Make no mistake about it, the Barnes and the Ewings were sworn enemies of each other. And to make matters worse, children were always being dragged into the mess. But somebody had to try and keep things from being so complicated, and that somebody was Pamela Barnes. Sometimes she did good, other times the task at hand was just too impossible.

You see, in 1978 she eloped with Bobby Ewing and they got married in New Orleans. When they returned to Southfork, the entire Ewing family was hotter than a 4th of July fireworks show. J.R. despised her the worst, accusing her of being a spy against Ewing Oil. When Pamela became pregnant, he manged to terminate the pregnancy by pushing her out of a loft in a barn.

Bobby loved his wife, but he needed to take over the lead of Ewing Oil after the shooting of his older brother. Pamela was supportive of his new role, but decided the power was going to his head. In the course of time, she continued to try and have a baby, but was without any luck. This might have been her way to bring Bobby bake to reality. Pamela had a failed suicide attempt and was put in the hospital to receive professional help. This seemed to do her some good, she never tried suicide again. They did adopt a son.

With the war continuing on between the families, and Bobby now contending with J.R. again for Ewing Oil, the pressure in their marriage grew. In a bitter fight, Pamela sided up with Miss Ellie and this eventually led to her divorce from Bobby in 1983. In 1985, they remarried, only to suffer a more serious tragedy when Pamela was severely burned in a traffic accident. She disappeared from the hospital and left everybody, including her son.