The Young and the Restless Wayback: Remember Andy

Throughout soap opera history, there have been a lot of good guys – some, in fact, have been too good for their own good — and one such white knight is Andy Richards of The Young and the Restless.

Blue Knight
Both Nikki Reed and Jill Foster spent time with Andy Richards, who worked as a high school physical education instructor. But that job was never going to provide Jill with the kind of lifestyle she wanted to have.

Jill moved on from Andy and set her sights on rich John Abbott. Nikki, of course, was determined to become Mrs. Victor Newman. Jill made an impact on Andy though. He switched careers and became a member of the Genoa City Police Department.

Private Eye
Andy struck up a friendship with Paul Williams as Paul’s dad Carl worked on the police force as a detective. One of the cases he worked on was helped rescue Nikki from kidnapper Rick Daros. Next, Andy and Paul went undercover and exposed mafioso, Mr. Anthony. Realizing they could do different kinds of work as private investigators, Paul and Andy left the force, taking on Jazz as a colleague and Amy Lewis as their secretary.

Divorcing Diane
Diane Jenkins, on the rebound from Jack Abbott, took up with Andy, but her feelings for Jack kept her from being faithful to the blond, handsome private eye. Andy and Diane’s marriage ended after she thought Jack was going to make a commitment. He didn’t so Diane left Andy behind and went off to Europe.

Falling For Faren
Next, Andy fell for amnesiac Faren Conner, who turned out to be a woman named Michelle, and she had a whole other life neither she nor Andy knew anything about. Diane briefly returned to town and thought about getting back together with Andy, but she saw that he was happy and left once more.

Tragedy struck when Faren, now Mrs. Andy Richards, miscarried. Paul’s wife Lauren was determined to get to the bottom of Faren’s identity. She placed an ad in a newspaper using “Faren’s” photo, hoping to get some answers.

Seeking Sanderson
Evan Sanderson from Pittsburgh arrived in Genoa City, looking for his wife Michelle AKA “Faren.” Alas, she had no memory of him or their daughter, Betsy. Janet, who worked as Evan’s housekeeper and was hoping to marry Evan herself, tried to kill Faren but ended up murdering Evan instead. Andy moved to Pittsburgh to be with Faren, who now wanted to be a mother to her daughter.

Moving On
Many years later, when Betsy was in college, Andy came home to Genoa City, divorced from Faren. He was there to support Paul through some of life’s joys – like the baptism of his son, Ricky – and heartaches – Paul didn’t take it well when he learned his ex, Christine, was engaged to Michael Baldwin.

Andy ran into his ex, Diane, who was hopeful that Jack Abbott was someday finally going to be hers once he split from Phyllis. Andy assisted Paul on a case involving arson at the Abbott pool house. It looked like Diane was guilty, but she was never formally charged. Paul urged Any to visit Faren back in Pittsburgh as he never got over her.

He came close to buying Paul’s detective agency, but that deal never happened after Paul’s wife Isabella tried to murder Christine. Andy soon vanished from the scene, and it’s likely that he’s living back in Pittsburgh. The Young and the Restless (YR) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes.