The 5 worst couples on The Young and the Restless, past and present

As is always true within this digital space, full kudos go to all on The Young and the Restless who work in front of and behind the camera. Love stories can start sweet and build into great romance. Some pairings can sour, while others make many fans wonder what the characters thought when they decided to tie to the soapy knot. With many choices to consider, let's look at five bad unions.

Bad marriages on The Young and the Restless

Shictor (Sharon Newman and Victor Newman)

So, Sharon married both Newman brothers, Nick and Adam. In between those nuptials she also married Jack. However, the ill-fated year of 2012 proved to be outrageous and fully soapy, as Sharon Case's character not only married her two-time father-in-law, but she also did it twice.

Defining suspension of disbelief is not necessary for daytime fans. They choose to accept the implausible to push plots along. However, the audience has its collective limit.

Marrying the Mustache once was odd. Victor went missing, and Sharon, with Tucker's help, took control of Newman Enterprises. Victor was declared dead, and Sharon was going to marry Tucker. But Eric Braeden's character returned, had Sharon put in jail, and annulled their marriage.

A second marriage to Victor happened, and she was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Sharon and Victor can share blame for not having one but two bad ideas about wanting to marry each other for reasons that were not about love but instead manipulation.

Phyllis Summers and Jeremy Stark

Talk about a mismatched. Jeremy forced Phyllis to marry him as part of their revenge play against Diane. He then tried to kill Phyllis when she refused to go along with his plan.

As devoted fans recall, Diane provided the authorities with damning evidence about Jeremy after unknowingly being his money laundering mule. Upon his release from prison, Phyllis took it upon herself to provide Jeremy with Diane's contact information.

Jeremy proceeded to torment Diane, and eventually, Phyllis faked her death at his behest. Her unwillingness to follow through with the plan, because she would have had to leave her children behind in Genoa City forever, led to Phyllis killing Jeremy in self-defense. That is a twisted tale, not a love story.

Hilary Curtis and Neil Winters

Hilary came to town seeking revenge against Neil, believing he left her mother to die after a night of drinking. Hilary's mother, who was an alcoholic, was found dead in a room where she and Neil drank together during one of his benders, which the audience learned through flashbacks.

However, Neil's drunkenness caused him not to realize her assumed biological mother, Rose, was in peril. He left the room, not knowing she was about to die. As an added note, the audience later learned that Rose was not Hilary's mother during the period when Amanda was revealed as the late Hilary's twin sister.

Years later, Hilary came to Genoa City, Wisconsin, and targeted Neil and his family. The truth about Rose's death was eventually learned, and Neil forgave Hilary, which caused her to fall in love with him. His subsequent period of blindness, which was caused by electrocution, led to Hilary becoming attached to Devon.

Bryton James' character and Hilary fell in love, with Mishael Morgan's initial character cheating on Neil while they were married and before his sight was restored. As Neil's vision was returning, he learned of his wife and adoptive son's betrayal.

Jack Abbott and Patty Williams

Many newer residents of Genoa City would cite Diane as Jack's worst wife. However, Patty has her beat by a million miles.

Paul Williams' mentally unstable sister was first married to Jack from 1982-83. Decades later, when Stacy Haiduk became the recast, she married Jack again for one year (2010). That came after she had reconstructive surgery and used the name Mary Jane Benson. That face change was paid for by Jack's eternal nemesis, Victor.

Among other crimes, Patty was responsible for the drowning death of Brad and Traci's daughter, Colleen. She also exacted revenge against Phyllis, who was with Jack, by kissing Summer, who was then a child, after having eaten peanuts, knowing she was allergic, which caused a coma.

During the above incarnation of this character, Adam helped Patty escape town. She moved to Canada years before returning. Patty remains one of Jack's most extremely misguided love entanglements.

Victoria Newman and Ashland Locke

Two actors played Ashland: Richard Burgi and Robert Newman, whose most famous role was Josh Lewis on the beloved steamer Guiding Light. Victoria developed a friendship with Ashland when Burgi was part of the cast. She was nearly killed by Ashland when Newman played the recast.

Ashland's backstory was an outgrowth of Kyle's shady relationship with Tara Locke, who is Harrison's mother. Tara's arrest and imprisonment caused Ashland's complete break from her, which allowed his romantic interest in Victoria to flourish into marriage.

Ashland was revealed as Bobby DeFranco. He assumed the name of his friend who perished in a car accident and used that identity to gain a fortune and build Locke Communications.

As time passed and Robert Newman assumed the role, the Lockeness Monster came to co-head Newman-Locke. But he and Victoria's tie proved to be short as she learned that he faked having terminal cancer.

In time, Ashland was jailed and later blocked from seeing Harrison by Victor, which proved overwhelming. Having lost everything, he sought to attack Victoria in her home, but Nick intervened. He punched Ashland, who fell backward, hit his head on the fireplace, and died. This ordeal reinforced Victor's protective nature, with the Mustache ordering his security team to the body and making this death appear to be a car accident.

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