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In a major plot twist on today’s episode of The Young and the Restless, Sharon Newman reveals in a discussion with the vision of her deceased daughter Cassie, that she switched the paternity results of Summer Newman, and that Nick is her true biological father, not Jack Abbott!  This comes on the heels of recent developments where Nick finally came forward with what he believed to be the “truth” … that he was not Summer’s bio-dad!  Or, so he thought!  Flashback: Years before, Nick has an affair with Phyllis while she is seeing Jack, and she becomes pregnant.  A paternity test is ordered.  Only when the test comes back, only Nick sees the results and proclaims that he is indeed Summer’s father.  Flash forward: Years later in 2013, Nick starts feeling guilty when Summer takes a liking to Jack’s son, Kyle.  He opens the paternity test from years ago to see that it reveals that the results are inconclusive.  So, he orders another one secretly, and this time the test comes back from the DNA sample, showing that Jack is Summer’s father.  Oh, what a tangled web the powers-that-be at Y&R are weaving now on the number one soap!

As for Sharon Newman, changing the paternity test results is just another shocker from the character who has previously: burnt down the Newman ranch, developed kleptomania and stole things left and right, and fell in love with Adam Newman (the man who stole her baby and made her believe hers had died, while he passed the baby off as Ashley’s in a despicable plot!)  But for Daytime Emmy winner and fan favorite, Sharon Case (Sharon Newman) this new plot development opens up a whole new set of circumstances and secrets that will generate so much story for her and others on the canvas in the months, and possibly years to come!

In this exclusive interview, On-Air On-Soaps sat down with Sharon Case in her dressing room at CBS to get her thoughts on: how she justifies Sharon’s action in the switching of Summer’s paternity, what she thinks this means for the future of Shick and Shadam, what will the upcoming departure of Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) mean for the story moving forward, and how Cassie’s Death still resonates years later to Y&R fans everywhere, and how Sharon and Nick losing their daughter many years ago, has been the impetus for so much heartache, change, miscommunication, and missteps, in their lives.

Whether you are on board with the decision that Y&R has made to have Sharon be the woman who pulled the ultimate switch, one thing can be said, Sharon Case has played everything that has been handed to her to the hilt, and after you read our chat, you will come away with the motivations behind it all.  Here’s what Ms. Case had to say!

MICHAEL

How long have you known that it would be revealed that Sharon ultimately was the one who switched the paternity results?  And, what did you think when you heard that Sharon was responsible for the switcheroo?

SHARON:

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

I have known for a while.  I was told in advance of shooting it, roughly what the storyline was going to be, not the whole thing, but I was given enough information so that I knew how to play the scenes.  What did I think?  I think it was a great idea. I said to Josh Griffith our head writer, secrets in soap opera are key.  We have had a secret in place, or sort of secret, for seven years, and that is what is the paternity of Summer?  Nick never exposed what it is.  So these little secrets that the writers put in, and leave there for years, are what are driving the show in some respect.  So, you can’t not have them, and then eventually you have to pick them up.  But, the great thing about when you pick them up is that maybe you resolve the secret, but at the same time you create some other secret.  So it just keeps going, and that is what keeps the show going.  I love how Josh decided to address this secret about the paternity test, yet he put a twist on it, so it still remained unknown, or set wrong, or somebody does not know the truth.   But, it’s really only great if you are going to leave it like that for years, just like it was like that for years before.  So, that the same game is always in play.  How hilarious and wild would it be for it to go on for years that the audience knows that Sharon switched the test, and the audience knows who Summer’s father is, but no one, not Nick, or anyone else in Genoa City, knows except for Sharon?  I think that’s a great long-term secret, and one day it can be addressed and come out, and we could re-test the paternity, and then maybe the truth is then… it is Jack’s!  There is no reason to resolve or end it, because I think it’s fun to see what happens.  All of these things are what creates conflict and high drama, because that is what we are after.  This is brilliant, because it is very relevant to every single character on the show.  What could be more relevant … Cassie’s death, and then the paternity of Summer.  Phyllis getting pregnant in the first place, and Sharon feeling that was wrong.   That changed fate in a way it never should have.

MICHAEL:

We had spoken about this before, about how all the different writing regimes had put Sharon through the ringer, and you had to make sense of all of it, and had the task of making it all work on-screen.  Were you at all concerned about how your fan base would react now to the revelation of Sharon being the one who switched Summer’s paternity test?

SHARON:

Courtesy/CBS

Well, no.  First of all, you are right.  The burden was always on me as the actress to make sense of this character, and to try to use a point of view, an opinion, an emotional tone, something that I add to her in playing these storylines that somehow makes this make sense to the audience.  And, that was up to me.  My writers were not necessarily always giving me that.   They always gave me good storylines.  And boy, were they dramatic, quirky, fun and entertaining!  But it wasn’t all adding up in the end.  Finally, Josh Griffith did that when he decided that Sharon was bipolar.  That resolved everything from her entire past, and for her entire future.  It was the greatest relief to me, because I don’t have to justify Sharon’s behavior anymore, as the actress.  I don’t have to rely on my writer to justify her behavior anymore.  We now know why Sharon behaves this way, and that probably should have been written or decided upon a long time ago.  So, it was a stroke of genius for Josh to come up with that.  There are always times when people go off their meds, and people do go off their meds constantly.   First of all, no one really remembers to take their meds everyday.  You may remember for a whole week, but then you forget a day, that is just how life goes.  Or, you go out of town and you just forgot them, or you purposely go off them, because you think you are doing very well.  This is a chronic issue with people who take meds on a regular basis, and so you are never always leveled out. So every time you do that, you really rock your boat by missing one day of meds.

MICHAEL:

On today’s episode Sharon sees Cassie, and that precipitates the reveal that Sharon switched Summer’s paternity results.  Why do you think she came to her at this time?

SHARON:

Photo Credit: Getty Images

My take on Sharon talking to Cassie, from Sharon’s point of view, is this: Sharon has always been very spiritual.  She was a spiritually religious young lady.  Remember, when she was with Adam at the feet of angels at the graveyard, and she had gone to seek out the psychic?  Sharon believes in all things in the spiritual world.  She spends a lot of time at the graveyard since Cassie passed away.  Sharon really does believe that she is connected to the spiritual world, and that she does have some kind of communication with it.  In some way, that makes sense to her.  I think she feels, in really trying times in her life, extra communication with her daughter, and that spiritual mother/daughter connection will never end.  When she sees Cassie, she always feels that is her guardian angel.  Nick and Sharon have always said that she is.  They have always told the other kids that, “Cassie is their guardian angel and watching out for them, and if you really listen, you can hear what she is saying.”   Sharon is really listening right now to hear what Cassie is saying.

MICHAEL:

Doesn’t Cassie seem to appear when Sharon feels guilty about things she did?

SHARON:

I think guilt is a time when you are in need of counseling, as well as some other emotions.  So Sharon does tell Cassie she switched the results of Summer’s paternity.

MICHAEL:

Courtesy/CBS

So, does Sharon feel justified in switching the test results?

SHARON:

Sharon really does feel justified in what she is doing.  In fact, she feels she is doing what needs to be done.  She feels that hers and Nick’s destinies, and Cassie’s destiny, and everyone’s life was compromised by Phyllis having this baby, because Nick and Phyllis had an affair, and Nick wanted to get back with Sharon.  Sharon said “no” and it ended up not happening because of this baby …that is the thing …. it was because of Summer.  Sharon sees it, as that was something that was never meant to be.  Sharon is a religious person, and that was the devil’s work.  And so, she is going to take matters into her own hands, and set things right for her destiny, and everyone’s destiny to fix things the way they should be in the name of Cassie, who lost her life, and in the name of everything.  So she is absolutely convinced that this is the right thing to do.  Sometimes there is a point of view that, “OK, maybe some level of destruction is necessary to do right by all.”  That is why I think she thinks everybody is going to be better off because of this change that was made.  And that is why she goes into it very righteously doing so, knowing this is the right move.  I think she’ll take her signs from the universe as to if she did the right thing, or not.  And, some more signs come from the universe immediately after this that tell her whether this is her path, the right path, their fate.  It’s interesting how it moves along.

MICHAEL:

So many people wanted Adam and Sharon, or better known by many as “Shadam”.  Now are you saying that all along Sharon had in her mind that she ultimately wanted to get back together with Nick?

