Is Victor Newman Leaving The Young and the Restless? Eric Braeden’s Update
Rumors are flying that Eric Braeden is exiting The Young and the Restless after a viral Facebook post sent fans into a panic. Is Victor really leaving—or is the rumor mill in overdrive?
If you saw Facebook freaking out that Eric Braeden is bailing on The Young and the Restless, take a breath. Victor Newman is not packing up his mustache and leaving Genoa City. Here is what set the rumor off, why it snowballed, and what Braeden himself just said about sticking around.
The Facebook post that lit the fuse
This all started with a post in the Young & Restless NextGen Facebook group claiming Braeden had said goodbye on Instagram and officially announced his exit. The post even pointed to another article as its source. Classic soap-fandom telephone game: a fan group cites a fan site, and suddenly it looks legit.
Comments flew fast. Some fans basically said Victor is the show and losing him would be unthinkable. Others countered that after four decades, maybe it is time. The problem is, the site the post leaned on appears to be fan-made and not exactly a trusted news source. That headline-y claim about an Instagram farewell? Not backed up by anything credible.
So, is Braeden actually leaving?
No. The rumor is false. He is still very much Victor Newman.
- Eric Braeden has played Victor since 1980 and has racked up more than 4,000 episodes. That is soap royalty territory.
- He is 84 and, by his own account, not retiring from the role.
- There has been no official announcement from Braeden or the show.
- This week’s spoilers still have Victor driving story, not fading out. Translation: the character is not being ushered offstage.
What Braeden himself is saying
In a November 2024 interview with TV Insider, Braeden made it clear he is not going anywhere and talked about why Victor remains such a compelling part to play.
"I realized that from then on, the character would assume enormous complexity, and that's what attracted me to it," Braeden said. "And that's why I'm still here because you don't get that kind of character, certainly not on nighttime."
The bottom line
Facebook rumor mills are undefeated at spinning drama, but this one is a nothingburger. Unless the actor or the show publicly says otherwise, expect Victor Newman to keep scheming, lecturing, and outmaneuvering everyone in Genoa City for the foreseeable future.