Jack shares a $300 a month apartment with two single female roommates: Chrissy Snow, a secretary and Janet Wood, a florist shop salesgirl. To secure his living arrangement with two females so the landlords Mr. & Mrs. Roper [and later Ralph Furley] don't object, Jack poses as a homosexual.  Both Mr. Roper and Mr. Furley were very straight and Jack’s alleged homosexuality always made them uneasy. They frequently misinterpreted bits of simple dialog as gay talk.

Jack first met Janet and Chrisy when he crashed the girl’s going away party for their roommate Eleanor Garvey. Consequently, Jack woke up in the bathtub the next morning. In need of a new roommate to help with the rent (and the cooking), Janet and Chrissy agreed to let Jack move into the apartment as long as he kept up the gay ruse. On occasion, however, Jack’s hormones made him frisky, but overall, this loveable ladies-man behaved like a gentleman and the three happily co-habitated. Later Chrissy left and Jack had to share the apartment with Chrissy’s cousin Cynthia “Cindy” Snow, a UCLA student and then later with Terri Alden, a nurse.

Jack's favorite hangout is The Regal Beagle, a local British pub. His close male friend is Larry Dallas, a playboy and used-car salesman who lives upstairs. Jack's dream girl is a beautiful local called "Greedy" Gretchen. Jack's favorite film of all times is Doctor Zhivago.

After Janet got married to her fiancé Philip Dawson and Terri left for a job in Hawaii, Jack moved into apartment #203 over “Jack‘s Bistro,“ his new opened French restaurant at 834 Ocean Vista located a mile from the Roper’s Apartments. Jack received his early restaurant training as a chef at Angelino’s Restaurant. He worked along side Felipe, an Hispanic kitchen worker who held a grudge that Mr. Angelino overlooked his six years of service and hired instead newcomer, Jack Tripper.

Jack shared his new living accommodations with his flight attendant girlfriend, Victoria “Vicki” Bradford whom he met on a business flight on return to San Francisco. Fearful of commitment ever since her own parents got divorced, Vicki turned down Jack’s proposal of marriage, but instead she agreed to live together with him.

(clockwise) Jack, Chrissy, Janet and
Stanley and Helen Roper, the landlords

Ironically, Jack new landlord is Vicki’s wealthy father, James Bradford, the owner of Allied Waste Disposal who hauls away the Bistro‘s trash. Now Jack’s challenge is to make his business a success and prove to Vicki’s disapproving father that he is a worthy suitor for his daughter. Mr. Bradford purchased the building where Jack operated his bistro in an effort to break up his daughter's relationship. He now owned 10% of the Jack's restaurant. Helping Jack run the bistro was his assistant cook E.Z. Taylor, an eccentric beach bum.

Jack’s relatives included his father Jack Tripper, Sr., [mentioned as both a country signer and later as an unemployed salesman going through hard times}; his mother [she naively replies "Jack was always a  happy boy," when someone tells her Jack is gay]; his brother, Lee [Jack is jealous of Lee because he always does everything better than him]; Austin, [a make believe twin brother in a cowboy hat who was invented by Jack In order to date Furley's niece, Veronica]; Jack's grandparents [who live in Saint Louis - Jack pretended to be a doctor to impress Grandpa]; Jack's Uncle Fremont [who gave Mr. Roper a bogus check]; and Jack's Aunt Mae (from whom Jack and Vicky tried to hide the fact they were living together). Another member of Jack's childhood family was his dog, Cocoa. Unfortunately, Cocoa ran away when Jack was in the third grade.

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