In My Life With the Walter Boys, Jackie’s life changes completely when she has to move to Colorado to live with the Walter family. The series is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Jackie is a freshman who loses her parents and older sister in a tragic car accident. Jackie’s parents had named her mother’s friend Katherine, a vet who lives in Colorado with her family, Jackie’s guardian in their will.
Jackie’s mother was a famous fashion designer in New York and did not get to meet Katherine often, so Jackie does not know her well. Jackie is now going to live with Katherine, her farmer husband, George, and their children.
Katherine and George have seven sons — Will, Cole, Danny, Alex, Nathan, Jordan, and Benny — and one daughter, Parker. Apart from their own children, two Walter cousins, Isaac and Lee, also live with Katherine and George. Will is the only one who has moved out and lives with his fiancée, Hayley.
Jackie wants to go to Princeton one day, so she immediately starts taking advanced classes and extracurricular activities at her new school. It does not take long for her to find out that the Walter boys, especially Cole, are extremely popular at school.
Cole was on the football team, but because of an injury last year, he cannot play anymore, even though his parents spent a lot of money on his treatment. Cole believes that he no longer has a future, as he cannot get a sports scholarship and his parents cannot afford college tuition.
Cole is still struggling to accept the fact that he cannot play anymore. He stops putting effort into school, and his grades keep slipping. He sleeps around with different girls but refuses to date anyone, not even Erin, the girl who is almost like his girlfriend.
Cole is not very welcoming towards Jackie, but he likes her. At the same time, Alex, Cole’s younger brother who has grown up in his shadow, also starts liking Jackie the moment he meets her. Unlike Cole, Alex is always nice to her.
Even though Cole disappoints Jackie a lot, there are times when he goes out of his way to help her. It is evident that the two of them are attracted to each other, but nothing happens between them because Cole is still coming to terms with his new life.
At school, Jackie befriends Grace as well as Skylar, a boy whom Nathan likes. She continues growing close to Alex. One night, she even tries to kiss him after going to a party with Cole, but Alex stops her because she is drunk.
Soon after, Katherine and George invite Jackie’s uncle, Richard, to celebrate Thanksgiving with them. Richard tells Jackie that he wants her to live with him. He is ready to fight for her custody in court. Jackie considers his offer, as she is aware that Katherine and George are having financial problems.
However, Katherine wants Jackie to live with them. When she assures Jackie that she is not a burden on them, Jackie decides to stay with the Walters because she does not want to return to New York when her family is not going to be there.
As it is evident that Cole likes Jackie, Erin does not get along with her at first. On Thanksgiving, the two of them have a heart-to-heart conversation, which leads to Jackie inviting Erin to spend the day with the Walters. Erin no longer dislikes Jackie.
When Jackie does not leave with Richard, Alex takes her to a place that he thinks will remind her of New York. He tells her that she does not have to give up on her old life entirely. Alex’s sweet gesture moves Jackie, and they start dating.
A teapot that was precious to Jackie was earlier accidentally broken by Parker. Cole glues it together for Jackie, but when he sees his brother kissing her, he decides not to give it to her.
Whenever Cole sees Jackie and Alex together, he gets jealous. Jackie then finds out that Alex’s last girlfriend, Paige, cheated on him with Cole. Alex and Cole’s relationship was ruined because of that incident.
Now that they both like Jackie, tensions rise between the two brothers once again. Alex punches Cole in public and reveals to everyone that Cole slept with Erin’s best friend, Olivia. Due to that, Erin ends things with Cole for good.
If that was not enough, rumors and misunderstandings lead to a fight between the two brothers at school. After their fight, Nathan has a seizure and is taken to the hospital. It turns out that he has epilepsy, and his treatment is going to be expensive.
Katherine and George are considering selling their land to a developer, as they are running very low on money. On top of that, Will returns home to live with his parents after breaking up with Hayley.
Will and Hayley were about to get married, but they did not have enough money for that. To make extra cash, Will started working at the cafe Hayley works at and realized that he wants to start his own business.
They started having problems when Will kept devoting all this time to his work. Hayley came to the conclusion that they both want different things in life, so they broke up and Will moved out of their shared apartment.
