The Young and the Restless Character Recap: Reed Hellstrom

Reed Hellstrom – he tried hard to make good, but this The Young and Restless character has had to struggle with poor decision making and impulse control for most of his life. But with parents like his, is it any wonder?

Who Is Reed Hellstrom?

Reed is the only biological son of Newman heiress Victoria Nicole and though his paternity was in question at the time of his birth, a DNA test confirmed that his father was JT Hellstrom and not his mother’s ex-husband Brad Carlton.

Reed has five siblings, two from his father’s second wife, Mackenzie Browning (Dylan and Becca), two that belong to Victoria and Billy (Katie Newman and adopted son Johnny) and the deceased Eve Howard (Victoria’s daughter with Cole).

Early Days
Reed’s introduction was fraught with tension and familial discord owing to Victoria’s comatose state and differing opinions on how doctors should proceed with her pregnancy. JT and Victor positioned that labor should be induced and Victoria receive life-saving surgery while Nikki insisted that Victoria would prioritize the health of her unborn child.

Reed was eventually taken and Victoria, of course, awoke. For a time, she and JT were husband and wife and together the little trio was happy. But after two years, they opted to divorce.

JT petitioned the courts for full custody of Reed, arguing that he should not be subjected to Victor’s malignant influence. Victoria battled back but her arrest for Adam’s supposed murder resulted in the judge agreeing to JT’s request.

Over the next decade, Victoria was rarely involved in her son’s life and the tyke only made the occasional return trips home. However, one such highlight was his grandparents’ 2013 wedding, during which he played ring bearer.

Teenage Angst 
In January of 2017, Reed absconded from his father and stepmother’s D.C. abode and showed up at Victoria’s. He begged her to take him in as he had no desire to accompany a soon-to-relocate JT and Mac. JT agreed to the living arrangements, but life in the Newman-Abbott household grew chaotic.

Reed shirked any and all responsibilities that his mother tried to foist upon him, preferring instead to sneak alcohol into his soda, charge online pornography to Victoria’s credit cards, and practice playing his guitar and keyboard.

At Billy’s urging, Victoria encouraged Reed to pursue his musical ambitions and even agreed with Nikki’s decision to hire up-and-coming musician Tessa Porter as his tutor. But while his domestic troubles were tempered, Reed’s personal life was about to explode.

First, he found himself pursued by two fellow high schoolers, Zoe and Kendall, but that roundabout was finished when Kendall set Reed up to find Zoe with Charlie Ashby. For a time, the two young men were bitter rivals but their animosity cooled when Reed began to court Charlie’s twin sister Mattie.

However, the teens were thwarted at every turn by the warring adults in their life. The final nail was hammered in after Reed chose to drive his vehicle while intoxicated and Mattie reported him to the police.

Reed was heartened when JT returned to Genoa City and reunited with Victoria but he remained unaware that his father was now psychologically and physically abusing his mother.

When Victoria, Phyllis, Sharon, and Nikki feared that they had killed JT during one of his violent outbursts, they disposed of his body and made it appear as though he left town. In response, Reed asked to enroll in a music-focused boarding school and a distraught Victoria agreed.

Reed In Mourning

He briefly returned in order to arrange a memorial service for JT. While home, he learned about the abuse that Victoria and Mac suffered – and drove through a blizzard where he sideswiped a tipsy Nikki.

Luckily for all, Nikki recovered without serious injury. Another semester was spent at his new school and afterward, he made yet another return trek when JT resurfaced alive but mentally unbalanced.

After his father was imprisoned, Reed explained to Victoria – who desperately wanted him to return home – that he would not be “running back to Mommy” and that he needed to face life’s challenges on his own.

Reed has made only one subsequent sojourn – to check on his mother’s progress after she was the victim of a knife attack – but given how fractious his family has become of late, it’s quite possible he will be back more often to offer moral support. The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes.