John lived with Hayley but he lived FOR his pigs. Until he cheated on Hayley with his ex sharon, and Hayley found out and dumped him, and then he realised that actually Hayley was his life so he dumped Sharon and pined after Hayley and proposed to her on Valentiines day and she said no and the Fergie killed him (poor old Fergie).
It was desperately sad, actually. I can still hear Tony discovering him. I was up-duffed myself at the time and emotional anyway. V sad so it was. I don't even like Tony. Or John. But there you go.
When John's body was found (by Tony. So sad) everything when tits up obviously because John not only did the pigs he was his dad's right hand man, Pat went catatonic practically (and who can blame her) Helen refused to come home for ages and so Hayley and Tom and Roy, in the beginning, rallied round to help keep the pig business going because it was John's thing. He had set it up from scratch, he hadn't just taken over something his dad had been doing for years. It was his baby and Hayley didn't want to see it die like he had (she still loved him). Roy bailed out very quickly, he was working shifts at the country club as it was. Tom did everything he could but ultimately he was still at school. Hayley was a complete hero and was treated like shit by Pat and Tony when Helen eventually came home and started dripping the poison in their ears.
The Sharon baby story was very well done actually, because we knew she was pregnant by John not long after he died. She came back to Ambridge - presumably to tell him - found out he was dead, flew into a rage with Pat for not telling her, Pat was vile (no change there) and Sharon started to tell her and then turned round and walked away. so we had been waiting about 14 years for that one to come home to roost.
Poor old Hayley - it took her ages to get over John. when Roy proposed to her she went to John's grave to tell him she still loved him but had to move on now. It was very sad. John never deserved her.