Young and the Restless Anniversary Moment: The Boy Who Had 4 Parents

With The Young and the Restless getting ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary at the end of this month, viewers know all about the convoluted family trees of the Newmans, the Abbotts, and the Winters. But, before most of them were even in Genoa City — or, rather, they were living on the other side of the camera, where we couldn’t see them, there was the tale of the confused little boy who had four parents…and how he got that way.

Young and the Restless: My Mother’s Secret

Remember Stuart Brooks? Who was revealed to be the father of Dina’s (Marla Adams) illegitimate baby, and thus the grandfather of Theo, who was so important for a few weeks there, and now we never hear from him again?

Stuart had four daughters. Two of them were Lorie and Leslie. Lorie was outgoing, vivacious, and bitchy. Leslie was shy, musical, and saintly. Lorie loved Lance. He was dashing and, for a while, looked an awful lot like Eric Forrester. Lance had a brother, Lucas, who was grouchy and moody.

Lance loved Lorie but slept with Leslie. Leslie got pregnant, but because she didn’t want to ruin her sister’s happiness, she married Lucas and pretended he was the baby’s father. Little Brooks was born. But then Leslie had a mental breakdown and was committed to an institution.

Y&R Musical Babies

Lorie stepped in to take care of her nephew along with his “father,” Lucas. Though Leslie wasn’t in the hospital for that long, by the time she got out, Brooks, as soap opera kids are wont to do, had grown into a kindergartener who thought of Lorie as his mother. Lorie went to court to fight for custody of Brooks, and she even became involved with Lucas to strengthen her case.

Lance found out that Brooks was his and that Lorie knew about it all along. So now Lance didn’t love Lorie anymore. He loved Leslie. Lorie and Lucas won custody of Brooks, but then Lance and Lucas’s mother, Vanessa, who hated Lorie, committed suicide and framed Lorie for her murder. (She had a terminal illness anyway, might as well get something out of it.)

Lucas believed that Lorie had killed his mother, and now he didn’t love Lorie anymore. While Lorie stood trial for murder, Lance and Leslie took Brooks to France. And that was the last we ever heard of him. Did Lance and Leslie tell him the truth? Did Lorie reunite with the nephew she’d raised as a son? Where does Lucas fit in? We still have no idea.

The last time Lorie and Leslie came back to Genoa City for an anniversary, they were happy, giggly sisters. No one mentioned Lance. Or Lucas. Or Brooks. Can we fans have some closure, please? It’s been 45 years! Do you remember this story? What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments section below.

The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. For an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.

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