Julia Newman on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS — Everything You Need to Know
Newer fans might be wondering who is Julia Newman on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS? Well, the short answer is she was Victor Newman‘s first wife. But there’s more to her story than that! The character was introduced along with Victor back in 1980 and was played by actress Meg Bennett. Julia left town in 1981, but returned for stints from 1982-84, 1986-87, and for six months in 2002. Her last visit was in 2018 when Victor nearly died, and she’s coming back again in 2020 to celebrate a big anniversary.
Victor was very protective of his beautiful young wife and kept her secluded at the ranch, but he was so caught up in work he was barely there himself. She found herself drawn to Brock Reynolds, so a jealous Victor slept with his secretary, Eve Howard! Julia admitted she was falling in love with Brock, but they hadn’t slept together, so she would break it off if he committed to their marriage. In response, Victor pursued Lorie Brooks! Brock eventually got fed up with Julia refusing to leave Victor, and left town. Then, Julia wanted to have a baby, so Victor got a vasectomy! (They were never on the same page, those two…)
She began modeling for photographer Michael Scott, and when Eve resurfaced looking to snare Victor, an insecure Julia slept with Michael. Overwhelmed with guilt over cheating on her husband, Julia was horrified to learn she was pregnant. A jealous Victor kidnapped Michael and held him prisoner in the bomb shelter under the Newman Ranch. He had monitors and cameras set up so Michael would have to watch Victor and Julia in bed together. Julia eventually discovered the truth and with Paul’s help, freed Michael. But in the struggle with Victor, Julia fell down the stairs and miscarried. Worse, Victor learned that despite his vasectomy, he had been the baby’s father. Julia left town alone soon after.
Julia ran into Eve in Paris in 1982, and later overheard her on the phone conspiring to slowly poison Victor. She warned her ex-husband and helped him trick Eve into confessing by faking his death. When he later was revealed to be very much alive, Eve tried to stab Victor and was committed. Julia next returned to Genoa City in 1984 when she attended Victor’s wedding to Nikki Reed. She began working as a model for Jabot Cosmetics and had an affair with Ashley Abbott’s fiancé, Eric Garrison. Julia had his child, but kept it a secret and married Charles Martin, letting her daughter, Jamie, grow up believing he was her father. In 2002, Victor visited Julia in Illinois to help her avoid losing her design company in a hostile takeover. He was also in the middle of doing a little soul searching by visiting his ex-wives before proposing to Nikki again.
In 2018, Julia returned to Y&R as Victor fought for his life after a dangerous fall, but it was just a brief visit. And in 2020, she made another trip to Genoa City for the 50th-anniversary celebration of Newman Enterprises.
