Like many fans of The Young and the Restless, we just knew that Jack (Peter Bergman) and Nikki’s (Melody Thomas Scott) wild night at the Athletic Club was going to come with consequences. Sure the Newman matriarch took the night as a badly needed wake-up call to go to rehab, but two major pitfalls also came because of their wild bender. Not only did Jack relapse in his own sobriety journey to help a friend, but the events in question left Victor (Eric Braeden) and Diane (Susan Walters) furious.
As far as Victor is concerned, he issued Jack a very stern warning to stay away from his wife in The Young and the Restless episode that aired on May 3. Then in the May 9 episode, Jack unwisely approaches Victor and asks how Nikki is doing in rehab. The Mustache again doesn’t mince words with his nemesis and issues another threat to Jack.
Then there’s Diane. She’s been boiling with anger because Jack put his sobriety and life at risk to save Nikki. Again in the May 9 episode, she calls him selfish numerous times and blasts him for not thinking of his family while playing hero to his ex-wife. Believing he truly doesn’t understand why she’s so upset, Diane drops the bombshell that she wants to take some space from Jack. Although she doesn't pack a bag by the end of the episode, she clearly is fed up.
Should Diane go through with her desire to spend a few days outside of the Abbott mansion, we imagine she’ll ironically wind up spending a few nights at the Athletic Club. Unfortunately for her, when it comes to getting the scoop on rivals, Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) is arguably the best at it, and she could find out about Diane and Jack’s marital woes.
It’s not hard to picture Phyllis running into Diane as she checks in or spotting Mrs. Jack Abbott walking through the halls of the Athletic Club. Or, there could be a scenario in which Phyllis catches Diane drinking alone at the bar and senses there’s trouble in paradise (We prefer this option because Phyllis needling Diane while guessing she and Jack are having problems would be hilarious).
We can’t picture Diane sharing the sordid details about what Jack did, but Phyllis may get enough information that propels her to go check on Jack for herself.
Now fans know that Phyllis and Jack haven’t been on good terms for a while. So Jack may not be happy to see the infamous "Red." However, considering Phyllis was a huge part of why he got sober when his opioid addiction spiraled out of control years ago, Jack may feel comfortable talking to Phyllis about what happened with Nikki and why Diane left.
Should Jack open up to her, this could be the first step in them reconnecting. With Phyllis feeling rejected these days given Danny (Michael Damian) chose Christine (Lauralee Bell) and Nick (Joshua Morrow) stressed just wanting to be friends, perhaps she’ll feel like she can find luck with at least Jack. After all, if memory serves correctly, she’s been with him more times than any of her other ex-husbands.
We'll have to pay close attention to see what happens next with Diane, Jack and Phyllis.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