Jackie had been upset with Alex, as she had begun doubting whether Alex was dating her only to get over his first love, Paige. While Alex manages to earn her forgiveness, he and his best friend, Kiley, who likes him, grow apart because Alex no longer has time for her.
Meanwhile, Nathan and Skylar start dating. Erin decides to act in the school play instead of doing what her mother wants her to do. She grows close to Danny, who gets into Juilliard’s summer program with Jackie’s help. Jackie even asks Richard to let Danny stay with him when he is in New York.
Cole eventually tells Jackie that when he hooked up with Paige, he did not know that she was dating Alex, as he was not home that summer. Jackie then stops blaming Cole for what happened between him and Alex.
Unable to deal with his problems, Cole starts making self-destructive choices. He shows up drunk at an award ceremony, where his mother is getting awarded for her work. Jackie tries to help him, but he hurts her by telling her that he wishes that she never came to Colorado.
When Alex competes in the county fair rodeo, Cole and Alex get a chance to resolve their differences. They both realize that they have always wanted to be more like each other. Alex now understands that his brother is struggling a lot and that he never wanted to hurt him. The two of them finally reconcile.
George and Katherine decide to sell their land. Will and Hayley also talk about their relationship. They miss each other and want to give their relationship a second chance, so they decide to get married on George’s ranch.
While Jackie messes up her interview for a summer internship, Alex is asked to join a summer training camp in Montana by the Intercollegiate Riding Association. Alex then confronts Paige about her cheating on him and lets go of the past, and Olivia manages to earn Erin’s forgiveness.
My Life With the Walter Boys ending explained in detail:
Does Cole get his life back on track?
When Cole’s car breaks down and he is left stranded in the middle of the road with Jackie, he tells her why he hurt her the other day. He wanted to fix things with Alex, but Jackie’s arrival made it hard, as both Alex and Cole developed feelings for her.
That is why Cole said that he wishes Jackie never came to live with them. He does not want to break Alex’s heart again, but he still wants to be with Jackie. Cole’s honest confession surprises Jackie, but she never gets to reply to him.
Cole then stops making self-destructive choices. He makes an effort to not fail his classes. Instead of going on a road trip during the summer vacation, he signs up for summer school. He also apologizes to Erin for hurting her, and she forgives him.
What happens at the wedding?
Jackie plans Will and Hayley’s wedding and all the Walters help. Will and Hayley get married in the presence of their friends and family. However, Hayley is hiding something from Will. She does not want him to know that she is in touch with someone named Morgan.
Richard also comes to the wedding and is glad to see Jackie, who has found a new family in the Walters, happy. Will wants to start a business with Richard. He plans to turn his parents’ land into a holiday destination, and Richard likes his idea.
Jackie’s school counselor, Tara, is Hayley’s best friend. Since the time Jackie moved to Colorado, Richard has been calling her to inquire about Jackie’s well-being. Tara and her boyfriend have just broken up, as he is leaving town.
Tara then gets to meet Richard at the wedding, and they hit it off. Later, when Tara’s boyfriend chooses to stay in town to be with her, she does not feel as happy as she thought she would.
Although Cole asks Jackie to forget his confession, he still gets upset when he sees her with Alex. Jackie is not unaffected by Cole’s confession. Alex tells her that he loves her, but Jackie does not say it back.
As a result, Alex gets drunk, and it is Kiley who takes care of him. The fact that Alex is dating Jackie hurts Kiley, and Alex further breaks her heart by admitting that he does not even see her as a girl.
Why does Jackie leave the Walters?
As Danny is going to New York for the summer program, Jackie helps him pack. Danny and Cole share a room, and in their room, Jackie finds the broken teapot that Cole had mended for her.
This makes Jackie realize that Cole has had feelings for her for a long time. When she confronts him, he tells her that he glued it together because he knows that she misses her family, and Jackie kisses him. Cole hesitates initially, but he kisses her back.
The next morning, Alex finds out that Jackie packed all her belongings and left with Richard without saying goodbye. She just left an apology note that does not offer any explanations.
When Alex sees the teapot in her room, he suspects Cole did something to make her leave. He shows the note to Cole and questions him. On the other hand, Jackie is seen returning to New York.
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