If you're one of The Young and the Restless viewers who thought Ashley (Eileen Davidson) would soon regain control of her multiple personalities and return to being the Ashley fans are used to seeing, we have some bad news. As evidenced by the episodes airing during the week of April 22, Ashley has a brand-new personality that's taken over, simply known as Belle.
Belle seemingly replaces Ash, the teenage persona of Ashley that surfaced from time to time, and Belle is a Southern woman who's charming, witty and not afraid to use those characteristics to get what she wants. (If you're a fan of Golden Girls, think Rue McClanahan's Blanche Devereaux.) While Belle is more assertive than Ash, she's less dangerous and abrasive than Ashley's other persona, Ms. Abbott.
When Belle makes her debut in The Young and the Restless episode airing on April 24, she's downing tequila, dancing and making quite the fun spectacle at the jazz lounge. She's the life of the party when Traci (Beth Maitland) stumbles upon her completely stunned at what she's witnessing. By the episode airing on April 26, Traci's managed to convince Ashley to go to the athletic club dining room in hopes of trading in tequila for a meal.
As Traci talks to her sister, she's no less alarmed by Belle's demeanor. Although Belle isn't offensive like Ms. Abbott, the Belle version of Ashley still behaves oddly. When Traci asks her sister about failing to follow through with getting a psychiatric evaluation, Belle is a bit nonchalant about the matter but promises to make an appointment the following day.
Then, back at the Abbott Mansion, Traci suggests Ashley get in contact with her mysterious French psychiatrist friend and ask for help. Now we'll admit, up until this point we thought Ashley's friend wasn't real, as he's never been seen. Well, it looks like we were wrong about that, as her friend Dr. Alan Laurent (Christopher Cousins) makes his debut during the week of April 29 as shown in the following preview clip.
#yr Preview pic.twitter.com/cPJ80wwdLkApril 25, 2024
While Dr. Laurent may think he's arriving in Genoa City to help treat his friend, Belle has something else in mind. Belle believes the best way to help Ashley get past her trauma with Tucker (Trevor St. John) is to cozy up to another gentleman suitor, and she has her eyes set on the good doctor.
Unfortunately for Belle, the clip doesn't hint that he sees Ashley in a romantic light as he emphasizes they're friends. Plus, if he's a legitimate psychiatrist, he should recognize the signs that Ashley is in trouble and also listen to the concerns of her siblings. Ashley is in no way ready to date anyone and it would be a bit unprofessional for him to attempt to do so.
If he winds up rejecting her advances, fans may want to pay close attention to the safety of Tucker, as Ms. Abbott could regain control of Ashely and launch her plan to murder Tucker and set up Audra (Zuleyka Silver) for the crime.
With all that being said, who is Dr. Laurent, and does he have the best intentions as far as Ashley is concerned? So far we don't know much about him other than he allegedly supported Ashley in Paris when she found out her version of the fight with Tucker wasn't based in reality. Since being back in Genoa City, Ashley's made several references to him, but that's about it. Considering Ashley is getting worse and not better, it makes you wonder about his credentials.
Either way, you'll want to stay tuned to what happens next with Ashley, as her troubles are likely to get worse before they get better. By the way, why have the Abbotts not looped in Ashley's daughter, Abby (Melissa Ordway), about what's going on with her mother?
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
