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INTERVIEW

Jess Walton (Jill, Y&R) reflects on her characters’ often messy love life

How would you characterize Jill’s love life? “Physical. The first day I went to [late Co-Creator/Head Writer] Bill Bell’s office, he said Jill has a very strong physical drive, so that’s how I characterize her when it comes to men. She likes her hanky-panky on a regular basis.”

Who is her true love? “Colin, but now she’s disgusted with him and can’t put up with him anymore.”

Who’s the one that got away? “Victor. She really wanted to marry him and be Mrs. Victor Newman.”

John Abbott (1981-85; 1993-96)

When you began playing Jill, she and John were divorced. What brought them back together? “Jill was playing Rex against John while she was seeing them both. Katherine found out and exposed Jill during this big party and both men dropped her. After that, Jill decided she was in love with John and set her sights on him. She really loved and respected John.”

Was she genuinely happy in this marriage? “They were happy for a while but Jill was so fake and phony back then. You really couldn’t believe anything she said. She was lying a lot. But what came between them was her damn libido. John was impotent for a time, so he had that affair with the sexy contractor. It was pure Jill.”

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Victor Newman (1992)

What attracted Jill to him? “Are you kidding me? His power, his money and his influence! She was such a social climber and Victor was handsome and sexy and she really believed he was the ultimate catch.”

What was the highlight of their relationship? “When she thought he was going to propose to her.She got a manicure and a new dress because she was sure he was going to pop the question. But it was also her worst moment with him because she bragged to everybody that they were engaged but instead he broke up with her. I’ve had to do so many embarrassing scenes as Jill.”

Is that why she’s so anti-Victor now? “Oh, even though she gets so angry with him, I think she’d give in to him in a second.”

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Larry Warton (2002-03)

Larry was an ex-con. Why did Jill go for him? “It was around the time that Jill’s boy toy [Sean] got Lionel Richie to sing a love song to her. Larry Warton was having trouble with his love life and asked her for advice. She gave him etiquette lessons and before you knew it, they were sleeping together. It really caught her by surprise.”

What did Jill appreciate about Larry? “He brought out this wild side in her. They had a lot of fun with each other but she didn’t want anyone to know they were sleeping together so he was climbing in and out of her bedroom window. One time he did a striptease for her. It was actually a very honest relationship.”

Why did they go their separate ways? “He got really mad at her for something so he came into the Jabot boardroom during a meeting and dumped all these sex toys on the table in front of everyone. She was horrified.”

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Ji Min Kim (2007)

What about Ji Min appealed to Jill? “He was rich and powerful, those qualities she likes. At first, she thought he was this big CEO but it turned out he was really working for Jack. Ji Min was also very sexy and that was a bonus to her.”

Why did this relationship work at first? “I loved them together, I really did. The age difference and race were never mentioned. They were just two human beings falling in love, which is the way it should be.”

Do you think that Ji Min and Jill could have gone the distance? “I believe they could have had a very strong relationship — but he was murdered and she cried over his body. She really did love him.

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Colin Atkinson (2010-11; 2014-19)

Why did Colin turn Jill’s head? “I think Jill was attracted to Colin because they were so much alike. When they first got married, she didn’t know he was Cane’s father but they truly loved each other. It was a real love story.”

There seemed to be a lot of passion between these two. “Yes, and they were always tying each other up! She tied him to a bed so her grandson could arrest him, then he had her tied up in a motel and wouldn’t let her go until he married her and then Jill tied him up in the Chancellor attic. There was never a dull moment with them.”

Do you think she’s still in love with Colin? “I think she probably is but when he blamed Cane for conning Devon, something snapped in Jill and she finally thought, ‘This is not a good man.’ That was the end for them. If he came back and apologized, I think there might be a story for them.”

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