Victor and Nikki | |||||||||||||
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The Young and the Restless character | |||||||||||||
![]() Eric Braeden and Melody Thomas Scott as Victor and Nikki | |||||||||||||
Duration | 1981–present | ||||||||||||
Created by | William J. Bell | ||||||||||||
Introduced by | William J. Bell and John Conboy | ||||||||||||
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Victor and Nikki Newman are fictional characters and a supercouple from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless . Victor is portrayed by Eric Braeden and Nikki is portrayed by Melody Thomas Scott. Together, they have shared three marriages and two children; Victoria and Nicholas Newman (Amelia Heinle and Joshua Morrow). The couple is often referred to by the portmanteau "Niktor" by fans on internet message boards and in magazines. Nikki was originally from the lower walks of life, having been a prostitute and stripper. After multiple failed relationships, she began a romance with Victor, who taught her about society. Nikki gave birth to Victoria in 1982, and the pair were married in 1984. Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson, Brenda Epperson) then came between Victor and Nikki, causing them to divorce and each of them remarrying to Ashley and Victor's nemesis, Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman), respectively. However, the pair continued to be linked to one another, with an affair between the two resulting in second child Nicholas.
The soap opera's writers originally detailed Victor and Nikki to marry and divorce or depart from each other in some form or fashion or continuous cycle, a take on the original supercouple formula. Their pairing, regarded as an "inspired decision", led to Victor and Nikki becoming the most successful supercouple on The Young and the Restless. Despite Victor marrying architect Diane Jenkins (Alex Donnelley) in 1997, Nikki suffered a gunshot wound the following year and came close to death, resulting in Victor supposedly divorcing Diane and remarrying Nikki on her deathbed. However, Victor and Diane's divorce was never legal, invalidating the pair's remarriage. An actual divorce between Victor and Diane took place, resulting in the reunion of Victor and Nikki. In September 2002, they remarried again at the site of their first wedding, which would last six years. In 2008, Nikki began an affair with the devious David Chow (Vincent Irizarry), resulting in the pair's second divorce. Scott has stated that she thinks the couple always has to get back together, but "not without a challenge". In March 2013, after four years of an on-and-off relationship, Victor and Nikki remarried for the third time, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of The Young and the Restless.
Victor and Nikki are recognized as one of daytime television's most prominent pairings, as well as receiving a positive response from critics throughout the years. Scott has also stated that she believes the pair "will always be a huge dynamic". Braeden has stated that he thought Victor and Nikki's storyline was an "honestly felt love story with great material for conflict with Nikki". The News & Advance cited Victor and Nikki with other romances considered "epic" of the early supercouple era.
Nikki was originally from the lower walks of life, having been a stripper. After multiple failed relationships, she began a romance with Victor, who taught her about society. [1] They fell in love and had a baby, Victoria Newman (Heather Tom), and later a son Nicholas Newman (Joshua Morrow). [1] The couple are widely considered a supercouple within the realm of soap operas. The writers of The Young and the Restless detailed characters Victor Newman and Nikki Reed to marry and divorce or depart from each other in some form or fashion in a continuous cycle. This has taken place for as long as the couple has been together, a take on the original supercouple formula. [2] Soap Opera Digest relayed the beginning of the pairing's creation and their impact. The "inspired decision" led to Victor and Nikki becoming the series' most successful supercouple. [3] In an interview with Dose magazine, Melody Thomas Scott said that the couple always has to get back together, but not without a challenge. [4] She stated:
That's the writers' job to come up with something believable. I mean, that is always their challenge. Nikki and Victor have played this cycle over and over again and it’s very successful because people care about them. I would imagine just because I've watched the show for 33 years as well as played it – they've got to get back together! There’s nothing else they could do! They have to get back together, as for how, I don't know. The writers have a rough job coming up with something that I hope will be good! [4]
The characters had their first wedding on the episode that aired on April 13, 1984. [5]
Victor Newman met Nikki Reed, who, barely out of her teens, was working as a stripper at the Bayou. Victor was intrigued by her and took her home, where under his influence, she was transformed into a classy young lady. Victor is adamant at first that he has no romantic feelings for Nikki, but he soon succumbed to her charms and they had a night of passionate love-making. Victor cast this off as a mistake, and instead took up with a woman named Lorie Brooks, who in truth only wanted to be with Victor to write an exposé on him. Victor later admitted that he truly is in love with Nikki, and she eventually gives birth to a daughter, Victoria Newman, and the couple was married in a lavish ceremony two years later.
