Dina Abbott Mergeron – a shrewd businesswoman on The Young and the Restless who just wasn’t cut out for motherhood or marriage no matter how hard she tried.
Who Is Dina Abbott Mergeron?
Dina is a Genoa City native who fell in love with fellow high school student John Abbott. Post-college, the two married – though Dina kept secret the child she bore following a liaison with Stuart Brooks. And while John toiled to build Jabot into the powerhouse that it is today, Dina settled into life as a mogul’s wife.
In time, Dina grew bored with her subjected role and mourned her thwarted ambition to be a powerful businesswoman. John was sure that motherhood would fill the void (that he himself did not understand). But even after the birth of John Abbott Junior, AKA Jack, Dina remained unsatiated.
In response, she began to indulge in a series of extramarital affairs, the most significant of which was with Brent Davis. That assignation led to the birth of Ashley Suzanne, though Dina was able to successfully claim that John was the father.
After bringing little Traci Ann into the world, Dina could no longer deny her desire for a life outside of her little bubble. So, with much trepidation, she abandoned her family and made her way to Europe.
The Adventures of Madame
Over the next few decades, Dina took a string of lovers including painter Eric Garrison. She eventually married again, to wealthy cosmetics baron Marcel Mergeron, and upon his death, she did her utmost to use her new position as company CEO to purchase her ex-husband’s business.
When the Abbott family discovered the identity of the widow Mergeron, they were appalled that Dina would dare to return. In the intervening years, John had remarried (to Jill) and their children had all grown up – unhappy and desperate for a mother’s love.
Dina did her best to reconcile with every loved one who she had hurt and she actually made inroads with Jack when she stayed by his side after he was severely injured by a gun-toting, mentally unstable Patty.
The Truth Will Out
Dina also began to make progress with Ashley – that is until the young woman became intimately involved with Eric Garrison, and Dina made sure her daughter learned of their past. But even more trauma awaited Ashley.
A dying Brent Davis tracked her down and revealed her true parentage, which resulted in Ashley suffering a nervous breakdown. In response, Dina attempted to shoot Brent dead but wound up injuring her good friend, Katherine Chancellor.
At Ashley’s request, Dina agreed to never reveal the truth and take her leave. And she remained out of the picture for five years. However, the second marriage between Traci and Brad Carlton served as the impetus for her return.
More Trouble
John was less than pleased to see her. After all the family had endured a plethora of tragedy in the interim for which she had been a no-show. But Dina informed him that she had been suffering from tuberculosis and confined to a sanitarium for treatment.
With her tale taken at face value, Dina wormed her way back into John’s life and even managed to talk him into proposing. In response, Jill hired Paul Williams to investigate her rival’s background – and he uncovered the fact that Dina had been vacationing on a cruise at the time of her supposed internment.
That revelation led John to banish Dina, though he succumbed to her charms, and proposed, and was left broken-hearted once again in 1996. Another cruise prevented Dina from attending John’s funeral in 2006 but she was present for what was assumed to be Katherine Chancellor’s memorial in 2008 – it was actually her look-alike, Marge, in the coffin.
Dina Abbott Mergeron’s Declining Years
In May of 2017, Dina sold Mergeron Industries (her innate skills as a businesswoman having elevated the simple cosmetics company into a conglomerate) to Devon Hamilton and Neil Winters and made her way back to Genoa City – with the much younger Graham Bloodworth by her side.
While Dina’s children initially believed that Graham was a gigolo out for the Mergeron fortune, they eventually learned that: a) he had been taking care of an Alzheimer’s-stricken Dina b) only for the express purpose of gaining as much of her fortune as possible and c) he now planned to kill her in revenge for her stealing away his father – Brent Davis!
After rescuing their mother and attempting to keep her home at the family mansion, the Abbott clan eventually made the heartbreaking decision to move her into a long-term care facility.
Though the scars of their abandonment were still just as fresh as the day Dina exited their lives the first time, Jack and Traci achieved a modicum of peace after deciding to research and tell the history of their family and in particular, the story of Dina and John.
During their research, the pair uncovered the existence of Dina’s long-ago love child and she was able to meet her grandson and clearly understand who he was. The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings to airtimes.
Share this: