Exclusive Young & Restless Wedding Preview: ‘Ashland Could Lose Everything,’ warns Richard Burgi, ‘Including Victoria!’

“He’s on increasingly thin ice.”

The wedding of the year is about to begin as The Young and the Restless‘ Victoria and Ashland’s friends and family arrive in Tuscany this week. But with new questions arising almost daily about the groom’s past, will his bride wind up saying “I do”… or deciding that she simply can’t go through with the ceremony!

“Ashland loves Victoria with all of his heart,” says his portrayer, Richard Burgi. “There’s no doubt about that. He’s confident in his feelings, but he’s also a realist. He’s resigned himself to the fact that he’s on borrowed time.” In this case, that’s true both metaphorically and literally, given that the powerful businessman has finally come up against the one rival it seems he can’t defeat: cancer.

Above: “Victoria has allowed Ashland to see himself in a different light,” says Burgi.

Credit: CBS screenshot

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“Once that reality of how finite life is kicks in, it obviates certain elements,” the actor muses. “Because once you’ve embraced the impermanence of your life, nothing else is all that critical.”

Love, however, remains something worth fighting for, especially when one has found their true soulmate. And it certainly seems that Victoria is far more better suited to Ashton than was former wife Tara. “She’s been through a number of experiences which led her to become who she is in order to reflect back to him the potential of what he’s evolving into. I don’t think Tara had that bandwidth of emotionality or inner psychological strength.”

Above: Something tells us this is how Billy would like to see Victoria’s wedding day end!

Credit: Howard Wise/JPI

More: Is Billy’s plot about to blow up in his face?

Victoria may need to rely on both of those characteristics in the coming days, especially as more information comes to light regarding her husband-to-be’s past. “He’s on thin ice,” sighs Burgi, “and the more he gets pushed onto it the quicker he’ll fall through. Gaines is in the picture, and Billy is applying pressure. There are still things which have not yet been fully revealed.”

So far, Victoria has stood by his side, although there’s clearly some reticence on her part. “Ashland could lose everything,” acknowledges Burgi, “including Victoria. But so far, she has proven willing to forgive his foibles and flaws.”

Meanwhile, Burgi is enjoying the storyline, which he admits took him by complete surprise. “I had no idea where they were going, let alone that it would be with Victoria. But they made a great choice. Amelia Heinle is quite talented, and she’s also a lot of fun to work with.”

The biggest challenge? “The density of the material. It lends itself to being rather verbose, which I love. I’m a real language maven, although you’d never know it because I really butcher it sometimes,” he laughs. “But to me, that’s the real fun.”

As the residents of Genoa City make their way to Italy and we finally find out if Victoria and Ashland become man and wife, share your thoughts on the couple’s chances of finding happiness in the comments section. Then check out this photo gallery in which we look at the challenges they’ve faced already in their young (and restless) relationship!