Young & Restless’ Phyllis Heads for a Mammoth Meltdown That Could Leave Not One But *Two* Relationships Torn Asunder

Phyllis is not OK. Her son’s wife was murdered, and then the redhead was kidnapped, held captive and nearly died. Now, life is piling on. Young & Restless is steering Red toward a mammoth meltdown that will have repercussions for not one, but two couples in Genoa City.

Phyllis was devastated when Daniel’s longtime love, Heather, was murdered in their apartment. But what really dialed up Phyllis’ stress was her son being framed for the homicide. If that wasn’t bad enough, she suspected her longtime nemesis was responsible for all of it… and she wasn’t wrong. Although it turned out Sharon was being drugged and didn’t kill Heather, she did dump her body in the river and frame Daniel. Despite the extenuating circumstances, Phyllis’ hostility toward Sharon remained. So, it was extra aggravating to find herself kidnapped and locked up in an abandoned psychiatric clinic with the blonde.

Although part of their captivity involved working through their issues with each other, Sharon and Phyllis were traumatized anew by the entire experience, given they were tortured like “lab rats” and came thisclose to losing their lives before being rescued. While Sharon might have been the most likely candidate to come out of it all with major mental strain, instead it’s been Phyllis who has visibly struggled.

In what appears to be the lastest in an increasingly long line of mental health-themed plots, Phyllis appears to be grappling with a bad case of PTSD given that she’s triggered by any interaction that makes her feel like the aforementioned “lab rat”. And things are only going to get worse.

When Phyllis proved herself incapable of focusing on work because of her obsession with helping Daniel, Billy cut her from his hypothetical company, Abbott Communications. Then Daniel pushed her away, and asked for space. This left her alone and fending off a panic attack in the park. What Phyllis doesn’t know is that life is about to deal her yet another blow when her daughter Summer decides to leave Genoa City.

If you thought Phyllis might be headed for a nervous breakdown before, you can bet that Summer’s departure will hurry things along. What will the fallout be? Well, it’s not looking good on two fronts.

Nick and Sharon will soon return from their trip to London to visit Noah, and whether they’ve reuinted off-screen remains to be seen. But given how they were dancing around the idea of getting back together before they left, it’s a definite possibility. However, if they arrive home to Phyllis having a breakdown, it’s going to throw a monkey wrench into the works. Rather than focusing on romance, they’ll be catapulted into a scenario where one or both of them need to support the redhead. Despite their newly-forged truce, Sharon is sure to be none too pleased if Nick throws himself into his customary hero role for Phyllis.

Billy, meanwhile, is still openly struggling with guilt over firing Phyllis. Despite doing the best thing for his company, it clearly didn’t sit well in his conscience. Should Phyllis have a full-blown nervous breakdown, the guy is going to feel terrible and will feel obligated to be there for her. As one might imagine, Sally will not be a fan of this, particularly given she has been telling him he has no reason to be guilt-ridden. Should he insist on riding to Phyllis’ rescue, it may not only impinge on his relationship with Sally, but pivot her away from accepting his offer to come and work with him.

Phyllis is absolutely headed for a mammoth meltdown, and the only question that remains is who will help pick up the pieces and what will the fallout be for that knight in shining armor?!

Young & Restless’ Holden is in need of a love interest! View the candidates to win his heart in the photo gallery below.