Genoa City’s revolving door could be spinning again if recent returns have taught us anything — it’s that no comeback is off-limits. That’s why Jessica Collins has a thought about bringing Avery Bailey Clark to The Young and the Restless landscape because she believes her character has a “big secret.”
It’s been over a decade since Young & Restless viewers last saw Collins on the show; she departed on July 21, 2015. As she described her character’s exit to Soaps.com, “Avery left in a very bad way. She had had it, and she lost her mind.” If we fast-forward to 2026, Avery might have some undisclosed personal news to reveal after her off-the-radar fresh start if she returned to Genoa City. And there’s plenty of unresolved issues with her sister, Phyllis (Michelle Stafford).
“I’d like to think she’s just been hiding for so long,” the 2016 Daytime Emmy winner explained. “There’s a big secret. Maybe she has a daughter like I do, because I didn’t know this when I left.”
Collins was pregnant with her daughter, Jemma, 10, when she departed The Young and the Restless, but she didn’t know it at the time.
“I guess when we do the math, probably the last three or four weeks of the show, maybe five weeks of the show, I was pregnant,” Collins said. “And I had no idea.”
Of course, a few viewers were somehow tuned into her personal news even before she had confirmation of the pregnancy.
“In fact, some of the fans, it was only five weeks, but some of the fans, when they saw me, said, ‘Is she pregnant? Is she pregnant? She looks pregnant.’ Well, I was pregnant, and some of the fans knew,” the recent children’s book author laughed.
Avery could make a dramatic reappearance with a 10-year-old child and reconnect with her sister to address their problems. While the parenting storyline might not be on The Young and Restless‘ radar, an Avery return has been on the writers’ minds more than once over the years, according to Collins.
“It’s almost happened a few times, but in all honesty, scheduling it couldn’t work out,” she revealed. “And I’ve been out of the country a lot with another show that I was doing with Acapulco [Apple TV’s comedy series, Acapulco], so it’s almost happened a couple times, and I never rule it out.”
What Collins appreciates is the fan support for a character whose shoes she hasn’t stepped into in almost 11 years.
“It means the world to me,” Collins gushes. “Every post I ever do on Facebook or Instagram, there’s someone talking about Avery.”
It’s time to get Genoa City talking about Avery again, too.
