Johnny Abbott on The Young & The Restless — Everything You Need to Know
Johnny Abbott on The Young & The Restless might have some fans confused about his parentage, so we’re here to clear everything up for you! Born in April 2012, the character has been played by twins Holden and Ryan Hare until September 2022 when the role was recast with Paxton Mishkind, who continues to portray the boy as he grows up today.
Chelsea Lawson is Johnny’s biological mother, as she drugged and seduced Billy Abbott while in Myanmar. She revealed this when she arrived in Genoa City in 2011 and after a DNA test proved she was telling the truth, she moved in with Billy and his wife. Yes, Billy was married to Victoria Newman at the time, so the whole situation was super awkward!
Realizing she wasn’t ready for a baby, Chelsea agreed to sign over her parental rights to Billy and Victoria. During her pregnancy, Chelsea grew close to Adam Newman, and after fighting with Victoria over that relationship, ran off and nearly drowned in a frozen lake! Adam found her and helped her deliver her son, John, in a cabin. Chelsea went on to marry Adam while Johnny was raised by Billy and Victoria alongside his sister, Delia Abbott. Sadly, Delia was killed in 2013, but Johnny became a big brother again in 2014 when Katie Newman was born.
In October 2020, Chelsea suddenly approached Billy about spending some time with her son, but he flatly refused. When Victoria confronted Chelsea about it, she promised she wasn’t trying to go after Johnny. The family situation got awkward again when Victoria started urging Billy to spend more time with the family, making Johnny wonder where daddy was when she suddenly changed her mind!
In early 2021, Victoria bristled when Johnny and Katie took a shine to Lily Winters, Billy’s new girlfriend. And although Victoria tried to keep them from telling Johnny, when the boy openly asked if Lily was his daddy’s new girlfriend, they said yes. In 2022, Billy considered stepping in to take custody of Johnny and Katie when Victoria got involved with Ashland Locke. And that summer, Chelsea decided that Johnny should know that she is his real mother, something Victoria was not excited about!
Although Victoria reluctantly agreed to tell Johnny about his biological mother, when she and Billy asked if he wanted to know, the boy said he didn’t care. And when they revealed that the woman in question was Chelsea, he got really upset and stormed off! When Chelsea tried to talk to Johnny, he rejected her and her mental health took a serious hit. However, a month later, Johnny and Connor Newman kind of bonded over the whole awkward situation, and soon after that, Johnny apologized to Chelsea for the way he’d treated her. Though Victoria was a little perturbed when Johnny seemed excited to exchange gifts with his biological mother that Christmas!
As 2023 began, Victoria decided to ease back and allowed Johnny the freedom to spend time with Connor and Chelsea. Although the brothers continued to be close, Connor was a little jealous when Johnny connected with Lucy Romalotti that spring. Johnny wasn’t seen for quite a while after that, as he and his sister, Katie, were off at boarding school. But they returned in June 2024 to meet another new sibling, Claire Howard. While Katie clearly wanted nothing to do with her sister, Johnny was nice to her and tried to help welcome her into the family
Stay tuned to Y&R to see how Johnny’s story continues!
