The Young and the Restless Character Recap: Summer Newman

Summer Newman – for years this The Young and Restless character has walked the razor’s edge between outright villain and misunderstood heroine. But considering who her parents are, is that really a surprise?

Who Is Summer Newman?

Summer Ann is the product of an adulterous liaison between a married Nicholas Newman and his also attached paramour Phyllis Summers. For most of her childhood, Summer’s paternity was in question.

For a time it was believed that Jack Abbott, whom Phyllis had been dating – and who helped deliver Summer while they were trapped inside a stalled elevator – was the father.

A corrupted DNA seemed to prove that Nick was the rightful papa and he took it at face value – until Summer began to crush on Kyle Abbott, her possible half-brother. A second DNA test was altered by Sharon but the truth was eventually outed.

While still an infant, Summer was abducted (alongside Fenmore Baldwin) by a woman presumed to be Sheila Carter who had altered her face to resemble Phyllis. Luckily, both children were returned unharmed.

Boys, Boys, Boys
Though Summer is most often drawn to her current beau, Kyle, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t had her fair share of male companionship. At first, she entertained a romance with Fenmore.

Following that brief interlude, Summer and Kyle had their first stab at courtship but it ended disastrously. Instead, Summer turned her attention towards Austin Travers, who wound up revealing himself to being Avery Bailey Clark’s stalker.

Summer stood by her man – and even married him so she wouldn’t be forced to testify against him in an upcoming trial. But he secretly cheated on her with her aunt, Abby. By the time Austin was murdered, Summer shed little tears.

Her next mistake was Luca Santori, a blackmailing corporate schemer. An out-of-town dalliance with a man named Pax followed and ended when Summer was arrested for ‘taking’ his car. She called it borrowing; he alleged grand theft auto.

Then Summer made a successful play for her mother’s latest lover, Billy Abbott. The assignation threatened to sever the bond between mother and child for good but they eventually reconciled and Summer once again cast her gaze towards Kyle.

Summer was unbothered by his status as a happily devoted boyfriend and she did her utmost to undermine his relationship with Lola Rosales. For a time, she called a cease-fire – after an attempt at quid pro quo marriage with Kyle failed – and took up with bad boy Theo Vanderway.

But it wound up being Kyle who pulled her back. Turns out he had never quite gotten her out of his system and he was ready, willing, and able to cast Lola aside and reunite with her.

Health and Vitals
Summer is deathly allergic to peanuts – a malady that psychotic Patty Williams took full advantage of by kissing the young girl after consuming a peanut butter cookie. The resulting anaphylactic shock resulted in severe brain swelling that initially rendered Summer comatose before stripping her of developmental milestones.

For a time, Summer had to undergo speech therapy and attend a special school in Switzerland. Years later, Summer began consuming energy pills which induced heart failure though she eventually recovered.

Summer is also a living organ donor, owing to her allowing a piece of her liver to be harvested and transplanted into a dying Lola.

Crimes ‘R’ Us

Aside from vehicular manslaughter – it was her reckless driving that led to Chelsea Lawson’s miscarriage – Summer is also guilty of cyberbullying and frequent acts of vandalism.

Summer Newman – Moving Forward
Now happily ensconced in her position as the (once again) future Mrs. Kyle Abbott, Summer is sitting pretty. But with the recent outing of her parents’ sexual trysts and the tension caused by Kyle and Theo’s daily interactions at Jabot, life is never quite so simple. The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes.