Courtney Hope Reveals the Real Reason Sally Won’t Quit Billy on The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless star Courtney Hope lays out why Sally Spectra is sticking by Billy, revealing the choices and stakes driving the couple—and teasing where their rocky romance could head next.
Y&R fans keep asking the same question: why is Sally Spectra still with Billy Abbott? Courtney Hope just spelled it out, and yeah, it actually tracks with who Sally is.
What Courtney Hope says is keeping Sally in it
In a chat with Soap Opera Digest, Hope broke down Sally's mindset. Short version: this is not just about romance, it is about history and wiring. Sally cares about Billy, recognises his whole fight-for-what-you-believe-in energy, and sees parts of herself in that. That connection makes her stick.
Also, context matters. Billy pulled Sally into Abbott Communications, then bailed and left her running the thing solo. When she tried to end it, he talked his way back in. Not exactly relationship goals. But Hope ties Sally's choice to stay to her past: a rough childhood, a lifelong itch for the kind of family and steady relationship she never had, and a habit of trying to hold people together when they unravel.
'When she was younger, she would lose them. I think it makes her even more of a fighter to want to save the people that she is with. It is just doubling down on really caring about someone, but also not wanting him to go off the rails.'
Hope, 36, also pointed out that Sally and Billy do have real highs to go with the mess. Sally is a best-in-people person, and she believes that if she invests fully, she has a stake in how things turn out — maybe even enough to help or save him. That, she says, is a big part of why Sally is still in this.
- She genuinely cares about Billy.
- She respects his conviction and sees herself in it.
- Her rough upbringing hardwired her to fight for the people she loves.
- She believes investing in someone gives her a shot at steering the outcome.
- Despite the drama (see: Abbott Communications), they have real good times.
So is Sally staying because she is a fixer? Pretty much. Healthy? Debatable. But for Sally, that instinct is part survival, part hope — and on a soap, that is a combustible combo.