Rachel helped a heartbroken Paulina mourn her husband, while Jake--not knowing who he was--left town with the bag full Vicky's money. Paulina sank into a deep depression after losing Jake. It wasn't helped when people assumed (due to the accident report) that Jake was speeding away from Bay City--and her--when his car crashed. She knew he wouldn't run out of her for some quick cash--at least she thought she did. She was plagued by doubts, so Rachel suggested she hire a detective to tell her once and for all what had happened that night. She even knew the detective to call--an old friend of her sister Nancy's who had just moved back to town: Joe Carlino.

When Paulina arrived at Joe's office, she had no idea that he already knew who she was. He had spotted her at a party a few nights earlier and it was love at first sight. Once Joe heard about Paulina's case, he turned her down. He could only see her being hurt by the outcome and didn't want that. Paulina was back at square one until Rachel talked Joe into taking the case.

Paulina was oblivious to Joe's feelings for her as they worked on re-tracing Jake's steps. And along the way, Joe was given some bad information that led him to conclude that Jake was running out on her. By now, he couldn't face hurting Paulina, so he made up a story to make her feel better. And she did feel better--until the real truth came out. She lashed out at Joe for making her look like a fool, and he thought he'd lost his chance to win her heart when she left town on an extended trip to Paris.

Once she returned, she had made peace with the truth and forgave an elated Joe for his lies. He asked her for a date, and she accepted. They got close very quickly, but once again trouble was on the way. It seems Jake had parlayed Vicky's $75,000 into a small fortune and was becoming a well-known business man in Japan and the US. The only problem was that he still didn't know who he was. He was going by the name Bunny Eberhardt because her ID was with him when he'd crashed. Joe was soon tipped off that Jake was alive and was torn whether or not to tell Paulina. The more he investigated, the more it looked like Jake wanted to stay away from Paulina, so Joe kept quiet.

When Joe was shot by a man he had been investigating, Paulina freaked. She felt like she was losing Jake all over again. As Joe was recovering from surgery, he also feared losing Paulina so he proposed. Overcome with emotion, she accepted. Joe went to San Francisco (where Jake was living with a new lady love, Alison) to make sure Jake was gone for good. He spoke with Alison, who upon learning all about "Bunny", assured Joe that Jake was out of Paulina's life. Joe was still fearful of losing Paulina, so he pushed up the wedding.

Meanwhile, "Bunny" was having dreams about a mysterious blonde woman. He needed to know who he really was and set out to find the answers--leaving Alison behind. He eventually found his way to his childhood home of Lassiter and ran into Vicky. She was overjoyed to learn that her old friend was alive. He was able to remember Vicky and the old times in Lassiter, but not Paulina. She told him all about his wife and put him on a plane back to Bay City.

Paulina thought she had finally found a man she could trust and settle down with in Joe. She happily walked down the aisle to marry him, but as she was ready to say her vows, Jake appeared in the back of the church. She couldn't believe her eyes! Chaos broke out as Jake charged toward Paulina and Joe and his best man, Gary, tried to stop him. Jake was stopped by Gary and Josie Watts, and Joe was able to carry Paulina into a private room in the church. All she could think about was seeing Jake--until she learned that Joe knew Jake was alive and didn't tell her. She soon became overwhelmed wondering if both Jake and Joe had played her for a fool--again. She fled the church without seeing Jake, and leaving Joe little hope for a future together.

Jake finally tracked her down at the penthouse, but she was in no mood to deal with anyone. She cashed in her honeymoon tickets for a ticket to Reno, Nevada to get a divorce from Jake. But he followed her and went so far as to pose as a woman to get close to her. He eventually wore her down and convinced her to give him 24 hours to win her back. He set up a romantic evening on the roof of the hotel with dinner and dancing. But just as they were getting close again, Jake received a call from Bay City. Vicky was missing and Ryan needed help finding her. Jake had to go, but gave Paulina a kiss good-bye before he left.

When Paulina returned to Bay City, Joe confronted her. He wanted to know if she'd gotten a divorce. No, she said, which devastated Joe. She explained that Jake didn't know who he was when he left--she owed him another chance. But she was clearly torn between both men. Paulina re-committed herself to her marriage, but she had trouble getting close to Jake again. And Joe refused to give up--he decided that he was going to fight for her.

