Young and the Restless fans. Right now, Cole Howard (J. Eddie Peck) is in really bad shape. He’s very sick and he may not survive this illness. And of course, Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle) is distraught. And if Cole is about to die, will he and Victoria get remarried before he does? We’re going to talk about a possible deathbed wedding coming for Cole and Victoria.

Cole Howard’s Mysterious Illness on Y&R

All right, so Cole just got back from traveling all over the world for the Newman Media Publishing Arm. He was in Europe, he was in Asia, he’s all over the place. And as we know, the world has a lot of serious viruses, bacteria, parasites, and icky stuff that can infect you and kill you.

Cole just got back from traveling to represent Victor Newman (Eric Braeden). And while he was hacking and coughing on his return at first, Cole insisted to Victoria that he always gets sick when he flies. To be fair, I get sniffles from it, too. I think it’s the pressure.

Anyway, this however, does not look like the standard cold or flu and it’s really scaring Claire Newman (Hayley Erin) and Victoria. Whatever is plaguing Cole looks really bad. Maybe it’s some unusual virus. Or maybe not a virus. Maybe a parasite or some exotic disease he picked up.

Young and the Restless: Eve Howard’s Similar Death

If you don’t remember, his mom, Eve Howard, died of something like that. She was on a cruise and a mosquito bit her and she had some kind of encephalitis or something. Meningitis encephalitis. It was an itis. At any rate, can’t remember off the top of my head.

Bottom line, Cole’s terribly sick. Victoria freaked out and she insisted Cole had to go to the hospital and get checked out because his fever was out of control. And Claire has reported back to Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) that her dad is super sick. They still don’t know why.

And Victoria told Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) this week that Cole is holed up at the GCAC so he does not infect her and Claire with whatever’s going on. Well, that’s nice for Victoria and Claire, but what about the people at the GCAC? I guess it’s okay if he exposes them, right?

Is Cole Howard Leaving Young and the Restless?

Anyway, it doesn’t seem likely that Young and Restless has given Cole this mystery malady for no reason. He is super sick as part of some plot that’s probably going to devastate Victoria and Claire This feels like the beginning of a deadly storyline for Cole and it could mean the end of his return to Genoa City. So, Claire’s dad Cole getting super sick obviously would impact several front burner characters and it has us wondering if Claire and Victoria are going to lose Cole.

As of now, J Eddie Peck doesn’t have any projects upcoming that are listed on his IMDb page, but he is also a business owner and he runs an acting studio. He had a lot of irons in the fire before they lured him back for this return thing. And you know, let’s be real, we don’t see Cole a lot. We hear about him being gone more than we actually see him on episodes. He’s gone for big chunks at a time.

I’m frankly surprised they kept J. Eddie Peck around so long on recurring after Y&R resolved the storyline when they killed his crazy aunt Jordan Howard (Colleen Zenk). With her gone, Cole’s pretty much just an accessory to Claire’s storyline. Kind of like Victoria is at this point.

Will Victoria and Cole Remarry on His Deathbed?

So yeah, Y&R could totally kill off Cole with this mystery illness, but it would be nice for Victoria to actually get a happily ever after for once. Even though J. Eddie Peck was gone 24 years from Y&R, Cole is somebody that Victoria has rich history with and a child with. And not just any child, but Claire, the one Young and the Restless brought back from the dead.

I mean, optimistically, things will turn around for Cole, but realistically, he may really be dying. If so, he and Victoria may get married on his deathbed. We know Young and the Restless likes to repeat plots and it was just a few years ago we had that really tender and sweet deathbed wedding scene for Devon Hamilton (Bryton James) and Hillary Curtis. Oh my gosh, the tears. That was like a whole Kleenex box worth.

I mean, heck, Victor married Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) on her supposed deathbed way back in the day when he was with Diane Jenkins (now Susan Walters). And of course, Nikki didn’t die. And Victor’s then wife, Diane, was more than a little annoyed because he had abruptly divorced her. Then the divorce wasn’t finalized before he married Nikki. So it was messy soapy stuff.

The Emotional Impact on Victoria and Claire

Back to Victoria and Cole. He might feel compelled to propose to Victoria if he gets a fatal diagnosis. You know, a way for Cole to profess his love and devotion to Victoria and them to have one final, if fleeting, beautiful memory together. Or maybe finding out Cole’s dying would inspire Victoria to suggest they tie the knot before he fades away.

If Y&R goes this route and kills Cole, of course, Victoria will be crushed. She got Cole back just recently and it could turn around. Another person, of course, who’ll be devastated is Claire. She spent her whole life thinking her parents and the Newmans didn’t want her thanks to Crazy Jordan. And now Claire finally has her mom Victoria and her dad Cole and they’re reunited as a family. So for Claire to lose her father now would be heartbreaking.

And if Cole is truly dying, they could make something really special out of this. Do a sweet wedding ceremony, even if it has to just be in the hospital room as one last hurrah and declaration of love and family for Victoria and Cole. I could see everybody rallying around Victoria and Cole as they declare their love before it’s too late. And this, of course, would be a big deal for Claire to see her parents remarried before her dad Cole dies.

How Will Victor Newman React?

Surely that’s one wedding that Victor would actually approve of. Right now, he has given Cole grudging approval to be with Victoria but at least in this case, Victor would know there’s an expiration date on Victoria’s marriage to Cole. Maybe he wouldn’t interfere.

A Tearjerker Wedding or a False Alarm?

And if Josh Griffith writes it this way, the showrunner, we could get a beautiful, heart-wrenching tearjerker of a wedding episode for Victoria and Cole. See the Newman family come together in solidarity to support them and comfort Claire. You know, this may all be a false flag and it’s a scare and then Cole recovers, but the alternative is much more dramatic.

Could Cole’s Illness Change Victor?

And all of this may serve a higher purpose. You know, for about a year, Victoria’s dad, Victor, has been increasingly unhinged with hatred of Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) and wanting to destroy him and Kyle and Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson) and all the Abbotts. So maybe if Cole is super sick and he’s on his deathbed and Victoria is faced with losing the man she loves, maybe that would give the great Victor the kick in the rear he needs to change his ways.

Doubtful. Honestly, he never changes, but we can hold out hope. So, big question. Are we going to get a deathbed wedding for Victoria and Cole? Maybe. Wait to see, but I feel like Cole’s time may be just about up.