Young and the Restless: Victor and Jack’s Lives Explode in Massive Showdown!

Young and the Restless puts both Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) and Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) struggling in their marriages right now and their lives are at a major turning point. But based on a new scheme that is going to unfold during May sweeps, everything is about to change for them and their wives. And I don’t think it’s going to be for the better.

So, we’re going to talk about how Victor and Jack’s lives could drastically change forever. Their marriages to Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) and Diane Jenkins Abbott (Susan Walters) are set to implode spectacularly, even worse than things already are.

Diane And Jack Are Estranged on Young and the Restless

Okay. Right now, Diane and Jack are estranged. Because Diane walked in on Jack in bed with Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk) when Victor had paid her to kidnap Jack, trap him on the yacht, and do the deed with him under the influence of drugs. And Diane can’t bring herself to forgive Jack. She says her heart won’t let her. And as a result, Diane’s just very angry.

Even though it was 100% Victor and Patty’s fault, somehow Diane still partially blames Jack. And also, there’s a whole pile of Young and Restless fans that are really ticked off that Josh Griffith is writing a rape storyline. Because that is what Jack’s story is, and is victim blaming and shaming in a way that a lot of fans say wouldn’t happen if the victim had been a woman. And I tend to agree.

Victor Pushed Nikki Too Far on Y&R

And then we’ve got Victor and Nikki estranged. Because of the stunt Victor pulled with Jack and Patty. Nikki is still absolutely appalled that Victor did this to Jack. So right now Nikki thinks it’s the worst thing Victor’s done. But let’s be real, he’s done worse in the past to Jack. The worst part is that he didn’t even provoke this. Victor is still mad that Jack saved Nikki from an alcohol spiral. The people who ruined Victor and Newman Enterprises were Cane Ashby (Billy Flynn), Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford), and Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson), not Jack.

So, Nikki’s utterly disgusted with Victor, not sure if she can ever forgive him. Meanwhile, the mustache is acting like Nikki is at fault. You know, Victor has accused her of stabbing him in the back and taking Jack’s side. And I don’t think it would matter who it was. What Victor did was horrible. But the fact that he did it to Jack, who’s one of Nikki’s best friends, made it that much worse. So, at this point, it really looks like both Jack and Victor’s marriages are doomed.

Patty Could Stick Around on Young and the Restless

And Patty wants Jack bad. And neither Diane or Nikki are going to want that to happen. Even if Diane is still steamed at Jack and blames him, she’s not going to want Patty to keep assaulting him. And by the way, Stacy Haiduk, who plays Patty, is reportedly done at Days of Our Lives.

The Peacock soap tapes nine to ten months ahead and based on storylines there with her Days character, Kristen was sent off the character canvas facing criminal charges and she should have wrapped filming several months ago, actually closer to like I think four months ago.

But the bottom line is Stacy Haiduk seems to have wrapped at Days. So she would be free to stay on Y&R if they decide to keep her. She’s in the credits as recurring as Patty, but since Josh Griffith seems so enamored of rape storylines, he might keep her around, which is terrible.

Patty May Just be Getting Started on Young and the Restless

So, Patty could remain in town as an ongoing threat. I don’t think Jack would ever voluntarily choose to be with her. I don’t think Victor would either. Even if he was really ticked at Nikki, I think it would be a long shot that Patty would end up with either Jack or Victor because she’s just bat crap crazy, and they both know it. But I think she’s going to keep stalking Jack while she’s around. And Patty sticking around could be an issue for Victor because at any point Patty could confirm Victor hired her to kidnap Jack. You know, gave her a bag of hundreds, right?

So, right now, Patty’s a risk to Jack and Victor both. I wouldn’t put it past Patty to sneak into the Abbott mansion into Jack’s bed, maybe even drug him again to get what she wants. Patty’s unhinged. She’s living in the past. She brought up that miscarriage from years back that she blames on Diane.

Jack And Nikki’s Nuclear Option on Y&R

But aside from Patty, who is poised to potentially mess with Jack and Victor’s lives, we’ve got Nikki and Jack hanging out and they were whining about their broken marriages. Diane already thinks Nikki wants Jack for herself because of sconegate. You know, Diane walked into the house in the middle of the day, broad daylight, people there.

Jack and Nikki were eating scones, not even sitting next to each other. So that was the big compromising position that spoilers said Diane caught them in. But she was upset about it as if they had been eating pastry naked and then she just left mad. That’s when Jack told Nikki they need to implement the nuclear option. And I think that is something that could work out very badly for them.

Nikki & Jack Take Huge Risk

So, we could see Jack and Nikki pretend like they’re dating and having a rebound romance because Victor and Diane rejected them. Or Jack and Nikki could get into bed and pretend that they got intimate, make sure that Diane or Victor walked in on them. That’s soapier. It’s more dramatic, but I think that second option is less likely.

And after Diane freaked over Jack and Nikki sharing scones, Nikki told Jack that Diane was reacting that way because she still loves him. So, I think seeing Nikki and Jack out on what looks like a date might be enough of a reality check to spur Diane into action, but maybe not in the way they want.

And I think it’s a long shot to think that first of all it would work on Victor at all. It’s very hard to manipulate him and also predicting how he’ll react is just about impossible. So I don’t think their little scheme is going to go like Jack and Nikki are hoping it would. I think Diane and Victor might react in a way that makes everything more volatile. They may decide to teach Nikki and Jack a lesson rather than coming to the table to talk like reasonable people.

The Scheme Could Backfire on Young and the Restless

I don’t expect Nikki and Jack’s ploy to work at all. I think it’s just going to make everything worse, change everything forever, not in a good way. And it could also turn some of the kids against Nikki and Jack, like Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) and Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle), for instance, because Nikki wouldn’t be able to warn Victoria that it’s a ruse because Nikki would know that Victoria would tell Victor it’s not the real deal. So, that’s a problem. Kyle would probably do the same thing and blab to Diane if he knew the truth. So, Jack and Nikki would have to pretend it’s real and really sell it.

So, best case scenario in all of this is Patty’s rejected, gets nowhere with Jack, she’s sent out of town, and then Jack wins Diane back, and Nikki and Victor reconcile. That’s the pie in the sky version. I don’t think we’re going to get that, at least not in May sweeps. What feels soapier, at least in the short term, is that Diane and Victor get closer and they might even reunite. If you remember, they were married years ago and there wasn’t just passion there, there was love.

Diane & Victor Fall for Each Other on Young and the Restless?

So, the absolute worst outcome for Nikki and Jack’s plan is that Diane and Victor get together, they start talking, and they think their marriages are over, and they actually fall in love again. So, this whole scheme could blow up in a nuclear fashion right in Nikki and Jack’s faces.

And that means we could come out of this with a couple swap where Diane and Victor end up together and Jack and Nikki out of default end up together. Or we could see Jack and Diane get back together, but Victor’s so salty that he keeps rejecting Nikki. Because he hates her ever showing any loyalty to Jack.

So, we could have both couples swap or one couple heals and the other doesn’t. But suffice to say, everything is changing in May sweeps.