It wasn't until Alison came looking for Jake--and Jake decided to try and make Paulina jealous--that Paulina ran to Joe. She couldn't deal with lies and schemes. She and Joe made love and moved in together. Jake still tried to win her back, but she insisted it was over between them. Paulina soon learned that she was pregnant with Joe's baby and asked Jake for a divorce. He was heartbroken and said he'd contest it. She then flew to Canada, where Joe was working on a case, and told him that he was going to be a daddy. He was overjoyed.

Money was tight for Joe--especially with a baby on the way. His father had also left him a restaurant to run, and his baby sister, Sophia, came to live with them. Jake still tried to stir things up for the couple, but nothing seemed to work. A few weeks before the baby was due, Sophia was able to surprise Joe and Paulina with a wedding. They thought they'd have to wait because of money, but they had a beautiful ceremony on the Cory Estate. Jake watched sadly from the back of the chapel and gave the couple his tearful blessing after the ceremony.

A few weeks later, Paulina was up at the Cory cabin after having had a fight with Joe. She went into labor while Rachel, Felicia Gallant, and Sharlene Hudson were there with her. They called for Joe, and he made it there seconds before their son--Dante Mackenzie Carlino--was born. After the Christening, the three of them left for an extended honeymoon in Italy with Joe's family.

After returning home, Paulina was worried because she hadn't been able to lose all of the weight she gained when she was pregnant. Joe assured her that he loved her no matter what, but she couldn't let it go. Her friend, Cindy Harrison (wife of Grant), supplied her with some diet pills that seemed to work wonders. Soon, Paulina got hooked and kept going to Cindy for more pills. Grant also got involved because Joe became Police Captain and it helped Grant have some leverage over Joe.

Paulina eventually got hooked on stronger pills--speed. She hid her addiction from her family and friends, though they all grew suspicious. Tragedy struck when Paulina, who was driving under-the-influence of the drugs, hit Kirkland on his bicycle. He survived, but had to have emergency surgery. Paulina was confronted by Joe, and realized that she needed help to kick her habit. She entered drug rehab.

Things eventually seemed to get back for normal, but Grant had other ideas. At Christmastime in 1997, he had Cindy drug Paulina's tea during a visit to make Joe think she was on drugs again. Grant ended up accidentally setting fire to the Carlino's house with Paulina inside. She was passed out and nearly died in the fire. After tests were done, Joe confronted Paulina about the drugs in her system. She knew she hadn't taken anything and told Joe so. But he didn't believe her--and he blamed her for burning down his childhood home.

Joe and Paulina separated and Jake supported Paulina through it. Eventually, Joe and Paulina reconciled and Paulina was cleared. They moved in with the Cory family until they could build a new home for their family.

Around the time that Matt and Lila Roberts daughter, Jasmine, was born, Paulina began having memories of a baby. It seems she'd carried a secret with her for a long time. At the age of sixteen, she'd gotten pregnant and because she was broke and alone, she sold her baby. Around the same time, a young woman named Remy Woods and her friend, Tito Banicheck, came to Bay City. Remy was looking for the mother who had given her up when she was born. Tito was able to convince Paulina that he was her long-lost child, even though he figured out (by matching lockets that Paulina and Remy both owned) that his friend was really Paulina's child. He played on Paulina's guilt and sympathy to get money from her. She was so tortured by her past mistakes that she went so far as to forge Rachel's signature on a document to get more money for Tito.

Meanwhile, Grant had angered just about everyone in Bay City. After being threatened by just about everyone, he was found murdered. Paulina ended up confessing and going on trial. Joe tried desperately to get her free, and he discovered the connection with Tito and that he was conning Paulina. He was eventually able to convince Paulina that Tito was lying and she admitted that she didn't kill Grant--she was covering for Tito, who was arrested.

At the same time, Remy was seriously injured in a car accident and Paulina rushed to her side. She had finally found her daughter and wasn't going to lose her now. Remy eventually woke up and was shocked to learn that Paulina was her birth mother. The two had a tear-filled reunion.

In the Spring of 1999, as AW neared the end of it's 35-year run, Paulina, Joe, Remy and Dante broke ground for their new family home and looked forward to a happy future together as a family.