Viewers of The Young and the Restless knew it was just a matter of time before Nick (Joshua Morrow) and Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) truly circled back into each other’s orbit and hit the sheets again … they’re seemingly favorite thing to do together, that, and video games!

It’s been several years since Michelle Stafford and Joshua Morrow had worked together romantically in a storyline, and created the on-screen magic that fans on social media dubbed as the duo known as “Phick”. But now that Nick and Phyllis have the ‘hots’ for one another again, is that all there is to their relationship? Or this time, maybe this time, the two might make a go of it and find the deeper connection that they came close to having previously, but failed miserably at? This week on Y&R, may mark a turning point in their relationship, but which way might it turn?

Michael Fairman TV chatted with Joshua Morrow who day in and day out is one of daytime dramas MVP’s. Always delivering solid performances, and always championing the show he is a part of, and the actors who are part of the team.

Morrow weighed-in on: if he thinks Nick and Phyllis stand a fighting chance at an enduring love, and what it has been like working with one of his favorite all-time scene partners in Michelle Stafford. Plus, we take a look at Nick’s complicated history in the love department which seems to keep circling back to three main women: Sharon (Sharon Case), Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) and the aforementioned Phyllis. And if that wasn’t enough, there is his ongoing feud with half-brother Adam (Mark Grossman) and other key Genoa City denizens that keep Nick on his toes. Here’s what Joshua shared.

Photo: JPI

Michelle Stafford comes back to Y&R, and finally, we’re getting back around to the Phick hotness and relationship with your recent screen-scenes together. Did you know the show was going to finally revisit this?

JOSHUA:  I wasn’t sure.  I don’t really go in and want to know future story.  I just kind of want to play it as it comes, but I think the writing was kind of on the wall especially when Michelle Stafford came back.  I just love the energy that these two people have around each other, and with each other.  Listen, Nick’s love life is a game of musical chairs.  The music is playing right now for Nick and Phyllis.  I don’t have any prediction on how long it will last, but Stafford and I are going to play the hell out of it while we can.

Is there any pressure coming back to Phick years later?  Like, “I hope this will still be as great and fun and sexy as it was before?”

JOSHUA:  Zero pressure, and it just simply comes from my unbelievable confidence in her and me playing it as fun and light and sexy as we usually do.  You know, writers put stuff on paper, but ultimately, it’s up to two people having the charisma and chemistry to be able to pull it off.  Michelle and I have always had fun with each other, and I think that’s the underlying quality usually: it’s fun and sexy, and Nick and Phyllis usually have a lot of fun and a lot of sex.  It’s been great.  I love Michelle.  I love her brain.  I love the unpredictability of it all, and she’s a home-run hitter, every time.

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Right now, where is Nick at in his head with it? Does he want his relationship with Phyllis to go further than fun and sex … and be all-in emotionally?

JOSHUA:  Well, listen, he’s crazy about her.  I think ultimately, what he wants is for the two of them, like a couple of grown-ups, to decide where this is heading.  They’ve been playing games with each other just based on their previous back and forth, and I just think Nick’s like, “Listen, it either is or it isn’t.  We’ve got to decide if we are either doing this … or we’re just going to keep playing these games,”  I think there’s a part of Nick that’s okay with that if that’s what she wants, but they’ve just kind of been ignoring this kind of conversation.  Nick just wants to know what they’re dealing with here.  He kind of puts her back against a wall and is like, “Hey!  Where are we going with this?  If it’s this thing, then we are going to do that, but if it’s not, then we’ll keep doing this.”  I just think he’s trying to be as grown-up about it as possible so if they are going to go down this path, the relationship is as healthy as it can be.

Photo: JPI

Would you say; Nick is not sure where Phyllis is at with where to take their relationship?

JOSHUA:  I think she is definitely more reluctant just based on where things ended last time.  You know, she rolled over on Nick’s sister and his mom, and those are the ladies in Nick’s life, and you just don’t do that, and it ended very badly for them the last time.  So, she is probably still reeling and little hurt from that.  Nick did not understand at all what she was doing, and in typical Nick fashion, was very stubborn and heard-headed about it, and all he does is want to protect his sister and mother at all times.  So, she was a little sore still from the way things ended, and again, their track record is not amazing.  They tend to hurt each other on a regular basis, but they have fun while their doing it, that’s for damn sure.

If Nick and Phyllis were a bonafide couple, Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) and Victoria (Amelia Heinle) would not be happy about it!

JOSHUA:  I don’t think anybody is happy about it, literally not one person in town, but one of my favorite qualities about Nick is that he just doesn’t give a crap about what anyone thinks.  He does what he wants.   Nick angers his father on a daily basis because he doesn’t care about what he thinks of what he is doing.  He’s just going to do what he wants on his own terms and that’s that.

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Sharon is going through her cancer, and things aren’t going well for her with the treatment at the moment.  They have to figure out if she will have surgery next, etc.  Nick is obviously going to be there for her and the kids.  How is he feeling about what Sharon is going through?  

