Five Things That Happened On December 31 In Soap History

In 1994, Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) was decked out in a silver beaded gown as she remarried Dimitri Marick (Michael Nader) on All My Children. (Their first union, which had taken place in 1993, had ended in divorce.) With help from Erica's youngest daughter, Bianca, Dimitri surprised his once and future wife with a beautiful Russian Orthodox ceremony at the Wildwind chapel and they exchanged vows by candlelight.

In 1997, Jacob Young made his daytime debut as Rick Forrester on Bold and Beautiful. He held the role of Brooke and Eric's son until 1999, at which point Justin Torkildsen assumed the role, followed by Kyle Lowder. Young, meanwhile, went on to play General Hospital's Lucky (for which he won a Daytime Emmy) and All My Children's JR, and then returned to B&B in 2011 upon the cancellation of AMC. He exited B&B again in 2018.

In 1999, Sunset Beach aired its final episode, which centered around the double wedding of Michael and Vanessa (Jason George and Sherri Saum, l.) and Ben and Meg (Clive Robertson and Susan Ward). The show had premiered on January 6, 1997. The series finale featured Olivia reuniting with her estranged children, Caitlyn and Sean; Annie burying the hatchet with Olivia and Meg; and Meg believing that she had dreamed the last several years of her life. When she woke up, Ben, her new husband, assured her, "I promise you darling, that was no dream.” They shared a loving kiss.

In 2015, Abby Newman (Melissa Ordway) tied the knot with Ben "Stitch" Rayburn on Young and Restless. The New Year's Eve ceremony was held at Top of the Tower, and Victor proudly escorted his daughter down the aisle to her groom — who, unbeknownst to the bride, was still nursing feelings for her mother, Ashley! Dylan served as Stitch's best man and Victoria stood up for her sister. After the vows were exchanged, Dylan, Victor and Victoria all offered toasts.

In 2018, Days of Our Lives's Jennifer (Melissa Reeves, r.) was stunned when Eve (Kassie DePaiva) returned to Salem on New Year's Eve and her date sauntered in: it was Jennifer's not-so-dead husband, amnesiac Jack Deveraux (Matthew Ashford)! Jennifer gasped, "It can't be. It can't be you." Shot back Jack, "It is. Billy-Jack Johnson Harcourt Deveraux. In the flesh." As JJ (Casey Moss, far r.) gaped at his father in shock, Haley asked him who the man was. "My father," he replied, dazed. Portrayer Kassie DePaiva explained Eve's agenda to Soap Opera Digest at the time, saying, "Now Eve has a way to get back at Jennifer.... Eve realizes that she’s in the driver’s seat. As long as Jack doesn’t remember Jennifer, it’s just fine. She can feed him as much information as she thinks Jack needs about [Jack and Jennifer’s past], how awful Jennifer was, all that kind of stuff."