Charles Paines always believed his wife would be found alive and well.
But when her body was discovered in a front garden on Wetherby Road just yards from their home, Charles said he was in shock.
"It's difficult to describe how I felt. I was obviously shocked and dismayed – I just hoped it wasn't true. It was bizarre to think that I passed there so many times when I was going into town."
The family are still awaiting toxicology results into how Jo died, which could take weeks to come back.
But Charles is focussing on their two children Christopher, 13 and Siobhan, 11, who are now his priority.
"My primary concern is for my children. I now need them to try and get on with their lives.
"Jo is at rest now and we have all got our memories of us and our lives together and that's what we are all focussing on. Moving on and carrying on with our lives is what she would have wanted."
Charles said he still has no theories behind why Jo would disappear after she was sent home feeling unwell from work at the Shelter Shop on Commercial Street at 11am on November 19.
The mum-of-two was last seen by a close friend on Park Place at 2pm before phoning home at 6pm saying she was disorientated and in a dark place with trees nearby.
"We know she had flu that day. That's why she was sent home from work but I have no theories about why she may have gone off. I see it as a tragic accident," he said.
Jo's disappearance in November sparked one of the biggest police hunts launched by Harrogate Police, as areas across North Yorkshire and the UK were scoured.
And while hundreds of officers, sniffer dogs, underwater search units and mountain rescue teams joined the police hunt, Charles said he kept an open mind but stayed positive.
"I was always hoping she would walk through the door and I was remaining positive – now I know, it's like closure," he said.
The residents who found Jo were said to be extremely devastated after discovering her body in dense undergrowth, nearly two months after her disappearance.
The grim discovery came after cold weather conditions thinned the foliage in the large garden, revealing the body underneath.
But police dismissed claims that intense searches carried out during Jo's disappearance were not thorough enough.
Acting Det Insp Mick Boothroyd said: "It's a tragedy where Jo was found but there's only so much we can do and, unfortunately, we did not find her."
Charles thanked police involved in the hunt for Jo as well as family and friends for their support
At Jo's funeral two weeks ago, cash was also collected for three charities – Cancer Research, Macmillan Nurses and the National Missing Persons Helpline – but the total amount raised has not been confirmed.