JOSHUA:  Nick knows this is the battle of Sharon’s life, and she has to commit fully to this.  So, Nick will offer her anything he can in any regard whether it’s just being a friend or spending more time with the children or helping Rey (Jordi Vilasuso) out, he’s going to do whatever it takes to make this as easy as possible for her.  Ultimately, this battle is just about Sharon and her ability to fight it, but he’s going to do what he can and be the guy that everybody knows he is.

But doesn’t it break Nick’s heart that here is this woman, who is his star-crossed love though the years, and she is frightened for her life and what could become of it?  It must hurt him deeply on some level.

JOSHUA:  Of course.  He’s very hurt by this, and he sees the pain and the toll that it’s taking on her, and he knows that he can only do so much.  Nick has fought his whole life to protect Sharon and can definitely be too overbearing at times, but he wants to help her.  He loves her still.  Right now, there is nothing romantic going on, but it doesn’t detract from the love he feels for her.  This is his first love and the mother of some of his children, and he cares deeply about her.  So, it’s just a matter of being there for her as much as he can.

Photo: JPI

I have to say that I don’t know anybody quite like Nick!  He is somehow able to stay friends with all of his exes.  Who does that? (Laughs)

JOSHUA:  You know, it’s funny, but if you think about it, he just kind of can’t turn the page on them.  He finds these great loves in his life, and he always goes back to them.  He can’t be single.  You know, he’s danced around the sheets with a few random chicks, but he knows who he likes, and it’s a few of these women in town who he just keeps going back and forth to.

For example: let’s look at Nick and his relationship with Chelsea.  Where does he sit with that now that she’s with Adam?  Does he still love her?

JOSHUA:  Well, of course, he does.  When he sees Chelsea, he sees what should have been.  He knows that his love for her is what forced him to ultimately decide for the both of them, “We can’t keep doing this.”  He knows that there was some story left untold between her and Adam because of the circumstances with the explosion that “took his life” and Victor and all of that stuff, and he had to make a very difficult decision.  I don’t think it was ever going to work for them this time, not to say that it never could, but she’s got to figure out her situation with Adam – if he was the love of her life and was taken away from her – then she’s got to figure out what’s going on.  Now, that being said, Nick is seeing some qualities from Chelsea kind of bubble to the surface that he is really turned off by.  You know, Adam can be very manipulating, but it doesn’t seem like Chelsea is a real wallflower in this.  She seems toe-to-toe with him showing some pretty devious behavior.  I think Nick’s a little taken aback by the turn that she seems to be taking.   He cared deeply about this woman, and he really wanted to be a good man to her, and to Connor, and to really help the two of them get past this thing, and I think Nick sees this as one of his biggest failures.  He really thought that he could help the two of them get through this situation with Adam, but he just couldn’t do it.  It didn’t matter how hard he tried or how much he pushed; he just couldn’t get the foothold that he needed to make a healthy relationship between the two of them.

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How can Nick stand to be in the same room with Adam?  

JOSHUA:  He can’t.  He literally hates him.  I so much appreciate that the show has decided to take this route.  I remember when Justin Hartley (Ex-Adam, now Kevin, This Is Us) was on the show, and they were playing it as Nick was stepping up for Adam.  I’m like, “Really? This is not what they should be doing!”  I love watching these two characters in a room together, and any scenes they have, I’m like, “I am never going to play a scene where I look like I am going to trust this guy for a second.” Nick just can’t stand him; he is evil incarnate to him.  Now, Adam can be on his best behavior, but he’s just got a thing about him that Nick does not trust, nor does he like.  He just can’t even be around him.  In the scenes, I want the hatred between them to feel palpable.  Nick is just waiting for this guy to do something so Nick can bash his skull in.

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Does Nick have the same feeling for Billy at this point?  

JOSHUA:  Jason Thompson (Billy) and I laugh about this all the time.  I think deep down, Nick badly wants to be friends with him, but the problem is Billy just keeps crapping on his sister, who is of course his favorite human being on the planet.  So, they’ve got a very complex relationship which Nick fully understands.  He’s been down this path with his own loves of his life, and Billy just can’t be the man that Nick feels Victoria deserves.  Now, it may be a pedestal that in Nick’s mind is way too high.  Maybe it’s never attainable for any man to be what Nick thinks would be a good fit for Victoria, but he knows that Billy has got a place in Victoria’s heart, it’s never going to go away, but he keeps disappointing her, and if you’re going to disappoint Victoria, then you’re going to be on Nick’s bad side …  period.    I love the kind of energy that these two have with each other.  You’ll see that it goes in cycles.  There will be times that Nick and Billy are kind of joking around with each other because I think deep down, they like each other, but that Newman/Abbott blood war is thick, and it’s hard to get past.

When Mark Grossman first came to Y&R as Adam, did he talk to you, and did you give him get any pointers?