One of the greatest threats to Victor and Nikki's union is arguably Ashley Abbott, as some time later, Victor fell in love with her, who happens to be the sister of his archenemy Jack Abbott. Victor was heartbroken in discovering that Ashley had aborted his baby so that he would stay with a dying Nikki. Nikki later recovered, but intentionally hadn't informed Victor to stay clear of the threat Ashley posed. Yet, they share one final night of passion together, which resulted in the birth of Nicholas Newman. Victor and Nikki ended up divorcing after he lashed out at her for purposely providing information about Ashley's abortion to an unauthorized biographer — Leanna Love. Victor marries her, all while being unaware of her true intentions. The marriage is quickly annulled and Victor pays Leanna a settlement, but she remains a bothersome component in Victor's life on occasion. Victor then married Ashley by 1990, but the marriage ended after three years due to extreme marital problems. Nikki married Jack, which ended after four years when Victor told Jack he would give him Jabot Cosmetics if he divorced Nikki.
After Victor was blasted by Nikki, Ashley and teenaged Victoria, all resenting the control he tried to exert in their lives, he left town, and during his trip, he is robbed of his wallet, jewelry, and car. After his car is found with a body inside burned beyond recognition, word reaches Genoa City that Victor is dead. However, Victor turned up at the Kansas farm of the blind Hope Wilson just in time to rescue her from a rapist. After Victor lived with Hope, they grew close, and they returned to Genoa City and married. Afterward, Hope gave birth to a son, Victor Adam Newman, Jr., and shortly after she left Victor. Victor hoped to return to Nikki, but she was engaged to Brad Carlton. After Victor was shot by Mari Jo Mason, Nikki returned to his side until he decided to visit Hope again. By 1997, Victor married architect Diane Jenkins, Jack's ex-fiancée, but when Nikki was shot by her husband's ex-wife Veronica Landers, Victor left Diane to remarry Nikki on her deathbed, and eventually Nikki survived. They realized they wanted to be together, and thus led Victor to divorce Diane, although with his speedy marriage to Nikki, the divorce wasn't legal. Eventually, Diane reluctantly agreed to a legal divorce after she acquired millions in the divorce settlement in a very lengthy divorce. Yet, by that time Victor and Nikki had gone their separate ways again.
Two years later, Victor and Nikki remarried legally at the site of their first wedding. Nikki and Victor again started up the rocky aspect of their romance when Victor's unethical and illegal business practices harm Jabot, as Nikki had made a notable investment there. Nikki started to have horrible flashbacks of accidentally shooting Joshua Cassen when she was five years old, and she was stunned to discover that Joshua was the older brother of her new business associate Bobby Marsino, with whom she has a brief romance. Victor came to Nikki's rescue after Bobby's mob associates kidnapped her. Nikki moved on, and she and Victor partnered with Phyllis Summers to create a chain of Wellness Spas across the country. However, when Victor learns that Nick, married to Sharon Newman, had an affair with Phyllis, Victor fires her and returned to holding the reins of his company.
When Victor suffers a head injury while rescuing Nikki from a carjacking, Victor becomes epileptic. His loved ones were well off at the seemingly new laid-back personality Victor now encompasses, but they soon became worried for his health when he began experiencing seizures. Making things even more complicated, as well as bizarre, he suddenly developed a friendly relationship with his main enemy Jack. Nikki later became concerned that Jack was manipulating a vulnerable Victor for his own personal financial gain. After a while, Victor finally appeared in good health. Victor and Nikki had their ups and downs, but typically manage to find their way back to each other romantically through various situations. Victor's son Victor, Jr. returned to town, now going by Adam Newman. However, they divorce again, and Victor married Victoria's friend Sabrina Costelana, and Nikki married David Chow. The following year, Victor remarried Ashley, but Nikki and Victor reunited after he was shot by Patty Williams and given a heart transplant. They went to Europe, and Victor and Ashley divorced.
