‘The Young and the Restless’’ Sharon Case on Her Character’s Explosive Baby Secret

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The truth is out there…and it’s about to bite Sharon Collins Newman Abbott McAvoy in the ass. On the November 1 episode of The Young and the Restless, the hell-raising heroine—played by Emmy winner Sharon Case—is finally forced to confess that she did not give birth to Sully, the baby she’s been raising for nearly a year. Case gave us a preview of the mama drama.

Well, it’s about damn time!
I know, right? I guess a good soap secret is one that’s kept for a long time. Half the people in Genoa City are involved in this and a lot of lives will be changed once the news breaks.

So who’s going to be pissed at Sharon, besides everybody?
The fallout is even bigger than she fears. Of course, her husband, Dylan, is really mad that this baby isn’t his and that she’s been keeping this horrible secret and it’s going to be very hard on the marriage. But the news breaks on GC Buzz, so everyone in town is in shock and very upset. Nikki, who already detests Sharon, now has a new reason to hate her. Wait till you see those scenes!

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It’s been a hoot watching Sharon break into a cold sweat when Nikki notes how big Sully is for his age.
[Laughs] I know! That kid is running and talking and playing sports and he’s barely 1 year old. I just love the Sharon-Nikki relationship. It’s a total control thing. As long as Sharon is married to one of Nikki’s sons, she can make Nikki crazy. On some level, Sharon loves being an irritant but, on another, they really do love each other.

Can you see them becoming like Stephanie and Brooke on The Bold and the Beautiful—mortal enemies for life but best friends at the end?
No! The relationship is great how it is. But I don’t think they’d bother fighting with each other if they didn’t care deep down.

What about Nick? Sully is actually Christian, who supposedly died as a preemie, and Nick thinks he’s that kid’s father, but we viewers know the real dad is Adam, who is also supposedly dead. It’s a mess.
Oh, this mess is just beginning. Yeah, it’s not Nick’s baby…but then maybe that could go either way. The evidence that Christian is Adam’s son hasn’t totally been fleshed out, so who knows how this will end up? And if Nick is not really the dad then what Sharon did is not nearly as bad. I mean, you can’t blame her nearly as much for keeping an un-true secret as you can for keeping a true one, right? [Laughs]

How does little Faith handle the fact that her mama is a big liar? She’s old enough now to see how serious this is. Her parents can’t keep telling her to go to another room and eat sugar.
Yeah, she’s older now and aware when someone is doing something wrong. It doesn’t go over her head now. [Laughs] This is one situation where we can’t say, “Go in the kitchen, dear, and have some cupcakes.” At the same time, Faith hasn’t really lost a brother. He’ll just have a new name.

Were you surprised at the way the news gets out?
Yes. You know soaps. Usually, you find out about somebody’s true [parentage] because there’s some sort of accident and the need for an emergency blood transfusion. I like this a lot. But, as bad as it all is, Sharon is kind of relieved that her part of the secret is out. And it would have gone public anyway, even if GC Buzz hadn’t gotten hold of the story. People would have started talking the moment Nick rolled a baby stroller into the coffee house with Sharon’s baby in it. It was only a matter of time. She’s been on pins and needles for months, struggling every day with not telling Nick that his child is alive and having to watch his pain. It’s been a long, difficult time for her.

Wait. What? Are you saying we should feel sorry for Sharon?
No one in town wants to acknowledge that, for a long time, she really did think this baby was hers. She bonded with him. She loves him. The child’s real mother is dead and he’s been in good hands and in good health. Once Sharon learned the truth, she just froze. Giving up this baby would be devastating. I think she had fair reason not to say anything.

Except she did say something. There’s a little problem here and her name is Mariah. How are Dylan and Nick supposed to overlook the fact that Sharon shared her secret with her daughter and not with them?
Sharon did confide in Mariah, but she had to confide in somebody. Mariah was the one person who stuck by Sharon’s side, and now she’s guilty by association. Sharon promises she will do everything possible to protect Mariah, who is not the most popular person in town, either, so they make a great pair. Sharon always knew the truth would come out. She was just trying to adjust her mind and heart to the inevitability, even though she was only making things worse. People do that.

Will the writers let her off the hook by playing the bipolar card?
Well, maybe…but there’s also the fact that she was drugged into believing that this baby is hers. She’s a victim here.

Is this, in your mind, the worst thing Sharon has ever done?
Oh, no! This was a bad decision but there wasn’t really a lot lost. Nick was still around while his child was growing up. But Sharon burning down the Newman ranch was just awful. There’s no way around that one. Yes, she was drunk but no excuses. It’s the worst thing Sharon ever did.

Where the hell is Sharon’s mother, Doris? She disappears for years at a time.
I know, right? I guess she’s out there somewhere. Maybe she met a man and is way too busy for her daughter’s problems.

And, after all these years, we still don’t know who Sharon’s father is. That seems like an epic storyline waiting to happen.
It will probably come out at some point, but after all this time who could it be? Around the time when David Hasselhoff came back to Y&R [in 2010], there were all these rumors going around the set that Snapper would turn out to be Sharon’s dad, but it didn’t happen. It’s been so long, I don’t even think about her father anymore. She’s got enough problems!

On that topic, a lot of your fans aren’t happy that your character keeps being written as the liar, the villain, the nutcase, the doormat. How do you feel about it?
They complain that Sharon’s always the town pariah, and I understand that, but it’s a soap opera! I have loved all of my storylines. They’ve been challenging and fun and I have never sat around wishing for something better. Maybe the fans don’t like seeing Sharon disliked by so many people in Genoa City. I get that. And, yeah, maybe she doesn’t need to be in trouble all the time. The last time she had any extended period of strength and happiness was when she married Adam. Things were actually going well for her then, but things fell apart as they always do. There’s no drama in always being happy or never doing wrong. That’s just not Sharon. If she was always the good girl, I wouldn’t still be here after 22 years.