Ronan on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS — Everything You Need To Know
Ronan Malloy hasn’t been on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS for years so it’s understandable if some viewers don’t remember Nina’s other son. The character first appeared in June 2010 and was played by actor Jeff Branson, who soap fans remembered from his stints as ALL MY CHILDREN’s Jonathan and GUIDING LIGHT’s Shayne. He came and went a couple of times over the next two years, ultimately exiting Y&R in November 2012.
Ronan was introduced as Chance Chancellor’s new partner at the Genoa City Police Department and the two young men immediately butted heads. But it was later revealed that Ronan was the long-lost son of Nina Webster, stolen at birth, making him and Chance brothers. Although accused of being a dirty cop, Ronan was actually working undercover to protect Heather Stevens. Chloe Mitchell began dating Ronan to make Chance jealous and when she found out the truth about his family, urged him to tell Nina who he really was but he refused. Although they were both using each other, the pair still found they had genuine feelings.
Ronan accidentally shot Chance and he was pronounced dead, leaving everyone shocked and devastated. But he was just helping Chance fake his own death so he could go into the Witness Protection Program. Ronan tried to win back Chloe, but she still believed he’d killed Chance, so she wanted nothing to do with him. When Heather questioned his health, Ronan told her to mind her own business, but he passed out and she brought him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a serious liver condition that his biological father, Jimmy, died from. This is when Nina finally learned that Ronan was her son, because he needed a liver transplant, and Chance came out of Witness Protection to be a donor for his brother. After he recovered from surgery, Ronan was taken away by the FBI and his family was upset to not have a chance to get to know him.
Later, Ronan returned to Genoa City and headed up the investigation into Diane Jenkins’ murder. His family was still bitter at his disappearance and Nina didn’t consider him her son. Ronan reconnected with Chloe but refused to tell her why he left. During his investigation, he also had a torrid fling with Phyllis Newman, one of the suspects. When he left town again on another assignment, Nina was heartbroken but touched that he’d called her “Mom” for the first time.
Victor Newman invited Ronan back to town again to locate his daughter, Abby Newman, who had been abducted. But she’d actually set up the whole thing as a publicity stunt. Ronan then investigated the death of Ricky Williams and the attempted murder charges against Phyllis for hitting Paul and Christine with her car years ago. He began mentoring a teenaged boy named Jamie Vernon and eventually became his guardian. Ronan moved back to Washington D.C. to work for Homeland Security and Jamie later moved there to live with him.
Will Ronan ever return to Genoa City? You never know, so stay tuned!