Victor returned from Belgium with Nikki on his arm. Victor declared himself as head of Newman Enterprises, and Victor and Nikki move back into their Ranch house, and helped discover and return their kidnapped infant granddaughter Faith Newman back to her parents Nick and Sharon. Adam ends up being found "dead", and Victoria and Nick were arrested. In order to protect his children, Victor takes the blame saying he did it for everything Adam did to his family. Victor is later released and Nick is the main suspect. However, there was a growing amount of proof to suggest that Adam killed Richard Hightower to fake his own death. In order to protect Nick, Victor went to Canada trying to find Adam. There he befriended Meggie McClaine and he ended up nearly being killed. Back at the Newman Ranch, Victor tries to rebuild his relationship with Nikki, but she felt that Meggie was in the way. Victor claimed that he was trying to protect her and she became Nikki's personal assistant. In reality, she put together a scheme to get Nikki drinking again, therefore opening up the way for her to marry Victor. Once she marries him, she would kill him and get his money. Meggie eventually recruits Deacon Sharpe to help spike Nikki's drinks. Eventually, Deacon and Meggie set up Victor and Nikki to look like Nikki and Deacon were having an affair. Once Victor caught them, he sent Nikki to rehab, where Deacon soon ends up to continue scheming with Meggie. In rehab, he tried to actually help Nikki, and their relationship did turn romantic, especially when Meggie was able to elope with Victor. Meggie posted their wedding photo online and Nikki saw it, giving into romance with Deacon. Meggie fully revealed herself as a manipulative gold-digger targeting the Newman fortune as a widow after she mortally eliminates him. After apparently many spiked drinks, Victor appeared to suffer a heart attack, but stunningly unveiled his sobriety and caught her in a sting operation set up by him, Patrick Murphy, and the cops though Nikki didn't know. Meggie was arrested and Victor went to fill in Nikki, but before he did found her in bed with Deacon, blemishing the chances of another marriage. Victor explained that Meggie caused her alcoholic craving by spiking all her drinks to rid her from the ranch and get to him and his money.
Nikki continued her romance with Deacon, while Victor ended up remarrying Diane Jenkins. Nikki broke up with Deacon after his role in Meggie's scheme came to light, and Victor and Nikki eventually had an affair, but their reunion was short lived. Eventually, Victor sent Nikki back to rehab as her alcoholism issues had resurfaced. After a quick annulment from Victor, Diane posted pictures of him and Nikki in bed online. She was murdered months later. After Nikki returned—having escaped from rehab—memories of Diane's murder caught up with her. She then confessed to being the killer to Victor, who admitted to killing his ex-wife to protect Nikki.
Victor was jailed, and later married Sharon to keep Nikki away from him, though the marriage ended days later. Deacon blackmailed Nikki into marrying him, using fake information about Diane's murder. Nikki agreed, however this marriage was short lived. When Victor was released from jail, the two reunited again.
Victor brought Chelsea Lawson and her mother to town to ruin Victoria's marriage to Billy Abbott. When Nikki learned of this, she left him. Victor then pursued a genuine relationship with Sharon, much to everyone's dismay. Nikki moved on from Victor when she reunited with Jack after eighteen years apart, and ended up marrying him. Hours after this marriage, Victor eloped with Sharon, despite showing up at the wedding and unsuccessfully telling Nikki not to go through with it.
Yet soon after Victor disappeared and ended up in Los Angeles in amnesia. Sharon set out to get revenge by taking over Newman, while Nikki left Jack to try to find Victor. As a result of an explosion, it was believed that Victor died and the family was shocked. Yet, Victor actually survived.
Nikki and Victor reunited, while they set out to destroy Sharon and Tucker McCall who wanted to keep Victor away so he could take over Newman.
Victor and Nikki are recognized as one of daytime's most prominent couples. [6] [7] [8] The couple has received positive reviews from critics throughout the years, [9] The News & Advance cited Victor and Nikki with other romances considered "epic" of the early supercouple era. [10]
They have garnered a large fan following, [11] [12] being commonly referred to as "Niktor" on internet message boards. In addition, the couple's weddings have been reported by mainstream media. [13] [14] Melody Thomas Scott has said, "Let’s face facts: Victor and Nikki will always be a huge dynamic, they’ve been in a circular cycle for over 30 years! Finding a new leading man that you have chemistry with is like finding gold." [15] Eric Braeden has said, "I love working with Melody [as well]. I always thought it was an honestly felt love story with great material for conflict with Nikki." [16] Former As the World Turns actress Martha Byrne has said, "Young and Restless' Victor and Nikki are the perfect example of a couple who they can tear apart and put back together how many times? And [the writers] do it really well because they're so stable as characters that you can basically do anything with them now, and the audience will go on the journey with them." [17] Daytime expert Michael Fairman stated: "Victor and Nikki just can’t, we mean can’t, ever get it together long enough to find any happiness with each other. So, many would say that they deserve each other and the baggage and betrayals that come along with their co-dependent relationship." [18]
Victoria Newman is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network. Created by William J. Bell, she is currently portrayed by Amelia Heinle. Victoria was born onscreen in 1982 and was portrayed by child actress Ashley Nicole Millan for her first eight years. Having been rapidly aged to a teenager, Victoria returned to the soap opera and was portrayed by Heather Tom. Tom portrayed the character into her early adult years and remained in the role for thirteen years. Due to creative differences, Tom left the soap opera in 2003 and Heinle, who debuted as Victoria on March 21, 2005, was cast in the role.
