The Young and the Restless Recap Jan 23: Ian Wants Mariah to take Dominic from Abby and Devon

In the Young and the Restless recap for Friday, January 23, 2026, Mariah thinks about her past, Amy and Nate discuss what forgiving Audra would look like, and Sally makes plans for her future. 

The Young and the Restless Recap

At Society, Abby and Devon talked about Cane’s attack. Devon shared that Victoria called Lily and told her. Abby wondered if Cane had any idea how much he’d already lost.

Devon surmised that Lily now knew Cane couldn’t be trusted. He said Cane had the opportunity to get his life back, but wanted greed and power instead.

While Abby took Dominic (now played by Ethan Ray Clark) out, Nate joined Devon. He assured him their tech team had them protected, though he doubted Cane would attack his own kids’ legacy. 

Devon asked what was happening with Victoria, and Nate told him she wasn’t ready to move on — but she wasn’t the only one. Devon couldn’t believe he wasn’t over Audra yet.

At Crimson Lights, Audra saw Amy and tried to make small talk. She stopped Amy from leaving and told her that she messed up with Nate, and Amy, and she asked for her forgiveness.

Amy agreed to sit down and hear Audra out. She tried to explain what it was like to have nothing and how much she needed to have her independence.

Audra said she knew Audra understood her motivation, and agreed she went about it the wrong way. Audra told Amy that she’d do anything to get Nate to forgive her.

Holden walked in, saw them together, and asked if they were friends again. He told Amy that he loved Damian like a brother; Amy said it was mutual.

When Holden walked away, Amy wanted to know what Audra’s connection was. Audra gave her a fluff answer, and Amy called her out for lying.

Amy told Audra that she had to do the work to change. “If you want forgiveness, earn it. Until then, this is all you got,” she said before leaving.

Holden joined Audra once she was alone. Audra went off on him when he brought up how she hurt Nate.

Holden wondered if it was just luck that had been keeping Audra in line lately, since she knew about the Newman attack, but hadn’t seen Claire.

Sally interrupted, so Holden left. She asked Audra if Holden had something on her, and was disappointed when her friend wouldn’t trust her with the truth.

Sally confided that Billy was about to let her down again, and it would be for the last time. She told Audra that Cane offered Chancellor to Billy.

Although Sally didn’t know whether or not Billy decided to accept Cane’s offer, she was upset that he even considered it, so she was moving on with Abbott Communications. 

Sally said she would start by calling Jill to see if she could change her mind about hiring Audra, who thought the opportunity would be life-changing.

Amy and Nate met at Society, and she told him about running into Audra. Listening, Nate told her she sounded like she wanted to give Amy a break.

Nate admitted he thought about Audra more often than he liked. Amy asked if he could ever forgive her.

In a motel room, Mariah wrote on a pad of paper as she thought about how she’d run away and told herself she didn’t deserve Tessa or Aria. She called herself a terrible person who ran from the truth.

In her mind, Mariah talked through how it would be if she tried to make a fresh start or if she told Tessa the truth about that night. 

She thought about the scenarios, wondering how she could move on in life, knowing it was just waiting under the surface, along with everything she could deal with and tried to bury.

As she thought, she doodled on the paper, drawing a decorative frame around the name “Dominic.”

At the outdoor cafe by the lake, Abby and Dominic had hot cocoa while waiting for friends Beau and Colton to go ice skating on the lake.

Abby got a call from an unknown caller, but no one said anything when she answered.

Devon came to the lake to see Dominic skate then joined him and Abby at the cafe after for something to eat. Devon planned to be Dom’s ice hockey coach.

In her hotel room, Mariah hung up the phone after calling Abby, and scolded herself for not thinking. Behind her, Ian Ward agreed.

Mariah told him to stop talking and went out but when she got back, she had photos on her phone that she had just taken of Abby, Devon, and Dominic skating at the lake.

She had flashbacks of when she was the surrogate and gave birth to Dominic with the help of Devon and Abby. Ian said he could see her memories as well.

“You were how Dominic entered this world,” Ian told her. Mariah snapped for him to stop. “I don’t care what you do or what you say, I am not going through with this!” she told him.

Ian understood, and said that she couldn’t back out now. He promised her life would change for the better on the other side of it.  

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