Joey Johnson was born to Steve and Kayla Johnson on May 16, 2008. Baby Joe was a few weeks early so he had to spend his first few weeks in ICU at Salem U Hospital. As soon as he was strong enough to come home, he safely came to live with Steve and Kayla at their apartment in Salem.

In August of 2008, Joey was among the hostages held on the 7th floor of Salem University Hospital. Stefano was behind the hostage situation and even took Joey for a brief period of time. Stefano returned Joey seemingly unharmed, but there was a small mark on Joey's wrist. Although both Kayla and Steve noticed the mark, they never thoroughly investigated it.

In 2009, he left Salem with his mother and father when Kayla decided to leave University Hospital in order to run a free clinic in a third world country.

He returned to Salem with Kayla in 2010, after Kayla and Steve separated.

In August 2015, Steve returned him to Salem after a teenaged Joey had ran away from boarding school. When Joey was located, he was angry with his father for leaving their family. Kayla was as well, and the two split over the conflict between them. Eventually Joey worked his way back on good terms with his dad, but Kayla was still not a fan.

Joey had also been befriended by a woman -- Ava Vitali -- who swore to Joey that she wanted to help reunite his parents after all the things she had done to them in the past. Joey and Ava schemed for Steve and Kayla to meet several times. Joey fell in love with Ava in the process.

What Joey didn't know was that Ava was using Joey to get revenge on Kayla and steal Steve for herself. Eventually, Ava kidnapped Kayla and held her prisoner. She told Steve the only way he'd learn of Kayla's location was if he went to bed with Ava. Steve did and Ava gave Joey the information on where Kayla was.

But Joey was furious with Ava. While she was in the hospital, a drunken Joey came into her room and smothered her to death with a pillow. He was sure that was the only way to make sure she didn't hurt his family again. Steve took the blame for the crime. He plead self-defense and did not serve jail time.

Confused and scared, Joey confided his secret of murder to a new friend, Jade. Jade was a bit of a rebel and wild-child. She encouraged Joey to act out. They got arrested on prom night for vandalism. When they got out on bail, Jade convinced Joey to go on the run with her.

The fled to California and stayed with a commune her aunt lead. Eventually, Steve and Kayla were able to rescue Jade and Joey. Joey had started to see that Jade was no good for him and wanted to break up with her.

But, Jade found out she was pregnant with Joey's child. Joey agreed to be there for the child, and stood up for Jade with his family. Unfortunately, Jade and Joey suffered a miscarriage. With no baby to keep them connected, Joey officially broke up with Jade, yet he wanted to remain friends with her.

Steve and Kayla were skeptical of Jade. Yet, because she knew the truth about Joey killing Ava, they had to keep her placated. So, they paid for all of her living expenses and school. She moved into an apartment with Claire, Theo, Ciara and Joey. No one in the apartment liked Jade. So, Joey eventually told her she had to move out.

Around the same time, Steve and Ava's son, Tripp, arrived in Salem. No one knew about Tripp, nor he about them, until just a few weeks prior to his arrival. Joey and Tripp formed an immediate brotherly bond. However, Tripp was asking questions about his mother's death. Steve lied to Tripp to protect Joey and once again took the blame for Ava's murder.

Tripp took pity on Jade when Joey told her to move out and agreed to let her move in with him. This infuriated Steve and Kayla, as both thought that Jade was using both boys to manipulate Joey into being with her again. But, Joey continued to be friends with Jade, though, he made it clear they'd be nothing more.