Melody Thomas Scott is an American actress best known for playing Nikki Newman on the soap opera The Young and the Restless.
Victor Newman is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. He has been portrayed by Eric Braeden since 1980. Initially a guest character who was to last for eight to twelve weeks, Victor has evolved into the soap opera's leading male figure. Created by William J. Bell as a "despicable, contemptible, unfaithful wife abuser", the character was planned to be killed off and never heard of again. However, after Bell saw Braeden's performance, he decided to sign the actor onto a contract. Braeden was hesitant to work on a soap opera, but eventually signed a contract, and has remained on the series as a regular cast member for over 40 years. The character is widely described as a ruthless villain, while loving to those he holds dear. Over the years, he has also been the center of several controversial plots and relationships.
Nikki Newman is a fictional character from the American CBS daytime soap opera, The Young and the Restless. Created and introduced by William J. Bell in 1978, the role was portrayed by Erica Hope, before Melody Thomas Scott took over in 1979. Introduced as a stripper, the character became well known for her relationship with businessman Victor Newman, a union that developed into a supercouple pairing that has spanned over four decades. She shares two children with Victor, Victoria and Nicholas Newman. In 2013, she reveals that she had previously given up a child for adoption, who is later discovered to be Dylan McAvoy. The character has also had several other notorious relationships, including Paul Williams, Jack Abbott, and Brad Carlton. Scott is considered an icon in the soap opera genre.
Paul Williams is a fictional character on the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. Paul was introduced to the show on May 23, 1978, and has been portrayed by Doug Davidson until 2020. Initially, Paul was a "bad boy", who had a romance with Nikki Reed, giving her an STD. The relationship ended, but the two have remained friends since. After a year on the series, Bell gave the character a proper backstory, surname and family. This included his notoriously unstable sister Patty Williams. After a failed marriage to April Stevens —who gave birth to his daughter Heather Stevens —focus turned towards Paul's career as a private investigator, as well as his relationship and eventual marriage to and later divorce from Lauren Fenmore. Paul's string of unsuccessful romances with women—including his ill-fated bride Cindy Lake, and Cassandra Rawlins, the wife of one of his clients—continued. Over the years, Paul continued to become heavily involved in various storylines as a private investigator.
Jack Abbott is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. The character was introduced in 1980 being portrayed by Terry Lester. Lester departed from the series in 1989 and was replaced by Peter Bergman shortly thereafter. Bergman relocated to California after successfully auditioning for the part. His first episode aired on November 27, 1989. Jack is known for his longstanding feud with the Newman family patriarch, Victor Newman as well as his romances with Diane Jenkins, Nikki Newman, Phyllis Summers, and Sharon Newman. Jack has represented the Abbott family as the patriarch since the 2006 passing of his father, John Abbott.
Ashley Abbott is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, two American soap operas on the CBS network. She has been most notably portrayed by Eileen Davidson, who originated the role on June 11, 1982, before departing in 1988. Brenda Epperson portrayed Ashley from 1988 to 1995, before Shari Shattuck portrayed the role for the next three years, until Davidson's return on March 19, 1999. Davidson was nominated in 2003 for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and she later won that award in 2018.
Nicholas Newman is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. Created and introduced by William J. Bell, he was born onscreen in 1988 as the second child of supercouple characters Victor and Nikki Newman. Portrayed by a set of twins and later two child actors for his first six-year period, the writers of the series decided to rapidly age the character to a teenager in the summer of 1994. That June, Joshua Morrow began portraying Nick, and has remained in the role ever since. The character was reintroduced with the purpose of developing a relationship with another character, Sharon Collins, who was introduced around the same story arc. The pairing, which yielded three children, Cassie, Noah and Faith Newman, proved popular with viewers. They are regarded as a prominent supercouple by the soap opera media.
