Stephanie Simmons dropped a bomb on Malcolm when she returned to The Young and the Restless. Once again, Malcolm learned that he’d fathered a child, only to have it hidden from him. But unlike Lily, who is half of him and who he loves as a niece, Holden was never part of his family. Stephanie let their son grow up thinking his biological father was her husband, Jerry, who’d died young. But she was clear when she finally told the truth, it wasn’t because Malcolm isn’t a good man. He is. It was for a far more complicated reason.
Key Takeaways
- Why Stephanie kept the identity of Holden’s birth father secret
- The reason she chose to tell Malcolm and their son now
- What this means for Holden’s future on Y&R
Stephanie Reveals Malcolm Is Holden’s Father
Malcolm’s (Shemar Moore) health was the driving force for Stephanie’s (Vivica A. Fox, who spoke about her emotional return) decision to tell Holden (Nathan Owens) who his biological father is. Her former flame is in need of a bone marrow transplant, and his birth daughter, Lily (Christel Khalil), won’t be able to help him. She’s a cancer survivor, which automatically bars her from donating her bone marrow. It’s this situation that has forced Stephanie’s hand.
She and Malcolm have only recently been back in touch. They broke up decades ago, but when Malcolm got sick, she stepped in to be the lead doctor on his team. As such, she’s going to do everything in her power to save him, even if it means unearthing a secret she’s kept from her son her whole life.
Stephanie took great pains to ensure that Holden knew that she didn’t keep quiet because Malcolm was the issue. Rather, it was the hand she’d been dealt. As she explained to the two of them, she hadn’t told Malcolm she was pregnant because they were no longer together. She left Genoa City to pursue a residency and was deciding on her next steps. The implication being that Stephanie wasn’t sure whether she would go through with the pregnancy.
She was career-driven and ambitious. Motherhood wasn’t on her mind. But Holden wasn’t the only unexpected circumstance that life threw at her. Stephanie had also fallen in love with a fellow doctor named Jerry Novak. When she decided to keep her baby, she was also navigating a new romance. One that blossomed into a loving marriage. They were a family—She, Jerry, and Holden.
Why Stephanie Didn’t Tell Malcolm About Holden
At first, Stephanie stayed quiet about her pregnancy because she wasn’t sure about it. She had her mind on her own career, and Malcolm’s was taking off as well. Then, when she and Jerry were deciding whether to tell Malcolm, Stephanie learned he and Olivia (Tonya Lee Williams) had finally gotten together. She chose not to say anything because she wasn’t going to get in the way of their relationship.
Stephanie admitted that her and Jerry’s choice was selfish. But they thought the best way to move forward was to hold their family close. When Jerry died, in her grief, Stephanie still didn’t come forward because she thought it would be a betrayal to her husband. As time passed, she felt she should say something, but she kept letting things get in the way, like Malcolm’s marriage and his work.
Then she heard Malcolm had died. By the time she learned that he was alive, Stephanie had already grieved him and what could have been for Holden. That’s when Stephanie decided to move on entirely. The only reason she chose to let them know now is that she’s going to give Malcolm every fighting chance he has.
Holden Is Lily’s Brother
Learning about Malcolm has tied Holden to Lily. The two share him as a biological father, making them siblings. It’s a turn of events that will have far-reaching implications for Holden’s future. Just as he is a Simmons and a Novak, he is also a Winters. Lily is on the back foot with her brother Devon (Bryton James) and cousin Nate (Sean Dominic) due to her actions with Victor (Eric Braeden).
Now that she’s been asked to stay quiet about Malcolm’s illness, Holden may turn out to be the person she has to turn to. She wouldn’t answer Cane (Billy Flynn) when he asked her what was wrong. Lily knows she can’t talk to her family about what’s going on. That leaves room for her and Holden to grow together. He referred to them as acquaintances when he realized they were siblings, but they may soon have the chance to deepen their relationship.
If that’s the case, perhaps the fight for Chancellor-Winters will have a new player coming into the mix with Holden. We’ll see if he’ll be brought into the corporate games in time.