JOSHUA:  Mark did the exact right thing, which is he came in, he watched the show, he picked up a lot of history, and he asked questions. He kept asking questions to everyone who mattered, and that inquisitive part of him is what really helps translate on screen.  He’s done an amazing job.  The thing that I think he’s done the best job with is that this character has done horrible things in life, horrible, awful things.  He’s hurt this family up and down.  What is crazy is that the fans have such empathy for him.  They get it.  They know that he is a wounded person who has been through a lot.  I promise you that is 100% due to the kind of soul and heart that Mark Grossman has playing it.  My biggest compliment to him is he has taken this absolute, pathological, sick character and made the audience feel sorry for him.  That is a true testament to Mr. Grossman’s abilities.  He’s great.

Photo: JPI

Recently, Adam has been back to playing dirty pool against Victor (Eric Braeden).

JOSHUA:  Right, so, he of course, can’t just function within the family.  There’s been moments where it’s like, “Okay, he’s on his best behavior.  I know he’s a good dad.  He seems to have Chelsea’s best interests at heart,” but he just can’t let it be.  He’s got to try to take over the company, and screw over the family, and show everyone that he’s smarter than everyone.  So, it’s just kind of par for the course with him, and ultimately, that is either going to be his downfall, or he will rise to this level that he thinks he should be at.

Now, are Victor and Nick in a good place?   I also just want to say; when you gave your speech at Eric Braeden’s 40th anniversary on set celebration back in February,  I loved what you said, because you had some fun antidotes about working with Eric that people probably never heard before.

JOSHUA:  Oh, thanks man.  I love Eric so much.  Eric cares so deeply about the show and the people who are on it, and the quality of it, and he and I have had a great relationship since I started on Y&R.  As far as Nick and Victor go, I think they’ve finally gotten to a place where they’ve just said, “To hell with it.  I am never going to get this guy” (and I’m talking about both of them) and to accept what each other is trying to do.   Victor is trying to carve Nick and make him be the next him and run the company, and Nick is just not into that.  He’s like, “I’m going to be who I am,” and I think Victor is slowly like, “I’m never going to fix this guy.  He is who is he.  He’s not what I was hoping, but I know he’s a good dude at heart.”  So, I just think they’ve kind of reached an impasse.  They’re just like, “We are going to get along for the good of the family.”   Nick promises him that he’s not going to let anyone hurt the family.  Victor is getting older.   I just think they’ve kind of accepted who each of them are for the time being.  Now, that won’t last, but right now they’re in a good spot.

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Will Summer (Hunter King) be pro-Phick or no-Phick?

JOSHUA:  She will not be pro-Phick.   She, like everybody else in town thinks that this relationship will have a shelf life.  They’re not a picket fence pairing.  I don’t think they’ve got the love that’s going to stand the test of time.  There is going to be fireworks at all times, both good and bad, and for the most part, I don’t think that really plays to a very healthy relationship for the long haul.  For the short term, yes, it’s exciting, and fun, and sexy, and they love each other, and they can’t wait to take each other’s clothes off, but a relationship is built on so much more than that.

There’s always that Paris remote to go back to where Phyllis in that hat and she comes upon Nick and Sharon kissing with the Eiffel Tower behind them burned in her memory.

JOSHUA:  Exactly!  In Phyllis’s defense, she knows this guy does not have a great track record for being with one woman for an extended period of time.  So, I don’t fault her.

Photo: CBS

Did Michelle ever talk to you and say, “Okay, they’re putting us back together.  Do we really want Nick and Phyllis to be together?”  Have you ever been concerned that if they married Phick, it might make them a boring couple?  

JOSHUA:  I’m not worried about that at all because it’s just not who they are.  I am so excited that they are together.  I love it and I love Michelle to death. I never have as much fun as I do with her.   If they get married, great, because I know there will still be some fireworks in it either way.

Photo: CBS

It’s a very strange time now for everyone during the COVID-19 pandemic. How are you, and your wife, Tobe, and your kids been dealing with it?

JOSHUA:  One of the great things about our country and our way of life is that you can just kind of do whatever you want; you don’t have to answer to anyone.  For everyone in our entire society to have these restrictions placed on them; it’s like this almost unbelievable psychological experiment.  It’s been tough.  It’s been harder on the kids because they lost all of their sports, they lost their school, they can’t see their friends, they, for the most part, know they’re going to be healthy, but all they see is their dad preventing them from doing the things that they love.  It’s hard.  I live an extremely active life.  I like working; I like working out.  You just have to find a new normal.  It’s crazy.

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And then … all major league sports and college hoops have been affected by the coronavirus and seasons or events postponed or canceled.  I know how much you love “March Madness”, so I’m sure you were going through the roof when they eighty-sixed that.  I was bummed too!

JOSHUA:  I can’t even talk about my depression about that – and it sounds so small to even complain about it.  Sports is everything to me: from watching my kids play, to me playing, to watching it on TV.  I mean, March Madness was an absolute gut-punch that we did not have it.    At the end of the day, you’ve got to think about the people struggling to stay healthy.  We are all doing our best to stand as one to beat this in the most efficient way possible.

So, what is your prediction … will Phick go bust or go all-in for a relationship together? Who do you want Nick ultimately to wind up with? Do you like the Adam vs. Nick feud? Share your thoughts via the comment section below on our conversation with Joshua.