Sharon Newman is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network, currently portrayed by Sharon Case. Created by William J. Bell as a love interest for Nicholas Newman, the character debuted on June 27, 1994. Before Case took over in September 1994, the character was portrayed briefly by Monica Potter and then by Heidi Mark. When first introduced, Sharon was a young girl from the poor side of town; her early storylines included being raped by Matt Clark and the revelation that she had given up a child for adoption. Nick and Sharon married, had a son named Noah, and later won custody of Cassie, the daughter she had as a teenager. Their marriage faced a number of problems, including infidelity on both sides. Following Cassie's death in an automobile accident, Nick cheated on Sharon with Phyllis Summers, resulting in a pregnancy which ended their 11-year marriage.
John Abbot is a fictional character from the American CBS Daytime soap opera, The Young and the Restless. He was the patriarch of the Abbott family, one of the core families introduced to the series in 1980. After a brief portrayal by Brett Halsey, the role was portrayed by Jerry Douglas. After the character's onscreen death, Douglas has continued in the role as a hallucination to various other characters. John's children are Jack, Traci, Ashley, and Billy Abbott.
Phyllis Summers is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network. The character was created and introduced by William J. Bell, and debuted in the episode airing on October 18, 1994. Phyllis was originally and most notably portrayed by actress Michelle Stafford, until 1997, when Stafford was replaced by Sandra Nelson. Nelson continued in the role until 1999, when the character left; upon the character returning in 2000, head writer Kay Alden rehired Stafford. Stafford has been praised for her portrayal, for which she has won two Daytime Emmy Awards, but left the series after nearly sixteen years, with the character being written into a coma; Stafford last appeared on August 2, 2013. The role passed to Gina Tognoni, who debuted on August 11, 2014, and continued for nearly five years until she departed in June 2019, when Stafford re-claimed the role.
Nicholas and Sharon Newman are fictional characters and a supercouple from the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. Nick is portrayed by Joshua Morrow and Sharon is portrayed by Sharon Case. The characters of Nick and Sharon first met in 1994 and soon became involved. They were faced with a range of problems, such as their different levels of class, Sharon's ex-boyfriend Matt Clark, and Sharon's secret past: she was pregnant three years earlier and gave up the child, Cassie, for adoption. The couple married in February 1996, and after having a son, Noah, Sharon was reunited with Cassie. Nick grew to love Cassie and became her adoptive father. Sharon's best friend Grace Turner developed an obsession with Nick and slept with him twice. In the following years, the couple dealt with the return of Matt Clark and infidelity on both sides among other obstacles, which Nick and Sharon managed to eventually move past.
Diane Jenkins is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. The role was first portrayed by Alex Donnelley, who debuted in April 28, 1982. Diane was initially a two-day bit role, but was developed into a long-term character. Donnelley left the role two years later, returning briefly in 1986 before returning again fully in 1996. In 2001, Donnelley left again in what was supposed to be a storyline-dictated departure, however, the role was later recast with Susan Walters. After three years, Walters chose to drop to recurring status in 2004, but wasn't seen again until a brief guest appearance in February 2010. Seven months later, the role was recast a second time with Maura West, who took over in October; she exited in August of the following year. In March 2022, Walters returned to the role.
Leanna Love is a fictional character from the CBS soap opera, The Young and the Restless. She was portrayed by Barbara Crampton, who departed from the role in 1993. Crampton returned from 1998 to 2002 and again from 2006 to 2007. In March 2023, Crampton returned to the show to celebrate the show’s 50th Anniversary.
Adam Newman is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, a soap opera on the CBS network. Adam was created by William J. Bell as the son of Victor Newman and Hope Wilson and was introduced on April 24, 1995. Adam left town two years after his birth and was raised in Kansas by his mother, growing up without knowing that Victor is his father.
Tucker McCall is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network. Introduced by former head writer Maria Arena Bell, the character debuted during the episode airing on December 2, 2009, portrayed by William Russ. The character was slated to be a new businessman and billionaire, leading to speculation that Tucker would become a replacement character for icon Victor Newman, as Braeden's future with the series was in jeopardy at the time. However, Tucker ended up being a new character who would be revealed as Katherine Chancellor's long lost son. Russ was let go shortly after his debut because producers wanted to take the character in a different direction, resulting in the hiring of Stephen Nichols as his replacement.
Genevieve Atkinson is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. Created by former head writer Maria Arena Bell as the mother of Cane Ashby, the role was portrayed by Genie Francis, who is widely known for her three-decade long portrayal of Laura Spencer on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. Francis was excited to join The Young and the Restless, expressing disappointment in her former daytime role and saying that her fan base would "follow whatever she does." She made her first appearance during the episode airing on May 27, 2011.