SHARON:

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

I think she thinks again that is the way things were supposed to have happened.  But in the meantime, and in those years, because it hadn’t happened that way, and it didn’t seem like Nick was going to leave Phyllis, Sharon met Adam and fell in love with Adam.  That was the only other man that has ever come into her life, where she felt the same way as she does about Nick.  I would not say that one is better, or bigger than the other.  I think they were both equals, and that is what made that storyline so interesting.  You have two different kinds of men, and yet they are brothers … and yet Sharon fell in love with both of them, and each of them for opposite reasons, which made it very compelling.  I think the events at the time that led to Shadam make perfect sense.  She had to realize she wasn’t going to get Nick back, or for the foreseeable future.  So she created a great relationship and a future for herself with Adam.  You know what?  That did not work out. It fell apart.  Now she just newly discovered that now this is what is supposed to be … that Summer is really supposed to be Jack’s daughter, and then none of this would have occurred.  Sharon is just trying to figure out her life as she goes along, too, like everyone else is.

MICHAEL:

So, Sharon is OK with Nick taking the fall for the latest paternity result fiasco, when she really tampered with the results?

SHARON:

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It’s not that she is really OK with it, but I think she understands, because she went through the loss of Cassie as well.  Sharon can understand how really deep that pain is, and how it might drive you to make a bad decision.  Nick made a decision that helped him at the time.  He did what he needed to do.  Sharon can certainly understand needing to feel like you have another daughter to replace the one you just lost.  I don’t see how anyone could actually blame Nick for that, even though it’s wrong, it makes a lot of sense.  I think Sharon understands it, and so since Nick seemed willing to tamper with the paternity test and allow people to believe something about that test that wasn’t necessarily true, she thinks, “Then, why don’t I let people believe something about that test that isn’t necessarily true, too!”  She thinks that they are both on the same page with each other! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

OY!  Nick and Sharon deserve each other!  (Laughs)

SHARON:

Yes, they do! (Laughs) I think Sharon figured if he was willing to go that route, then maybe that’s the way we should go.

MICHAEL:

When Joshua Morrow (Nick Newman) found out the twist on the twist, what did he say to you?  Everyone was worried about how this paternity test switch would wreck Nick’s credibility as a good guy, and he would look like a jackass for a moment!  But now Sharon ultimately sealed everyone’s fate!

SHARON:

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

I have had conversations many times with Joshua and Michael Muhney (Adam Newman) about how we feel about our characters looking like jackasses.  No one wants their character to look like that.  We all get concerned when that happens, but I think as long as there is some redeemable reason why you did something, and there usually is, then I don’t worry about it   Nobody is all good, so why should these characters be?  Everyone makes a mistake in life, and can be stubborn about the mistake, or admit to their mistake.  That is how people are, and so that is what makes these characters real.

MICHAEL:

What does Sharon think of Phyllis at this point in time?

SHARON:

She thinks this is a dark element that literally moved in and rained over this happy family.  She thinks it’s time for her, or someone, but likely her, to literally buck-up and cast it out once and for all!

MICHAEL:

How do you feel about Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) leaving the show?  You two have had a lot of amazing scenes over the years!

SHARON:

We have had a lot of amazing scenes!  I remember I was in Paris not that long ago and they were showing me what episode was airing there.  It was Phyllis and Sharon arguing in one of their typical fights in the Restless Style office, back when Sharon was working there, and Sharon was married to Jack.  I thought, “That really brings me back.  We really had a lot of stuff!”  There was so much that I forgot a lot of it!  I think the triangle of Sharon/Nick/Phyllis went on for a very long time.  It was a fantastic triangle.  But eventually these triangles end, and they eventually move on to some new triangle.  What I think was we sort of merged out of that to the Nick/Sharon/Adam triangle.  We just barely merged in to that, but I see that is the triangle that is coming for the future.  Before Sharon/Nick/Phyllis, it was Sharon/Nick/Grace, and people loved that one!  Those things last for a period of time and then you move on to the next one, and then the next one is even bigger and better.  I think, as far as the Phyllis character, I think that maybe that character has played this part of its storyline out.  If the character were to come back for any reason, I don’t know if it would be the same storyline, as now this is moving in a direction and progression that the show has to take.  The show has to keep moving.  But once you get a really good triangle, it’s good to stick with them.  We usually do stick with them for four or five years, or more.  I am excited about where the storyline is going now. 

Photo Credit: Duffimages.com

MICHAEL:

Do you think Michelle Stafford exiting Y&R will be a huge loss and hit for the show?

SHARON:

We have had two key actresses leave the show this year for one reason or another.  We have had key actors leave before, but I think the show is strong, because it’s about the show.  It’s the ensemble of the show, and the characters on the show, and the show will be fine and survive things like this.  While at the same time, I think it’s important to keep key characters and key actors visible on the show, more so than newbies leading the airwaves.  Otherwise, you start losing the audience, and as long as we don’t start slipping into too much of that, then the show should be fine and stay stable.  We are all horribly sorry about the loss of Jeanne Cooper (Katherine Chancellor).  We miss her dearly.  It was a real hit to our show.  She had a lot of great storylines, even in recent years. Michelle decided she wanted to go and try other things.  Everybody’s feeling about that here is: we wish her luck and have our fingers-crossed.

MICHAEL:

We have discussed this in other interviews, how you have such devoted and passionate fans and followers on Twitter.  Have you checked out what they have been saying?  What do you think they will say when this all comes to light?

SHARON:

I have read a lot on Twitter that the fans are concerned.  They don’t like it when the writers write Sharon doing bad things.  I agree with them.  Bad things that are not explained don’t need to happen for Sharon.  I saw some complaints right off the bat.  But I am telling you, once you see the whole thing, and the great twists in it, I think they are going to like it.  So right now, I am just not replying too much.  I want them to get to see a little more of the storyline, and then we will see.

MICHAEL:

Courtesy/CBS

The death of Cassie was the most important event in the history of Nick and Sharon’s life together, because it really changed everything.  How much longer can this go on that Nick and Sharon don’t get back together?  Do you feel it’s time?

SHARON:

You would think that they would.  You have this core couple on the show that have not been together that much in the last seven or eight years … other than one quick bit together when they had Faith, and that did not last too long.  But, you know that is what happened when Nikki and Victor split, too.  When Nikki and Victor split they were split for like ten or more years, and when they got re-married it was the “Wedding of the Century”.   I was relatively new on the show then, and Sharon and Nick were married, and we were having Nikki and Victor’s wedding, and it was a big deal.  And so I thought, “That is why Nick and Sharon have been apart for a long time.”  It’s kind of like the same story told again with the new generation.  Who knows, if they will get together now?  Or, if it will be like Nikki and Victor and ten years will go by?  We will see, but I think it’s all good.

MICHAEL:

The Y&R audience adored the Cassie character.  It’s interesting to see how she is still weaved into the show.

SHARON:

People love the Cassie character.  She is one of the most beloved characters on the show of all-time, and to bring her back as a regular character, not just one time in somebody’s flashback, is a phenomenal idea.  Talk about losing actresses on our show that the core audience wants to see?  Well, we lost her a long time ago, and it created the best story for years and years.  But the show found a way to bring the character back in a way, it’s the best of both worlds … where we did lose her … but the actress is back and the character is still in some shape or form on the show. I am sure it was nice for the audience to see Cassie on-screen again.   I am sure it would be comforting to know that the relationship would always be there.  This is a big core family on our show.

MICHAEL:

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

Now that this reveal is out, do you think we will see more of Sharon and Adam?

SHARON:

I think in the future that is ultimately where it may go, but that is not what is happening right now.  It is my guess that the future of it is the triangle of Nick/Sharon/Adam.  I just don’t see it being someone else in the triangle.  These are the men in her orbit.  I am not saying she is going to get back with Nick, and then get together with Adam, and go back and forth.  That is not what I am saying.  My writers did not tell me this, that is just my projection, and it’s my impression of what is happening, because after all, these are the men that have been in Sharon’s life for a while now.  It just makes sense.

MICHAEL:

Do you remember shooting the Cassie “death” scenes?  Whenever there is a Y&R retrospective clip package that is in it, and it evokes such emotion from the audience, and it still holds up!

