending time together. But here’s the weird part: Michael Kelso and Jackie Burkhart’s visit to the Forman kitchen is just a stop on their way to getting married… again... for the second time. That’s right, this will be their third wedding (although Jackie is wearing white to convince people it’s their first time so they get better gifts), but they’re sure this will be the one to stick. Their confidence isn’t reassuring when they’re fine with their son hanging out with his friends at the lake instead of coming to the wedding.
While Mila Kunis “called BS” on Jackie ending back up with Kelso rather than sticking with Fez, perhaps the That ‘90s Show writers decided on this coupling since she and Ashton Kutcher are married, and thus it was easier to get them together on set rather than coordinate Kunis and Wilder Valderrama’s schedules. Whatever the reason, Kutcher and Kunis only appear in That ‘90s Show’s first episode, but Netflix subscribers can watch the entirety of Season 1 now to see what other familiar That ‘70s Show faces pop in. Beverly Hill, 90210 fans will also get a kick out of the sixth episode, “The Birthday Girl,” which has one of the teen drama’s original stars appearing.
