July 4th Soap Wish: The Young and the Restless Jill Declares Independence From Kay’s Ghost

When The Young and the Restless first premiered, Jill Foster was just a beautician – who craved the better things in life. She got a job helping out the wealthy Kay Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper) – and helped herself to Kay’s husband, Phillip (Donnelly Rhoades).

The Young and the Restless: Birth of a Nation

Unfortunately for Jill, Kay wasn’t just going to hand her man over – even if Jill was finally giving Phillip the child he’d always wanted. Instead of giving Phillip a divorce, Kay gave him a one-way ticket to eternity. She drove drunk and crashed her car. Phillip died. Kay survived. And Jill’s obsession with Kay began.

The History Boys

They clashed over men – Rex (Quinn Redeker) being the most recent. They clashed over boys. Kay brought Jill’s neglected son, also named Phillip, home from boarding school, and they spend years playing “which mother figure do you love best?”

When Phillip died, they fought over his son… Phillip. (Original with names, this crew was not.) They fought over Cane (Daniel Goddard), who claimed to be the real Phillip, alleging that a drunk Kay had switched him at birth – and promptly forgot about it.

Girl Trouble

For a while there, Jill (Jess Walton) was believed to be Kay’s long-lost daughter. Seems Kay was also so drunk, that she forgot she gave birth to a boy, not a girl.

They clashed when Jill’s son, Billy (then-David Tom) was dating Kay’s granddaughter, Mackenzie (then-Ashley Basioum).

End Of The Road for Kay

And then Kay died. You’d think that would be the end of it. It wasn’t the end of it. Jill was shipped out of town. But, whenever she did manage to stumble back into Genoa City, her stories still revolved around Kay!

There was the ring from Phillip that Kay supposedly hid from her! There was the money that Kay did or didn’t leave to Cane (Daniel Goddard), which his father, Colin (Tristan Rogers) – also Jill’s husband – stole.

Kay is dead, Jill, and while that is sad, shouldn’t you declare independence from her continuing to run your life? The Young and the Restless (YR) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes.