John Rowland

"Just so you know, you beat up the wrong guy. Didn't you think it was strange that you had the only lawn on Wisteria Lane that needed to be mowed three times a week?"

John Rowland is one of the seasonal main characters of Desperate Housewives. Introduced as the teenage gardener for the Solis family, he began an illicit affair with Gabrielle Solis behind the back of her husband Carlos. John eventually developed strong feelings for his lover even after the affair was broken off. John would later go on to get married and have a child, but he was never able to leave his romance with Gabrielle in the past.

Early life
John begins working as a gardener for Gabrielle and Carlos after his mother Helen Rowland requested he be taken on. ("Suspicious Minds") One day after a fight between she and her husband, Gabrielle decides to seduce John and takes his virginity in the Solis family garage. Afterwards the two begin an affair. ("Remember, Part 2")

Season 1
"Lately, you've been the only thing keeping me going."

- Gabrielle Solis

Introduced as Carlos and Gabrielle's gardener, John accidentally cuts himself with shears while gardening and Gabrielle instructs him to go inside and get a bandage. When Carlos leaves for work, Gabrielle convinces John to have sex with her on a table. Later, Gabrielle begins smoking with John in bed as the two discuss her marriage. John asks for a drag from the cigarette but Gabrielle tells him he is much too young to smoke, revealing he is underage. ("Pilot")

After Gabrielle and John are almost caught by Carlos, Gabrielle decides to visit John's house while his parents are out. She tells him they need to be more discrete with their affair and the two proceed to have sex. John then gives her a rose which he describes as being "perfect", just like her. It is at this moment that Gabrielle realizes John is falling in love with her. ("Ah, But Underneath")

One day after school, John comes over to fool around with Gabrielle, but as the two are kissing, Gabrielle notices a small girl has been watching them from outside. Gabrielle manages to bribe the girl into staying silent about the affair. ("Pretty Little Picture")

Gabrielle and John's romantic bath is interrupted when John hears the doorbell ring. Assuming it is Carlos, he jumps out of the tub and hastily gets dressed, accidentally leaving his sock underneath Gabrielle's bed. Carlos finds the sock the next day and becomes suspicious, but Gabrielle convinces Carlos that the sock is used by their Yao Lin for cleaning. Gabrielle shows up at John's soccer practice and orders him to wear sandals from now on. Carlos later concludes that the cable guy is having an affair with Gabrielle and he interrogates John for answers. John declines to comment and Carlos beats the cable guy up, only to find out he is gay. ("Who's That Woman?")

Still convinced that his wife is having an affair, Carlos invites his mother Juanita to stay with the Solis family and spy on his wife. Gabrielle makes arrangements to meet John at a motel but her plans are sabotaged by Juanita, and John becomes frustrated when his lover fails to shows up. Later, Gabrielle promises to meet John at the mall and plants a blouse in Juanita's bag while the two are shopping. When Juanita tries to chase Gabrielle out of the store, she is held back by security, and Gabrielle shares a kiss with John outside the mall. ("Come In, Stranger")

Gabrielle becomes jealous when John stops returning her phone calls. Later, she sees him with Bree's daughter, Danielle Van de Kamp, and confronts him. He suggests the two slow down their relationship as to not arouse the suspicions of Gabrielle's mother-in-law, but Gabrielle assures him she has everything under control. While sitting outside on the porch, Juanita sees Gabrielle and John bump into each other and deduces that he is the man she is cheating on Carlos with. ("Running to Stand Still")

After Gabrielle ends a phone call with John, Juanita picks up the phone and redials the last number. Her suspicions about Gabrielle and John are confirmed when he picks up the phone. Later, Gabrielle finds out that John and Danielle are dating and tries to send her away to New York by offering her an opening at a modeling school. John finds out and breaks up with Gabrielle, but she persuades him to sleep with her one last time while Carlos is at a work function. That night, while Gabrielle and John kiss on the bed, Juanita walks in and takes a photo of them with her digital camera. John chases her down the steps and tries to grab the camera but she manages to subdue him. Juanita then dashes out onto the road and is run over by a car driven by an intoxicated Andrew Van de Kamp. Juanita slips into a coma and Gabrielle takes her camera. ("Anything You Can Do")

John visits Juanita in the hospital, feeling incredibly guilty, and asks Carlos if he can pray for Juanita with him. John later breaks up with Gabrielle and tells her he confessed the affair to a priest. ("Guilty")

Gabrielle holds a charity fashion show in order to raise money for more nursing staff at the Sacred Heart Hospital. John's mother Helen participates, and she thanks Gabrielle for taking on John as her gardener. John shows up to help volunteer but tells Gabrielle he is not interested in continuing their affair. She persists, taking off her shoe under the table and burying her foot in his crotch. Susan Mayer sees this and confronts Gabrielle, who admits the two were having an affair. When John and his friend Justin are playing basketball, Helen overhears Justin say that John is "doing a hot housewife". Gabrielle tells John that Susan knows about the affair and John visits her at her house to discuss what she knows. Helen sees the two hug and attacks Susan, believing she is sleeping with her son. After Susan tells Gabrielle to own up to what she did, Gabrielle tells Helen the truth about her and John. ("Suspicious Minds")

