The Young and the Restless’ Jack (Peter Bergman) certainly has a lot on his plate these days. Not only is he the CEO of Jabot, but he’s also trying to be there for two very important people in his life who are both going through tough times.
For starters, Ashley (Eileen Davidson) has been struggling from the moment she got back from her honeymoon with Tucker (Trevor St. John). As loyal viewers know, when Ashley informed Tucker that she no longer wanted to leave her family company, that news caused a big blow-up in the couple’s now-failed marriage. A Parisian fight that Ashley has alleged ended in him breaking a glass and tossing a chair.
Jack’s little sister has been adamant that her sequence of events on that fateful day occurred, but Tucker has continually denied that’s the truth, which has driven Ashley mad. She feels Tucker has been gaslighting her, which has caused her to become a bit obsessed and emotionally unravel. Plus, now with a waiter from the cafe confirming Tucker’s story about what happened, Ashley may soon find herself facing a mental health emergency.
Then there’s Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott). Her woes lately are perhaps the most dire on the soap. Not only was she the recent victim of a kidnapping at the hands of Claire (Hayley Erin) and Jordan (Colleen Zenk), but she found out Claire is her granddaughter, Jordan again went after Nikki when the Newman matriarch was back in Genoa City and Jordan is again missing, likely headed to torture the Newmans once more.
The worst of Nikki’s plight, however, is her drinking. Since Jordan forced alcohol on Nikki in that house in Oregon, Nikki’s sobriety has been completely shattered. She’s losing this current battle with alcoholism, and her struggles look to continue.
Enter Jack to save the day, as he’s worried for both ladies.
For Ashley, Jack appears to be set to be there for his sister in any way she allows. She’s currently in Paris trying to sort out why she’s remembering things with Tucker differently, and Jack desperately wants to be there for her. Although it doesn’t seem as if he’ll cross the Atlantic anytime soon, he may help Ashley by tangling with Tucker, which can always be a dangerous mission.
In the meantime, Jack has already assumed the role of Nikki’s secret sponsor. So far he’s appeared extremely concerned about his friend and has been dropping whatever he’s been doing to tend to her when she calls. But adding to the stress of caring for her, is the fact the duo is hiding his sponsorship from Victor (Eric Braeden), which has the potential to end horribly when Victor finds out.
As Diane (Susan Walters) points out in The Young and the Restless episode airing on February 2, when Victor finds out about Jack helping Nikki, the legendary feud between Victor and Jack could be reignited and that could cause for some vengeful maneuvers from The Mustache.
With all that being said, will the problems of Ashley and Nikki, along with the looming battle with Victor, become too much for Jack? Could he face a heart attack soon?
If so, we can only imagine that Diane will get in rare form. She may lash out at Nikki and Victor for their part in Jack’s crisis. Not to mention, if Jack is out of commission for a while, she’ll be the sole CEO of Jabot which may cause Jack’s siblings to cringe and protest.
We’ll have to stay tuned to see if our Jack theory proves true.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
