What Happened To Cole Howard On The Young and The Restless? Everything You Need To Know

The character of Cole Howard on The Young & The Restless took his final breath on July 3 after taking gravely ill with Legionnaires’ disease, marking the end to a figure who has been in and out of the Y&R universe since 1980. Cole was originally played as a child by N.P. Scoch, who exited in 1981. He returned to Genoa City as a hunky young man when J. Eddie Peck portrayed him from 1993-99. And in November 2023, the soap announced that Peck would be reprising his role. Read on for the full history of Cole’s storyline life!

During a jealous fit, Victor Newman cheated on his wife with his secretary, Eve Howard, and she gave birth to a son, Charles. Believing the child to be his, Victor created a trust fund in his name but Eve and the boy weren’t seen again for over 10 years. In 1993, Eve showed up and revealed their son was now going by his middle name, Cole. Victor wanted nothing to do with him, but later changed his mind and asked Eve to bring him to Genoa City. Eve arrived with Cole, who was an aspiring novelist, but Victor was presumed dead so his widow, Nikki Newman, hired Cole as a stablehand and he lived in the tack house.

When Victoria Newman was dumped by Ryan McNeil for Nina Webster, she set her sights on the handsome stablehand, but Cole turned her down and began an affair with Nikki. But Victoria confessed her love, and Cole wrote to his mother to report that he had fallen for Victor’s daughter. Eve had never told Cole who his father was, and she rushed to stop their wedding. Unfortunately, she suffered a massive stroke and fell into a coma. Victor returned from Kansas, and he and Nikki were horrified that Victoria had eloped to Las Vegas. Revealing that Cole was his son, Victor forced them to annul the marriage.

After Eve passed away, Victor found a letter in her belongings that made him suspicious about Cole’s parentage, and had some DNA tests run. Once Victor confirmed he wasn’t Cole’s father (it was a man named Rick Daros), the two men tracked down Victoria and shared the good news. Cole and Victoria were remarried and lived together at the tack house. Although Victoria was jealous of his editor, Jeri, Cole assured his wife he was in love with only her.

But their marriage hit a major snag when Nina began assisting Cole with research, and they fell for each other. Victoria fought back by kissing Nina’s ex, Ryan, but at Victor’s urging, Cole fought for his marriage. However, Victoria’s extended absences from the home caused a rift that Ashley Abbott slid right into. Cole was writing a new novel based on her life, and by the time Victoria returned home, she caught the pair kissing. The two women fought for Cole’s love, and he chose Ashley, even proposing to her. But Victoria was pregnant with his child, and though she claimed Neil was the baby daddy, Cole saw right through her.

When Victoria began having pains, the baby was delivered by emergency C-section, and Cole comforted Victoria, who wanted to name her Eve, after his mother. Sadly, the infant did not survive, and Neil left Victoria and Cole alone to grieve. Cole eventually married Ashley, but while she was out of town, Victoria tried to seduce him. Cole left to track Ashley through Europe, convinced she was having an affair, and Victoria followed. Once everyone was back in Genoa City, Ashley decided she wanted a baby, but her pressure instead inspired Cole to divorce her and leave town for a professorship at Oxford!

In November 2023, Cole arrived at a lake house in Oregon looking for Nikki, having received a text from her about Victoria. He was hit over the head and when he regained consciousness, found himself held captive with Victoria, Nick, and Victor by Jordan Howard, his aunt! He and Victoria were further stunned when Claire Grace claimed to be their daughter, Eve Howard, whom they had abandoned at birth. However, when they insisted their daughter had died, Jordan revealed she’d swapped infants at the hospital, and Claire was horrified to find out she’d been lied to her whole life. After subduing Jordan, they called the cops, who arrested Claire, but Jordan gave them the slip.

Cole and Victoria visited Claire in jail, where she agreed to a DNA test if they got her a lawyer. They convinced Michael Baldwin to take the case, and Cole returned to the lake house to get something of Claire’s to run a DNA test. He and Victoria were later stunned when the results proved that Claire really was their child! As the young woman received treatment at a psychiatric hospital, she, Victoria, and Cole tried to come to terms with their new reality. 

As 2024 began, Cole continued to reconnect with Victoria, and Victor questioned his intentions towards his daughter. When Jordan went missing after a fire at the prison, Cole and Victoria warned Claire, and weren’t crazy when she agreed to go along with Victor’s plan to use her as bait to trap the psycho. Moving into the tack house with Claire, Victoria reminisced with Cole about how they used to live there, and the exes shared a kiss. When Harrison and Claire disappeared, some thought Claire was working with Jordan, but her parents insisted she was just another victim. While investigating their daughter’s abduction, Cole discovered a clue that led Victoria to realize where Claire could be, and they were relieved to find her before it was too late. 

When Victor reported that Jordan had died by falling off a bridge while escaping justice, Cole remained skeptical and continued to note The Mustache’s suspicious behavior. After seeing Victor emerge from a secret passage, Cole investigated and discovered he was keeping Jordan in a cell in the basement! He met with Michael in the hopes of bringing Jordan to justice, but Victor caught them. Thankfully, they were able to convince him to turn the villain in to the proper authorities.

Cole was wary when Victor told him he could make up for his betrayal by befriending Kyle Abbott, knowing this was part of a grand scheme against Jack and the Abbotts. But he enjoyed continuing to rekindle his relationship with Victoria, going on a romantic date together. Cole also tried to smooth things over with Katie when she bristled at Claire becoming part of the family. After returning from a trip to Oxford to get his things, Cole was ready to settle down, but Victor angrily warned him to stay away from Victoria. Still, he refused to listen, and Cole and Victoria made love.

As Cole and Victoria continued to reestablish their relationship, they expressed parental concern over the changes in Claire’s life as she went to work for Nikki at Newman Media and began officially dating Kyle. At Christmas, Cole was stunned when Victor not only accepted his relationship with Victoria but welcomed him into the family by offering him a job heading up the publishing division at Newman.

Alas, as Cole and Victoria’s romance progressed in 2025, Cole became seriously ill, and he was diagnosed with the fast-progressing disease that would soon claim his life. He tragically passed away with his beloved Victoria and Claire by his side.