Frustrated in her inability to reach the old John, Marlena filed for divorce. John tried to recommit himself to Marlena and remembering their life together. He sought the help of a therapist, Dr. Charlotte Taylor, but she purposely kept John in the dark about his returning memories. With Brady's help, John and Marlena discovered Charlotte's duplicity. Charlotte tried to kill Marlena, and ended up drugging John instead. He woke up with his memories restored. He was paralyzed, but doctors said he could be cured at a clinic in Switzerland. John asked Marlena to marry him again before they leave, and she happily accepted. John and Marlena remarried in the hospital, and left Salem on January 23, 2009.