The Young and the Restless Recap - Thursday, July 3, 2025 | Cole’s Last Breath, Chelsea’s New Target and Mariah’s Meltdown

Three broken hearts and one bold flirtation marked Thursday’s episode of The Young and the Restless. Cole took his final breath, Victoria collapsed under the weight of goodbye, and Chelsea danced around danger with a sly smirk and a sharper tongue. Meanwhile, Mariah spiraled in the shadows, haunted by a past she can’t shake and a mistake she can’t name.

Cole | Y&R, CBS

Chelsea Plays Detective with a Side of Flirt

Adam and Chelsea kicked off their evening with dinner at Society and a casual convo about Cole’s impending death. Light fare, right? Between bites, they touched on Dumas and Cane’s mystery dealings. Adam's radar is up, convinced Cane and his daddy Colin are running a classic Ashby con. The twist? Dumas has bought half the town, including the Athletic Club, and nobody knows why. Adam's heading to France to get answers, and he’s hoping to catch the fireworks. Both literal and metaphorical.

As Chelsea prepares to hold down the fort, enter Holden. He spies on Adam and Chelsea from outside like a budget spy thriller, then slides in to charm Chelsea with flattery and fake ambition. He claims he’s into fashion and not working for Cane, but Chelsea isn't buying a word of it. She gives him just enough rope to flirt before cutting him off at the knees. Holden tries to play smooth, but Chelsea reads him like a fashion mag. She walks out with her head high, but you can tell she’s keeping tabs on this one. She might’ve just met Genoa City’s next bad idea with great pecs.

Cole Says Goodbye in a Gut-Wrenching Farewell

If you blinked, you missed the entire storyline. Cole went from “I'm not feeling great” to actual death in what feels like less than 48 hours. Claire and Victoria barely made it back before he started whispering poetic farewells. Cole, pale and fading, told Claire he was proud to be her dad. Claire dropped a tearjerker about wishing for a father as a child and getting more than she ever dreamed of in Cole. Right when you think you’ve hit emotional rock bottom, Cole flatlines mid-kiss with Victoria while the Y&R theme swells in slow motion. And yes, it was that dramatic.

Victoria and Claire return home shattered. Claire’s guilt is unbearable. She left without saying goodbye, convinced her dad died thinking she was mad. Victoria tries to reassure her, handing her Cole’s jacket in one of the day’s quietest yet most devastating moments. After Claire heads upstairs, Victoria falls apart alone in the dark, clinging to one of Cole’s books as if it could bring him back.

Then, as if the day couldn’t get more painful, Claire calls Kyle to share the news... via voicemail. Because of course she does. This show will spend months unraveling a Dumas subplot, but Cole gets a two-day death sentence? Unreal.

Mariah Cracks While Tessa Waits

At Crimson Lights, Tessa tells Daniel that Mariah moved out with no explanation. She begged her to open up, but all Mariah would say is that it’s “worse than cheating.” Yikes. Ian Ward’s name came up, and the bottle came out. Mariah’s drinking, spiraling, and isolating. Tessa’s willing to wait, even forgive, but Daniel isn’t so sure that’s realistic. His read? Whatever Mariah did might be the fallout of Ian’s damage, and that’s not something love alone can fix. Tessa's not ready to give up, but you can feel the romantic cracks starting to show. Give it time and a few more guitar lessons—this “friendship” might tune into something more.

Mariah’s Haunted Flashbacks and a Chilling Realization

As if things weren’t dark enough, Mariah roams the park like a woman possessed. Her mind is spinning and the guilt is eating her alive. She flashes back to an awful, hazy moment... drunk, with that creepy old man’s laugh echoing, and what looks like a horrifying near-kiss. Later, she flashes back again. This time she sobs. She clutches a pillow. She asks herself, “What have I done?”

We don’t know what it is yet, but one thing’s clear—whatever happened is tearing Mariah apart from the inside out. And it looks like we’re just scratching the surface. Somebody call Angela Lansbury, because this feels like the beginning of an episode of Murder She Wrote.

Today’s episode packed a punch. We lost Cole way too fast, Chelsea may have found her next chaotic muse, and Mariah is on the edge of a serious breakdown. One thing’s for sure—if you’re not crying, side-eyeing or screaming at your screen during this episode of Y&R, you must've fallen alseep. Soap Opera Reviews delivers daily spoilers and recaps so you never miss a thing. We live for the drama!