Y&R Recap September 9: Nick Gets Good News, Nikki Takes on Cosmetic Wars

On the Wednesday, September 9, 2026, episode of The Young and the Restless, corporate wars began anew, Nick learned to give up control, and Chelsea and Sally needed to calm their men.

Sparring Couples

Sally updated Chelsea and Adam | Image: CBS

Chelsea found Adam sitting at the bar at the GCAC, but was't happy when he told her that he had just been on the phone with a special baseball school that Connor had been interested in. Chelsea shot down the idea immediately because she didn't feel they should disrupt his routine.

Adam argued that Connor wanted this and had contacted the school on his own, which only upset Chelsea more because she thought that Connor was trying to escape her. Adam just felt that it was good that Connor was interested in something. The school wanted him, but needed an answer from them soon. Chelsea wanted to talk to Connor first and make sure this was what he really wanted.

When Sally happened by, she caught Adam and Chelsea up on her pregnancy scare, but also assured them that everything was just fine. In fact, they were better than fine since Billy was giving up on his Chancellor quest to focus on her and the baby.

"That's quite a move for Billy," Adam said. "Giving up his fever dream of crawling back into Chancellor."

The pleasant conversation turned into something else when Billy appeared and Adam had to rib him, but not in a nice way. Adam congratulated Billy on being rational for once. They exchanged a few barbs until Billy and Sally walked off. Adam then flashed back to Sally's fury at him after she lost their baby. He made a decision to save her life and it cost them their baby.

Adam snapped out of it and went back to complaining about Billy. Chelsea knew that Sally's pregnancy scare had rattled him. "I saw how you reacted when she said she had a scare," Chelsea said. Adam claimed it was just sympathy. "It's more than that and it's okay to admit it," Chelsea added.

At their own table, Sally tried to calm Billy by telling him to just ignore Adam. Billy claimed he only wanted peace between all of them, but he didn't think Adam would allow that to happen. So, Sally changed the subject and told Billy about the Vibrante deal that Audra was trying to work out with Victoria.

Billy dropped his own business news. Jack was ready to give him a small fortune so he could start his very own company. Billy didn't trust the offer and just wanted to prove himself with Chancellor.

Nick Holds Court at Rehab

Michael had good news for Nick | Image: CBS

Nick was the man of the hour again at rehab when Michael paid him a visit this time. Michael had spoken to Marie about what had happened with her husband and got all the facts. He then took Nick to task for trying to take the blame for a man's death. That may not have ended well for him.

Michael believed that Marie had acted in self-defense and wasn't even charged. He also wanted to know why Nick was willing to take the fall for her when they had only just met. Nick had to think about that one and finally told Michael that the look on Marie's face reminded him of himself and all the regrets he had in life.

Michael just wanted Nick to focus on his own recovery and not someone else's. He needed to be there for his kids and grandkids. When Nick asked if Marie was returning, Michael did not know. That was up to Marie and he had nothing to do with that.

Later, Nick attended a meeting and spoke of what had happened the day before. He wanted Marie to return and jokingly said that at least he had thought of being a hero rather than thinking of taking another pill.

"My first instinct is always to save everyone because who else is going to do it?" Nick asked. "That ego. That overconfidence is always there. That's probably the same part of my brain that said no pill is ever going to beat me."

When Nick was alone with his therapist, he once again thought of Marie, but was told that he couldn't control others and needed to think of himself.

Corporate Wars

Jack liked Nikki's news and Diane did not | Image: CBS

Nikki and Victoria continued their conversation at Society about Nikki taking over Vibrante. Nikki figured it would give her something to do, but she felt very uncomfortable with the social media war. After Victoria promised Nikki full control, she sighed and accepted the job. But Nikki had one stipulation. They had to tell Kyle that the media war was off.

At Jabot, Jack and Diane had a similar conversation with Kyle. They couldn't understand why Kyle wanted to participate in this silly Vibrante campaign. Kyle was sure that this was the perfect way to crush Victor. When Diane commented on Victoria's need for power, Kyle surprised his mother when he said that Nikki would run things.

As soon as Jack said, "Good for her," Diane was miffed and wondered whose side her husband was on. Jack was on Jabot's side, of course, and he was sure they could crush Vibrante in an instant. When Nikki and Victoria arrived, Diane wasn't very cordial, but Jack was jovial. He congratulated Nikki on her new position.

Kyle wasn't pleased to hear that the PR campaign was off, as per Nikki's wishes. He then left, but flashed back to his fun with Victoria. Back in the office, Jack offered to teach Nikki how to run a cosmetics company. "If you need any pointers, I'm happy to help out," Jack said, as Diane shot him a look. Nikki planned to take Jack up on that offer.

Is Nick becoming too obsessive with Marie? Should Nikki just retire and stop running companies? Sound off in the comments.