Viewers come to the CBS soap The Young and the Restless for blackmail, murder, and baby stealing. But they stay — 47 years and counting! — for some of the greatest duos on daytime TV. The 12,000th episode honors those pairs as continuing storylines incorporate flashbacks to classic clips. Here, we take our own quick trip down memory lane.
Nikki & Victor
Most Romantic Moment: In 2005, business mogul Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) wanted to do something special for wife Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott). So he hired European quartet Il Divo to serenade her with “Unchained Melody.” We’re still swooning.
Life Lesson: Back in 1981, Victor pretended to be his own butler to make sure stripper Nikki’s intentions were pure. “She proved she loved him, not his money,” Scott says. “They’re the most unlikely pairing of the century!”
Nick & Sharon
(Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS)
Most Romantic Moment: Trapkriped together in a cabin during a 2009 snowstorm, the divorced Sharon (Sharon Case) and Nick (Joshua Morrow) were partnered with others but succumbed to their feelings. Cue the love scene!
Life Lesson: The death of teen daughter Cassie (Camryn Grimes) in a 2005 car accident broke their marriage. Yet, Case notes, “They manage to overcome their personal differences for the sake of their [surviving] children. They respect and support each other.”
(Credit: CBS)
Drucilla & Neil
Most Romantic Moment: In 2003, good guy Neil Winters (the late Kristoff St. John) and feisty wife Drucilla (Victoria Rowell) got remarried in Japan — with Star Trek‘s George Takei as the minister!
Life Lesson: Christel Khalil, who plays their daughter Lily (we know, Neil was her biological uncle!) thinks their legacy endures for two reasons: They were one of daytime’s first Black supercouples, and “It was the ideal love story of opposites attract. People see themselves reflected in that.”