John's parents visit Gabrielle as he has moved out and quit school. They tell her that if she does not persuade him to return, then Helen will go to the authorities. Gaby agrees and she goes to John's apartment, she wonders why he has quit school and he tells her that he thinks his gardening business could take off. He then proposes to Gaby but she declines, he is upset and wonders why, she tells him that she is already married and that she still loves Carlos. ("Your Fault")

John quits being Gaby's gardener and sends his roommate, Justin, to go and fill in for him, whilst there, he hits on Gaby telling her that he will go to Carlos and tell him about John if she does not sleep with him. It is later discovered that Justin wanted to sleep with her because he thinks he might be gay. ("Impossible") Mama Solis dies in the hospital meaning that Gaby and John are in the clear. ("There Won't Be Trumpets")

Gabrielle goes out for a jog and crosses eyes with former lover John Rowland, who's jogging on a separate side of the street. John makes the initiative for them to approach each other and chat, but Gabrielle silently turns him down, and they head off on their separate ways. Later, when Carlos forces his wife to sign a post-nuptial agreement, Gabrielle takes 'revenge' upon him by hooking up with John yet again... and Mary Alice reveals to us she will soon become pregnant, as her husband's been tampering with her birth control. ("Children Will Listen")

Gaby's credit card is frozen and she goes to see John who offers her his student card. She goes out but cannot pay for lunch as the card was declined. She calls John and he tells her that his mom saw some unusual activity on his card and cancelled it. Gaby finds other means to pay for lunch. ("Live Alone and Like It")

Gaby soon tells John that she is pregnant and that either he or Carlos is the father, she doesn't know. John decides he must tell Carlos of the affair and Gaby throws salsa in his eyes to stop him from going anywhere. Carlos, who is oblivious to the real situation, invites John to once again be their gardener. ("Sunday in the Park with George") Justin gives Gaby the cold shoulder for not treating the situation with the delicacy it deserves as it could be John's child. Gaby leaves Carlos and goes to John's house to find he is not there, only Justin is, Carlos sees her hugging Justin and beats him up, think he is sleeping with his wife, he then gets arrested for beating up another gay man. ("Goodbye for Now") John appears at Carlos's court date and admits the affair, right after they said that Carlos is not a gay-basher, he jumps at John, trying to beat him up, but the court thinks he is attacking Justin again. Carlos is sent to jail. ("One Wonderful Day")

Season 2
"You brought luggage?!"

- Gabrielle Solis

John arrives at Gaby's house after Carlos is sent to jail. He arrives with packed bags and the intention of staying with her. Gaby gets mad at him for the stunt he pulled in the courtroom (telling Carlos the truth about the affair). But John explains that they can now be a real couple. However, Gaby doesn't agree and she takes his bags outside and throws John onto the street in nothing but his underwear. ("Next")

Gabrielle realizes that she misses her affair with John and imagines it happening again. She drives over to the house that he now gardens at to watch him, he sees the housewife come out and beckon John, he goes in after her and it is obvious that the two are having sex. He leaves the house, kissing the woman, only to discover that Gaby has wrecked the lawn. John sees her and tells her he is in love with the other woman, it is not true and he later reveals that he tried to make Gaby jealous as he still loves her. Gaby turns him down. ("You'll Never Get Away from Me")

Season 3
"Wow, it really is a small world."

John runs into Gaby who is on a spa weekend and he reveals how he is very successful now and she reveals that she and Carlos are divorcing. The two later have sex and John's fiancee returns, he reveals to Gabrielle that he got the job by being with the owner's daughter and Gaby hides in a suitcase. The next day, Gaby suggests that they begin an affair, John tells her that that is not how he wants to be married. ("A Weekend in the Country")

Season 4
"I think it's time for me to forgive you for sleeping with my wife..."

- Carlos Solis

John and his wife Tammy run into Gabrielle at a hotel where she is staying with Carlos, Tammy wonders how they know each other and they say that John was just her gardener. He also reveals that his father-in-law goes hunting with Gaby's new husband, Victor, so Gaby makes sure he doesn't know that she is there with Carlos. Later, John shows up at Gaby's hotel room, wanting to be with her again but Gaby declines, he expresses how he feels he is stuck in a dead-end marriage and how they had real chemistry. Carlos later visits John and tells him that he realized what it is like to be in his shoes and forgives him for sleeping with his wife. ("Art Isn't Easy")

Season 6
"Well, she's seventeen, so you're also flirting with an orange jumpsuit!"

- Gabrielle Solis

John sees Gaby in the restaurant that he owns and she is with Carlos, her two daughters and her niece, she looks a mess and John notices how beautiful Ana is and is surprised that she is from Carlos's side of the family. Gaby fixes herself up, Carlos suspects that she still has the hots for him. John offers to hire Ana as a waitress and Gaby declines, Carlos says that this is because she was jealous. ("Never Judge a Lady by Her Lover")

Ana has taken the job and Gaby sees John drop her off from work, she is furious with John for trying to flirt with Ana and concludes that she will now be picking Ana up from work. Gaby finds out that Ana bought condoms as she is in love with John and she goes to his restaurant to tell him to leave her alone. John believes that Gaby still has feelings for him and kisses her after expressing that he can provide for her now, she declines him yet again. Ana sees them kissing and Gaby tells her of the affair that happened many years before. ("The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues")