Here’s What Happened To Ian Ward On Young and the Restless

Ian Ward, played by Ray Wise on The Young and the Restless, recently appeared in Genoa City on the Thursday, November 14 episode. His appearance came eight years after he’d last surfaced on the canvas. Ian was with Jordan Howard, which was unexpected. In case you don’t remember what he’s done, here’s a refresher.

Infamous Villain

Ian became one of the most infamous villains in Y&R’s history, known for his sinister, manipulative personality. He was a former cult leader and the founder of the New World Commune. The group profoundly impacted Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott).

Ian manipulated a young Nikki into joining his commune, and they had a disturbing relationship that left her believing he’d fathered her child. Years later, Ian resurfaced, reigniting fears, and Nikki feared for her family’s safety.

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Nikki and Dylan

Initially, Ian focused on tormenting Nikki and manipulating her son, Dylan McAvoy (Steve Burton). He claimed to be a life coach and used Summer (now Allison Lanier) to extort money from Nikki.

Ian played on Dylan’s emotional vulnerability, which caused tension with Nikki and others. Ultimately, Dylan learned the truth, discovering Ian’s lies when Ian’s ex-wife Willah, revealed Ian was sterile and unable to have children.

This reveal strained Ian’s plans, but he continued to wreak havoc. He shifted his focus to targeting the powerful Newman family.

MORE: The top 5 villains on Y&R.

Ian and Mariah

Mariah (Camryn Grimes) was a former member of Ian’s cult. He tried to use her to manipulate Sharon (Sharon Case) and Nick (Joshua Morrow). In a strange turn of events, Ian drugged Mariah and “married” her. Ultimately, Nick and Sharon rescued Mariah, and Sharon revealed she was Mariah’s mother and Mariah was Cassie’s (Camryn Grimes) twin. Helen Copeland had stolen Mariah at birth on Ian’s orders.

Ian and Phyllis

After Phyllis (now Michelle Stafford) spent a year in a coma, she met Ian in the woods. He told her that he was Fred, and they bonded. Of course, since Phyllis hadn’t been awake during Ian’s rampage in Genoa City, she had no idea who he was.

Ian vs Victor

One of Ian’s most significant storylines involved a revenge plot against Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), a longtime nemesis. Ian used Adam (now Mark Grossman), who was Gabe at the time, to implant a computer virus called the Paragon Project in Newman Enterprises’ systems. All this happened while Victor was out at Katherine’s (Jeanne Cooper) memorial service.

Ian used the Paragon Project as a bargaining chip to dismantle Victor’s empire. As the stakes escalated, Ian orchestrated a dramatic kidnapping, taking Nikki hostage to use as leverage against Victor. Ian went to prison. However, later, when Victor was in prison for replacing Jack (Peter Bergman) with a lookalike, he and Ian were there together.

Ian escaped, and he kidnapped Nikki. He took her to the Abbott cabin, and Phyllis was there. Ian tied them both to a chair. Victor showed up to transfer $5 million to Ian, but he tricked him. Ian was captured and thrown in prison.