Born to an Italian father and an American mother, Jay Gobelin first came to California in 1969 at the age of 19, a year after his mother and younger half-sister Elizabeth. Jay's father remained in Italy. Mr. Gobelin attended UCLA and became one of Malibu's most sought after bachelors. In 1977, Jay met and fell in love with a beautiful woman from New Hampshire. Jay Gobelin was so enamored by Coral Black that he gave up his playboy lifestyle and asked Coral to marry him. Coral and Jay’s relationship had its ups and downs, and a major cause of their unhappy times came from Jay’s parent’s disapproval of the relationship. Coral kept delaying their marriage and in 1981 she discovered she was pregnant. At first, Jay was overjoyed at the news that he was going to be a father. But Jay's joy soon turned to sorrow when Coral confessed she had been carrying on an affair with another man. Jay was so distraught over the thought of Coral being with another man, that he hung himself in the conservatory of Tudor Manor.

At Jay’s funeral, Elizabeth eulogized her brother and attacked Coral, blaming her for Jay’s suicide. Hugh Black and Samuel Boddy had to pull Elizabeth off of Coral. The Black Family, disgraced by Coral’s behavior, banished her from Tudor Manor and Blackport.