‘The Young and The Restless’ Spoilers: J. Eddie Peck Exits Y&R As Cole Passes Away

‘The Young and the Restless’ (Y&R) spoilers confirm that J. Eddie Peck, who played the role of Cole Howard off and on since 1993, has exited the soap.

‘The Young and The Restless’ Spoilers: Cole Passed Away From Complications of Legionnaires’ Disease

Missouri-born Peck started his soap career on Days of Our Lives, where he played Howard “Hawk” Hawkins from 1991 to 1992.

Peck then went to Y&R, where he played Cole Howard, a rancher-turned-successful author, from 1993 to 1999.

He was known for his romance with Victoria Newman (then Heather Tom) and dalliances with Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) and Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson).

From there, the actor moved to All My Children, where he played Jake Martin from 2000 to 2003. Peck returned to Y&R in 2023, and today was his swan song.

Cole discovered his “late” daughter, Eve, with Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle), Claire Grace (Hayley Erin) hadn’t died after all.

It turned out that Claire was in cahoots with her evil aunt, Jordan Howard (Colleen Zenk), and they tried to poison the Newmans. Eventually, Victoria, Claire, and Cole formed the family Claire never had.

Sadly, the moment we feared would happen arrived on the Thursday, July 3rd episode of Y&R. Cole passed away from complications of Legionnaires’ disease, which is a form of pneumonia and is typically treatable.

Unfortunately, in Cole’s circumstances, his illness was diagnosed too late, and nothing could be done to help him. His final scene was a real tearjerker.

‘The Young and the Restless’ Spoilers: Claire And Victoria Said Goodbye To Cole

Claire and Victoria rushed to Cole’s bedside as he said goodbye to his beloved daughter, Claire, and his former wife, Victoria.

Claire, who was in denial over the idea that it was the last time she would see her father, begged him to stay and fight the illness. She told him it was unfair to lose him after she just got him back.

Cole explained to her that he didn’t want to waste time and told her that the proudest he’s ever been was to be her dad. He insisted it was time to say goodbye.

Claire cried to him that even though she was an adult, she still needed her dad. She couldn’t say goodbye. Claire was overwhelmed and quickly left the room.

However, Victoria stayed by his side. He promised her he would see her in the afterlife. Cole kissed his true love, Victoria, for the final time and was gone, leaving mother and daughter heartbroken.

‘The Young and the Restless’ Spoilers: J. Eddie Peck Wrote A Special Message To His Fans On Social Media

1. Eddie Peck wrote a special message on social media to his fans earlier today, “Just a quick shout-out as Cole takes his last breath on the show today. And with that, this chapter of my journey on The Young and the Restless comes to a close.”

He concluded, “I want to thank all of you, my friends, fans, and soap family, for welcoming me back with such incredible warmth and support. Your messages, posts, and enthusiasm made this return deeply meaningful to me.”

We have a feeling that since Claire was unable to reach Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) and give him the tragic news, not to mention the possibility of Kyle and Audra Charles (Zuleyka Silver) hooking up in Paris, Claire may lean on someone unexpected for support.

Holden Novak (Nathan Owens) and Claire have been flirting with one another recently. He also helped her navigate a panic attack upon learning that Cole was dying.

We think, despite losing a talented and proven actor, J. Eddie Peck, Cole’s death may open some new doors that have the potential to lead to some juicy storylines.