Melody Thomas Scott Dishes Her 12th Marriage on The Young and the Restless

Do weddings come cheaper by the dozen? Let's hope so for Nikki Newman's sake. The tragedy-prone heroine of The Young and the Restless — played by Melody Thomas Scott — has married for the 12th time, as part of the CBS soap's 40th anniversary celebration. TV Guide Magazine rang Thomas Scott to find out how it feels to be Nikki Reed Foster Bancroft DiSalvo Newman Abbott Landers Newman Newman Chow Sharpe Abbott Newman. Monogram that!

TV Guide Magazine: This is Nikki's fourth marriage to the dastardly Victor Newman [Eric Braeden]. When will she ever learn?
Thomas Scott: Never! She always falls for his bulls--t, but that's what's so charming about her. She goes with her heart, not her head. She's a good example of what not to be. I mean, seriously, who'd want to be Nikki? I love this role and I'm very happy, but c'mon! She's hopeless.

TV Guide Magazine: And Victor's even worse. This is his 15^th marriage. Is there a snow cone's chance in hell this one will last?
Thomas Scott: Why would it? Victor's been such a dream since Nikki was diagnosed with MS but I'm sure something major will happen after the wedding where he turns back into a jerk and Nikki sees the light again. They can't be happy. There's no story in that.

TV Guide Magazine: Nikki has been horizontal for two of her weddings to Victor, which must be some kind of crazy-ass soap record.
Thomas Scott: It's true, though the first time she was dying and that marriage turned out not to be legal, and then just recently we did the pretend marriage when Nikki was hospitalized because of her MS. But in their combined total of 27 real marriages, we're not counting their almost weddings. [Laughs] That would take us into triple digits!

TV Guide Magazine: Why does it always have to end in marriage with those two? Considering their bad luck with the "I Do's," what's wrong with just shacking up?
Thomas Scott: Are you kidding? Victor and Nikki live in the Midwest. They've got down-home American values! 

TV Guide Magazine: No spoiler alert needed here: Mr. Braeden can be a handful. How have you managed to stay on his good side all these years?
Thomas Scott: I'm not going to lie and say that being his costar is easy, because it ain't. But it's so worth it. And, hey, I can be pretty ornery, too. After working with the guy for 34 years, I know how to handle him. [Laughs] And, the best part is, he doesn't even know he's being handled!

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