What happened to Esther on The Young and The Restless? Explained

Esther Valentine has been loved by The Young and The Restless audience ever since she was introduced. Portrayed by Kate Linder, the fictional character was introduced in the soap opera on April 8, 1982, and was shown as a long-serving housekeeper, maid, and confidant for entrepreneur Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper).

Throughout the elongated run of The Young and The Restless, Esther underwent a lot of highs and lows.

Her discovery about fashionista Chloe Mitchell (Elizabeth Hendrickson) being her daughter, the murder of Katherine's husband, Rex Sterling (Quinn Redeker), and the death of Chloe's daughter, Delia, among others, were some of the significant moments of Esther’s life.

The character took a backseat eventually, only to be brought back in the latest episode of The Bold and the Beautiful, the sister show of The Young and The Restless.

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Esther's arc underwent a lot of changes on The Young and The Restless

The crossover episode of The Young and The Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful was aired on Wednesday, October 25, and featured Esther hitting the town from Genoa City to attend a fashion show with Lauren Fenmore Baldwin. She’s shown loitering in the Forrester Creations corridor, where Luna greets her and tells her that a meeting with Eric is up on the anvil.

This leaves Esther very excited as she always dreamt of donning an original Forrester gown, like Katherine. The connection between Esther and Katherine runs deep, as the former was actually introduced to the show because of Katherine who is often referred to as Mrs. Chancellor.

Linder describes Esther as a “very loyal and very giving person” who “gets run over” by others. The character initially provided comic relief to the somber mood of The Young and The Restless, but with time, its arc added shades and layers.

On the long-running CBS soap opera, she bore a daughter named Katherine Tina Valentine from a single se*ual encounter with a plumber nicknamed Tiny. Due to her situation, Esther sent Katherine Tina to a boarding school, which drove a wedge between the two.

Many years later, she discovered that Jabot Cosmetics fashionista, Chloe Mitchell is actually Katherine Tina. The two reconciled in due course, and Chloe gave birth to Delia, with Esther compensating for the lost time by being a doting grandma.

Then, Katherine died, leaving Esther devastated. The inheritance Mrs. Chancellor left back for her long-serving maid also left her upset as Esther thought she would get control of the estate. However, after Delia was killed by Adam Newman, Esther quit the Chancellor estate and took up a job at Crimson Lights.

Chloe birthed two other children, another daughter, Bella, and Miles. Esther was delighted and happily took care of her newfound family. She missed working at the mansion and eagerly accepted the offer when Devon Hamilton asked her to work as the Chancellor-Winters receptionist.

In August this year, Sharon Newman offered her the position of Crimson Lights manager, which Esther happily accepted. After this, Esther’s story on The Young and The Restless didn’t have an intriguing arc, which made her recent gig on The Bold... all the more interesting.

Expressing how “thrilled and excited and honored” she is for the stint, Linder admitted that the team “tied this back to Mrs. Chancellor” made it extra special. Whether Linder would be featured more as Esther of The Bold... is not known yet, but fans surely have their hopes high.

Both shows return this Thursday, October 26, 2023.