Sharon Newman and Jack Abbott’s friendship surrounded Phyllis Summers and Nick Newman’s cheating, then turned to romance. Though the couple was married for two years, it felt as though they came together by default. They were there for each other, and continue to be to this day, but it wasn’t a passionate union that felt fully invested in for the characters and hasn’t been revisited.
Noah Newman and Tessa Porter made a cute enough pair, but the romance was nothing to write home to mom about. Tessa’s possible ulterior motives were in question, and both had more chemistry with others. It ended badly for that reason, and they would have been better off staying friends.
Paul Williams gave Nikki Reed an STD when they were teens and they were still able to emerge as friends. They probably should have left it at that as their adult reconciliations, though endearing, never really got too far off the ground. It felt like filling in time until Nikki would reconcile with Victor again. The pair was given a retroactive son in Dylan McAvoy in more recent history, and have continued on as friends as they always should have been.
Neil Winters and Hilary Curtis forged a friendship amid her coming clean about her attempt to get revenge on him for her mother’s death, and it shouldn’t have gone any further. Hilary seemed to be looking for a strong shoulder to lean on and Neil seemed to be rebounding from Leslie. Moreover, Hilary went into the relationship already fighting an attraction to Neil’s son Devon that was undeniable and proved irresistible, which did the Neil/Hilary union no favors by comparison.
Chloe Mitchell and Kevin Fisher had one of the best friendship vibes in daytime television, and the push to turn it into a romance was an impulse that should have been ignored. Both characters had scads more sexual chemistry with others they’d been involved with and more storyline potential apart. Kevin’s devotion to Chloe is heartwarming, but it’s mind-boggling this has been kept going.
It’s rare to see a long-term core character like Nick Newman in a romance that garnered almost no following, but that was the case with Chelsea Newman. It was partly that most viewers preferred them with others, but the main issue was they didn’t have the right chemistry. They never should have left the friendzone after Adam was presumed dead. Incredibly, when the newest headwriter came in he revived the pairing, which fell flat again.
Devon Hamilton and Mariah Copeland fell into dating out of friendship and mutual respect, but it was awkward from the get-go. There was an element of wanting to make Hilary jealous, Mariah acted weirdly starry-eyed over Devon’s wealth – there wasn’t much chemistry either. Thankfully, their friendship survived the interlude, but they probably shouldn’t have gone there in the first place.
Abby Newman was an odd choice to be paired with worldly Ben ‘Stitch’ Rayburn. While he made a good confidante, he had reams more chemistry with her mother, Ashley, and even with Victoria. If they’d remained as friends it would have saved a lot of grief.
While Victor Newman and Sharon Newman weren’t exactly friends, he had been a supportive father-in-law and father figure to her, often running interference between Sharon and his disapproving wife, Nikki. When Sharon and Victor entered into a romance – and marriage – it was one of the most bizarre and universally hated moves in the history of Young and Restless.
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