Sharon Dumped Nick at the Altar on Young and Restless and Other Big Soap Moments from October 5

In 1973, Ed Hall (Al Freeman, Jr.) and Carla Gray (Ellen Holly) wed on One Life To Live. The ceremony was the first wedding of two Black characters ever depicted in soaps. Young Josh, who the couple adopted, played by Laurence Fishburne, served as Ed's best man, and jazz singer Hazel Scott, who was appearing in the role of Carla's aunt and maid of honor, serenaded the duo.

In 1979, Luke Spencer raped Laura Webber Baldwin (Genie Francis) at the Campus Disco on General Hospital. At the time, Laura was married to Scotty and had gotten a job working for Luke at the disco, which he managed. Luke was drinking himself into oblivion that fateful night, as he was marked for death by the mob. Luke's demeanor was understandably frightening to Laura, and when he beseeched her to dance with him, she told him no. He forced her to the floor, and while the actual sexual assault took place off camera, it was clear what had happened. The rape became one of the most controversial moments in soap history, as the show moved forward with a romance between the two characters. In 2022, Francis admitted to Soap Opera Digest, "When I look back at that time and how young I was, I don’t know how I got through it — and I got through it really alone. My parents were not that involved with me. [The network] was flying me from place to place and I was alone. And I was a child, and I had to justify all that stuff. People wonder, 'Why don’t you want to write a book or talk about all these things?' And I’m like, 'Well, some of it is like remembering going to war.' There were parts of it that were really, really hard and parts of it that were not good for me and then there were parts of it that were absolutely exciting and sublime. It had a little bit of everything going on. But it was a crazy amount of pressure and responsibility to put on someone who was a child. I look back on it and it feels like I was living an adult life even though chronologically, I was a child."

In 2005, Jennifer Bransford aired for the final time as Carly Corinthos on General Hospital. The actress had made her debut earlier in the year, succeeding Sarah Brown and Tamara Braun in the role. Bransford's departure cleared the way for Laura Wright to join the Port Charles ranks as Carly. Soap Opera Digest named the actress the Worst Recast in 2005's Best and Worst issue, writing, "If it seems like we’re kicking an actress when she’s down, that is not the intention. By the time she left GH, Jennifer Bransford — in one of the most high-pressure situations in soaps — had more than proven her worth. Our criticism goes to the show itself for underestimating the popularity of exiting Tamara Braun and rushing Bransford into heavy story. The 'new' face sucked the emotional punch out of presumed-dead Michael’s reunion with his mother — without even a day’s rest for the character, who just happens to be the most high-profile woman on the canvas. The deck was definitely stacked against Bransford."

In 2011, GH’s Lulu Spencer (Julie Marie Berman, l.) accepted Dante Falconeri’s (Dominic Zamprogna) marriage proposal. He was recovering from a gunshot wound at the hospital at the time, and pressed Lulu for an answer as to whether or not she would say yes to a lifetime together. Before she could respond, his monitors started beeping and he lost consciousness! While his mom, Olivia (Lisa LoCicero), tried to keep her calm, doctors got Dante back into stable condition. Lulu finally gave him the answer he had been waiting for and agreed to become his wife. Their wedding took place that December in Brooklyn, NY, his hometown.

In 2018, Young and Restless's Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) dumped Nick Newman at the altar after discovering that he had slept with his ex-wife, Phyllis Summers. As the wedding got underway, Nick was clueless as to what was to come. But after addressing the guests, Sharon turned to her groom and said, "I wanted to see the look on your face when I tell you that I can’t marry you.” Her rage mounting, she barked, "You can’t love, honor, and cherish me, Nick, while you’re cheating on me with Phyllis!” This was news to Billy, who had just popped the question to Phyllis. Seethed Billy, “Looks like this is not the only wedding that’s not gonna happen. Thank you, Sharon. I owe you one.” Sharon then smacked Nick across the face and stalked out of the church.