The Young And The Restless first premiered in 1973 and has since become one of the most well-known soap operas on TV.
The series originally focused on the wealthy Brooks family and the working class Forster’s, though it has since changed to include the ups and downs of the Abbott and Newman families, who have their fair share of misunderstandings.
Click through to see some of Y&R’s most memorable moments from a busy few decades.
1973 – Where it all began:
The battle lines were drawn from day one, with the Brooks family on one side and the Fosters clan on the other.
1984 – Katherine’s facelift:
TV history was made when actress Jeanne Cooper, who played Katherine Chancellor, had a facelift. Her experience written into the script. The cameras filmed Jean’s surgery, and the footage later appeared as part of her storyline. Talk about method acting!
2004 – Malcolm Winters scandal:
Fans were thrilled at the return of Shemar Moore as Malcolm, but outraged by the storyline. Allegations of rape were levelled when it was revealed Malcolm had slept with Dru when she was incoherent on drugs. This twist also made him Lily’s (Christel Khalil) dad. Shock horror!
2005 – Cassie’s death:
Nick (Joshua Morrow) and Sharon’s (Sharon Case) marriage was completely shattered in the wake of the death of their daughter Cassie (Camryn Grimes) after a car smash. Sharon later had visions of her dead daughter while on prescription medication.
2008 – Rafe Torres arrives:
Y&R broke new ground when lawyer Rafe Torres (Yani Gellman) became the first gay regular character in the line-up. There were headlines when actor Chris Engen opted to quit the series rather than film a kissing scene with Yani!
2011 – Victoria and Billy’s wedding:
Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Billy (Billy Miller) sealed their romance with full-scale Genoa City nuptials. Her dad Victor (Eric Braeden), however, didn’t approve and had her arrested at the altar. Talk about stop the wedding!
2013 – Goodbye, Katherine Chandler:
It was the end of era when Jeanne Cooper died. She had been playing Katherine on The Young And The Restless for 39 years. The entire cast reminisced in an episode devoted to her memory.
2013 – Nikki and Victor’s fourth wedding:
Victor (Eric Braeden) loves nothing more than a wedding – he’s had 14 of them! The ones that counted most were all to his true love, Nikki (Melody Scott Thomas), who he married four times – first in 1988 and most recently in 2013.
2016 – Sharon keeps a life-changing secret:
Fans were shocked when Sharon (Sharon Case) came home from hospital with a beautiful baby boy despite the fact that we were led to believe that she had a miscarriage. In true Soap Opera tradition, Sharon was led to believe that the baby was hers but upon discovering that it was actually Sage’s (Kelly Sullivan) son Christian, she STILL decided to keep him.
2017 – Adam’s death:
The shock death of Adam (Justin Hartley) in an explosion left his wife Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) a total mess as she struggled to come to terms with the loss. Fingers were immediately pointed at Victor (Eric Braeden) but he maintained that despite their past differences, he would never have murdered his son. We know that Chloe (Elizabeth Hendrickson) was in fact responsible but Chelsea is none the wiser…. yet!
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