As The Young and the Restless continues to unravel the mystery of Claire (Hayley Erin) and Aunt Jordan (Colleen Zenk), viewers are increasingly being led to believe that one or both of the women have a family connection to Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) and the Newmans.
While we originally guessed that Nikki could be tied to them via her deceased father, Nick Reed (Quinn Redeker), the latest Young and the Restless casting news has us thinking that Claire is perhaps Nikki’s granddaughter Eve. Allow us to explain.
A long time ago, a woman named Eve Howard (Margaret Mason) had an affair with Victor (Eric Braeden). She later claimed to have gotten pregnant with his child, and the son in question was Cole Howard (J. Eddie Peck). This was a deeply held secret that only Victor and Eve knew, which made it all the more interesting when Cole fell in love with a young Victoria (then played by Heather Tom). Cole and Victoria had no idea they were “siblings” by the time they eloped.
Victor would ultimately break the news to Victoria and Cole, and the pair annulled their marriage. However, it was later proven that Victor wasn’t Cole’s father, and Victoria and Cole remarried. The Newman heiress would eventually get pregnant and give birth to a daughter named Eve Nicole Howard. Unfortunately, the baby allegedly died due to an infection.
With all of that said, what if the newborn didn’t die? Instead, what if Cole and Victoria were only led to believe their baby died, and the child survived and grew up as Claire in Aunt Jordan’s care?
Helping to support this theory is the fact that Peck is set to reprise his role as Cole in The Young and the Restless in the very near future. He hasn’t been seen on the soap since 1999 and his return seems more than coincidental given the current Claire storyline.
Additionally, on November 23, a repeat episode of The Young and the Restless airs. Interestingly enough, the episode from February 4, 1993 is airing, and according to IMDb the synopsis of the episode reads as follows:
"Ryan and Nina run into each other at Gina's and have dinner together. Victor's secretary, Connie alerts Victor that Eve Howard is passing through. Traci pops in at Lauren's for old-time sake. Traci and Lauren trade barbs concerning Brad. Nicholas asks Victoria why she is home and not with Ryan. Eve Howard shows up at Victor's door."
Is it possible that show writers chose this rerun to air to refresh viewers’ memories as to who Cole and his mother are and drop a hint about what’s to come next in the Claire saga?
Lastly, we have to point out that in the photo above of Peck as Cole, he’s walking into a house that looks exactly like the home Claire and Aunt Jordan are currently keeping Nikki hostage. Given the big family reunion Claire has been teasing, we’re left to assume that this could again include Cole.
Now if our hunch proves true, the question that naturally arises is "Who was behind faking Eve’s death and why?" Trying to come up with possible answers can take us down several rabbit holes.
Could Aunt Jordan have been a nurse at the hospital where Victoria gave birth and faked baby Eve’s death to kidnap the child? Could Nikki have faked Eve’s death to stage a secret adoption? It’s worth noting that Nikki and Victor weren’t the biggest fans of Victoria and Cole as a couple, and Victoria was quite young when she gave birth.
As the story of Claire continues to unfold, we’ll definitely be watching.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus.
