Inside Victor Newman And Jack Abbott's Feud On The Young And The Restless
For decades, Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) and Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) were bitter rivals on "The Young and the Restless," often doing horrible things to one another they would never think of doing to anyone else. The feud stems from both personal and professional animosity towards one another, as their family businesses often had some competition. In fact, their rivalry kicked into high gear when Victor managed to take over Jack's family company, Jabot Cosmetics. Thankfully, Jack managed to get the company back. There was also competition for one woman and Jack's protectiveness of another.
The love of Victor's life is his four-time wife, Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott), but there was once a time when Jack and Nikki were married and very happy with one another. Nikki even gave birth to Jack's son, but he was premature and didn't survive. When Jack and Nikki were together, Victor was on-again, off-again with Jack's younger sister, Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson). Through the years, Victor caused Ashley considerable pain; something Jack has found hard to forgive. Oddly enough, Jack and Victor are on friendly terms in 2022, with Victor shocked when Jack offered to buy him a drink as February came to a close. As fans continue to ponder how that ever happened, let's look back on some of the most memorable moments in Victor and Jack's brutal feud.
Jack left Victor to die
Jack and Victor have come to blows many times over the years, screaming at each other in business offices and sometimes even throwing chairs. However, one fight nearly turned deadly when the stress of what was happening caused Victor to have a heart attack and fall to the floor.
As Victor begged Jack to call for help, Jack just stood there knowing if he did nothing that Victor would die and maybe that wouldn't be the worst thing to happen after all their years as enemies. However, Jack is not a murderer and his guilt eventually got the best of him. He called an ambulance and Victor's life was saved. Many years later, Victor collapsed again in a parking garage when he was suffering from a rare blood disease. Knowing that Jack was nearby, he called his old rival for help. A perplexed Jack didn't know what to make of things, but eventually he did help Victor.
Victor switched Jack out for a doppelgänger
In 2014, Jack and Victor's rivalry hit a fever pitch when Victor did something completely unexpected. Jack had been kidnapped by crazy Kelly Andrews (Cady McClain) and while Jack was gone, Victor put a doppelgänger in his place — drug lord Marco Annicelli. Victor thought Marco could do his bidding in her quest to hurt Jabot Cosmetics, but Marco was also out of control and he double crossed Victor as he lived out Jack's life and even slept with his wife, Phyllis Summers (then played by Gina Tognoni).
When Phyllis learned she was sleeping with a man who was not her husband, she said she felt like she had been assaulted and vowed in court to make Victor pay for what he did to Jack and her marriage. In fact, the Marco incident is part of what led to Phyllis and Jack's most recent divorce. Victor did, in fact, go to jail for replacing Jack with someone else, but his prison term was a very short one.
Peter Bergman weighed in on Jack and Victor's rivalry
When Peter Bergman celebrated 30 years playing Jack Abbott in 2019, he reflected on his time on the show, as well as that bitter rivalry between Jack and Victor that played out for decades on screen. In fact, Bergman didn't even realize that he and Eric Braeden were creating legendary enemies.
"I think it snuck up on me," Bergman told Michael Fairman TV. "Ten years in, I realized, 'Wait a second, this actually is a rivalry for the ages.' I knew very early on that Victor Newman's presence in Jack's life made Jack a more interesting character. I fully understood that and a great credit to Eric Braeden and what he and I got to establish together. ... So, this enduring rivalry is a now part of, I think, television history. I don't know if there is any rivalry that has lasted this long on one show ... ever."
That "rivalry for the ages" is simmering for now, but it's something fans have loved to see. While they may be friends now, one incident could put them in enemy camps once again.