SHARON:

They were so hard for everyone.  That is the most interesting thing about those scenes. That no matter who is watching it, and I have never seen this before, but whether it’s you, me, or Joshua, or any member of our audience, or any one of the crew … it does not matter who you are when you watch that scene you start crying, and its hard not to.  It’s hard to talk about those scenes with someone without starting to cry.  Something in those scenes struck a chord.  I am sure there have been scenes in a drama where someone’s child died, but this was special.  There was something about the scene. 

MICHAEL:

Courtesy/CBS

It was the writing, and the production, and the performances that made those scenes some of the most gut-wrenching, powerful moments in the history of the show, or soap opera.

SHARON:

It was everything.  It was Jack Smith’s writing.  It was the way the story was told.  It was who these character were, and how beloved they were, and how long the audience has known all of them, and the way that Cassie died, the relevancy of the drunk driving part of the story, and the utter tragedy.  So many people were touched by the drunk driving.  It was not that Cassie was drunk, but Daniel, who was supposed to be driving wasn’t responsible and drank.  And so, an alternative plan came up and that was a bad plan, and to it was Phyllis’ son.  These are things that happen when kids are out drinking.  These tragedies touch all of us in so many ways.  Even when we watch other families go through this, we are devastated.  I think this story was so true to form, and touched everyone as though it really happened in real life.  It wasn’t a story that just happened on a soap opera, where things can just be overly dramatic, or whatever.  This wasn’t that, it was real.  It was too real for Joshua and me to even go through it.  We did it in one take.  The scene is still devastating in my mind and Joshua’s.  It’s almost not watchable.  If it comes on, I can’t get through it.  It’s so interesting how something that is on a television show can be so real to you.

MICHAEL:

Are you worried about how Sharon keeping this secret will destroy Jack again down the line?  Does Sharon even care about Jack in all this deceit?

SHARON:

Courtesy/CBS

I think that Sharon sees the bright side of that.  Jack wanted a child.  Once upon a time he and Phyllis wanted a child, and they were not able to have one.  Wouldn’t this be a blessing for that couple?  And, wouldn’t this put solidarity and family in their lives? Maybe there is a happy ending in this, and also it’s not going to change Nick and Summer’s relationship.  That is already established.   It’s not like anyone is being ripped apart from anyone, in reality.  Instead, if Jack and Phyllis are going to get together, which it seems like they are, this would be a really good catalyst to fall in love and solidify a family.

MICHAEL:

Do you think Sharon can ever be a mother to Summer if Nick and Sharon were to get back together?

SHARON:

Sharon is a good mother figure in the way that she says things to people when they need to hear them. Sharon has that with anyone.  But beyond having that basic ability with all people, I don’t think she is ever going to see herself as Summer’s mother, or step-mother, or ever be able to take Summer under her wings to much of an extent.  Phyllis was a poison in hers and Nick’s life, and Summer came in between Nick and Sharon, ultimately.  Sharon does not blame either of the kids… not Daniel either, and he is more directly related to Cassie’s dearth.   She does not feel that familial feeling with Daniel or Summer … they are Phyllis’ kids.  In that respect, that is an element that Sharon feels should never cross paths with her and Nick.

MICHAEL:

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Who knew that Cassie’s death would supply so much continual ongoing story for years and years to come!  We knew when Cassie said on her deathbed, that Nick and Sharon would have another little girl, that would come to pass, but so much has happened!  And look at where we are now?

SHARON:

I have not watched Y&R for the entire 40 years, but I did watch some of it before I was on, too, and I was on GH and ATWT before that.  So being on soaps you want to check out the other soaps.  I was aware of the characters on Y&R for some time, but I was not that closely related to it.  But, I remember there were these great couples on the show like Nikki and Victor, and Ryan and Victoria were just great, and Paul and Christine.  I remember when I was a kid I would see then on the show with Peter Barton (Ex-Dr. Scott Grainger), and I remember to this day and these were great love stories all around.  But I don’t know that the show has ever had an astounding significant story that affected the characters in Genoa City, and the show, the ways Cassie’s death had.  If that ever happened, prior to Cassie’s death, I don’t know what storyline that would be?  That fact that happened, at least in these recent decades, that is The Young and the Restless.