No matter how hard she tries, and no matter how many times she walks down the aisle, The Young and the Restless’ Esther Valentine just can’t seem to find Mr. Right. Maybe it’s the universe’s way of telling her to focus more on her dusting and less on her love life.
Who Is Esther Valentine?
Though she had dutifully toiled for Katherine Chancellor – or “Mrs. C.” as she insisted on calling her – for many years, Esther Valentine, the maid who kept the mansion at 12 Foothill Road in tip-top shape, finally thought she had discovered the golden ticket that would free her from her servitude.
Katherine, after suffering a momentary attack of conscience, had discarded the salacious material that she had planned to use against Jill Foster Abbott, her most hated foe. A quick-thinking, and nosey, Esther set about recovering it.
And now she anonymously offered it back to Katherine…in exchange for $100,000! Katherine agreed to the trade, recouped her evidence, and Esther emerged a much wealthier lady – well, at least for one day.
Consumed with guilt over having extorted her beloved employer, Esther confessed all and resigned her position. Katherine, impressed at Esther ingenuity, retained her services.
Feller Trouble
In response to her second chance, Esther remained loyal to a fault… until she got a better offer! Nina Webster, who had wormed her way into the Chancellor family, and given birth to an heir, assured Esther that if she would agree to leave Katherine and work for her, her only duty would be to care for little Chance Chancellor.
Furthermore, Esther extracted a promise that she would no longer have to don her much-despised uniform. For a time, Esther was happy. Nina spoiled her by insisting their relationship was much closer than employer/employee and she even insisted on helping Esther find a man.
After a particularly raucous night, Esther emerged pregnant. The only things she could remember about her partner was that he had been a large burly man – nicknamed Tiny – and that he worked as a plumber.
To compound her trouble of being an unwed and single mother, Esther quickly rumbled that all was not well at the Chancellor estate. She had been unable to return to her former position due to Katherine’s hiring of “Robert” and “Shirley,” and she was certain that “Mrs. C” wasn’t her old self.
Curiosity Killed The Cat…
An attempt to stealthily investigate resulted in Esther finding herself imprisoned alongside her former boss… the woman living at the mansion was an imposter! Stomach cramps enabled Esther to get medical treatment – and inform Katherine’s son, Brock Reynolds, about the danger that they were in.
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Post-rescue, Esther reclaimed her job with Katherine – who had to assist in the delivery of Kate Tina. Desperate to land a husband, and give her daughter a father, Esther turned to the newspaper’s personal ads and answered one belonging to Norman Peterson.
Hoping to impress him, Esther talked Katherine and husband, Rex Sterling, into switching roles with her. For one day, Esther would rule the roost at the mansion, and its true owners would tend to it.
Norman was indeed impressed. And he didn’t even mind when Esther revealed her charade. But he was concerned that Esther wasn’t named in Katherine’s will. Surely that must be rectified.
When it was, Norman proposed marriage. Soon after the deeming, he was caught attempting to clear the Chancellor safe and in response, he shot and killed Rex! The one bright spot in Esther’s otherwise dreary world was that her marriage wasn’t actually valid.
Esther Valentine – Moving Forward
The ensuing years were no less chaotic for Esther. She had to watch Katherine and Jill battle for ownership of the mansion and then found herself forced to heed Jill’s beck and call when she received a 50% stake.
She also played nursemaid to Katherine when she suffered a stroke (after learning that Jill was her biological daughter) and trained to become a registered alcohol abuse counselor in response to Katherine’s fall off wagon.
More complications arose thanks to the reappearance of Esther’s daughter Kate – now Chloe Mitchell – who became pregnant with Billy Abbott’s child but claimed that Cane Ashby was the father.
Katherine’s presumed death resulted in Esther inheriting half the Chancellor mansion and she even gained a new husband… but he turned out to be yet another conman. And this one was in league with the evil Clint Radison – the man who had engineered the long-ago switch between Katherine and her look-alike Marge Catrooke.
Mourning a loss has become second nature to Esther – first, she had to say goodbye to her granddaughter, Delia, and then eventually her beloved “Mrs. C” – but there has been joy in her later days.
She was thrilled to learn that not only were the rumors of Chloe’s death greatly exaggerated but now she, her husband Kevin, and granddaughter Bella have joined Esther at the mansion and announced that they’re expecting a bouncing baby boy! The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes.
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