The Man Both Ashley And Traci Abbott Married On The Young And The Restless
Talented actresses Eileen Davidson and Beth Maitland are well known for portraying the iconic sisters Ashley and Traci Abbott on "The Young and the Restless." Both women have won Daytime Emmys for their work and recently celebrated their 40th anniversary on the soap. To commemorate this incredible milestone "Y&R" dedicated an entire episode to the actresses and characters as the sisters met up with their newfound niece Allie Nguyen (Kelsey Wang) to fill her in on some family history from the last several decades (via Soap Opera Network).
Traci spoke about her time singing on tour with Daniel Romalotti, her past history struggling with self-image issues, and the death of her daughter Colleen. Ashley, in turn, described her beloved job at the family company Jabot Cosmetics and her romance with Victor Newman (via SoapHub). As young women, the sisters had something of a rivalry — partially due to Traci's insecurity and Ashley's ambition — which seeped into their relationship as adults. Their competitive nature as girls made itself apparent again when they ended up falling for the same man, who ended up becoming a father to each of their daughters (via TV Insider).
Traci fell for the philandering Brad
In 1985, as a young woman fresh off the heels of a tour with rock star Daniel Romalotti (Michael Damian), Traci Abbott started crushing on her family's gardener Brad Carlton (Don Diamont), according to Soap Central. By the following year the two were married, but Brad seemed to have his eyes set on the Abbott family money more so than his new bride. Traci ended up leaving town for graduate school, and he took that opportunity to strike up an affair with his wife's former nemesis Lauren Fenmore (Tracey E. Bregman). Upon her return, Bill realized he really did love Traci, and the two decided to start a family.
However, not long after Traci got pregnant Bill was kidnapped by his ex-wife Lisa Mansfield (Lynne Harbaugh). She then suffered a miscarriage and, believing her husband had abandoned her, filed for divorce. By the time Bill managed to escape from captivity and return home, Traci had fallen for another man. Bill tried hard to win his wife back, even roping her sister Ashley Abbott into flirting with him to make her jealous (via Soaps in Depth).
Unfortunately, that plan backfired when he ended up developing feelings for Ashley. When Traci found out, she was finally granted her divorce.
Traci and Brad had a daughter together
Following Traci Abbott and Brad Carlton's divorce in 1989, he proposed to her sister Ashley Abbott, whom he had fallen in love with (via Soaps in Depth). Unfortunately for him, she had her sights on Victor Newman and ultimately turned him down. After a failed marriage to Cassandra Rawlins (Nina Arvesen), Brad reconnected with Traci and soon after they discovered she was pregnant again. The couple was remarried in 1991, and their daughter Colleen was born in 1992.
However, Traci and Brad were not able to overcome their differences even after starting a family together. Traci was jealous of her husband's continued closeness to her sister Ashley and found herself falling for her publisher Steve Connolly (Greg Wrangler) who was helping her with her latest novel (via Soap Central). Traci ended up leaving Brad a second time and taking Colleen with her to live in New York City where she married Steve.
Traci returned to Genoa City in 2001 with Colleen, who had been rapidly aged into a teenager, after discovering Steve had cheated on her. Brad spent a significant amount of time and energy consoling the pair about the betrayal, much to the dismay of his new wife — Ashley!
Ashley let Brad raise her daughter too
In 2000, Ashley Abbott returned from a trip having secretly gotten pregnant by Victor Newman. She quickly reunited with Brad Carlton, who was still holding a torch for her. Brad agreed to raise the baby as his own not knowing that Victor was the father, and little Abby was born later that year (via Soap Central).
Brad was furious when the truth came out about Abby's paternity years later, but he remained with Ashley when she discovered she was pregnant again. However, their son Robert Carlton was stillborn in 2003, and the grief over losing her baby caused Ashley to experience a psychological break. During that time she believed that she was still in love with Victor — who was happily married to Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) — and separated from Brad. In 2006, Brad and Ashley finally divorced when he proposed to Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle), per (Soaps in Depth).
Unfortunately, Traci and Ashley and their respective daughters were robbed of Brad's presence in their lives when he unexpectedly drowned in 2009 while rescuing Noah Newman (then Kevin Schmidt), who had fallen into a frozen lake. Less than a year later, while the family was still grieving Brad's death, his daughter Colleen also tragically drowned in the very same lake.
Since then, Traci has again relocated to New York City, where she continues to work as a novelist, and Ashley moved to Paris, where she runs her own cosmetic company. However, Abby Newman remains in Genoa City as an integral member of both the Abbott and Newman families — and the last tie to Brad Carlton whom she considered her father.