J. T. Hellstrom
| J.T. Hellstrom | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Young and the Restless character | |||||||||||
| File:ThadLuckinbill.jpg Thad Luckinbill as J.T. Hellstrom (2007) | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Thad Luckinbill | ||||||||||
| First appearance | December 1, 1999 | ||||||||||
| Created by | Kay Alden | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Jeffrey Todd "J.T." Hellstrom is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, played by actor Thad Luckinbill since December 1, 1999.[1] Luckinbill originally appeared on a recurring basis until he was put on contract in October 2002.[2]
Storylines
J.T. Hellstrom is introduced in 1999 as a high school friend of Billy Abbott (David Tom), Raul Guittierez (David Lago), Mackenzie Browning (Ashley Bashioum), Brittany Hodges (Lauren Woodland) and Rianna Miner (Alexis Thorpe). He has a reputation as a ladies' man. He dates Rianna, who he treats poorly and cheats on with Brittany. They break up and Rianna moves on with Raul.
J.T. begins a relationship with Billy's niece, Colleen Carlton (played at the time by Lyndsy Fonseca). Colleen is heartbroken when J.T. has a one night stand with Brittany's mother, Anita (Mitzi Kapture-Donahue), but they eventually reconcile. When Colleen feels she is getting in the way of J.T.'s budding music career, she leaves Genoa City and a heartbroken J.T.
J.T. develops unrequited feelings for Brittany. After she marries, he begins dating Mackenzie. Though he falls in love with her, he pretends to be the father of Brittany's baby in order to protect Brittany from her husbands enemies. The truth comes out and he reunites with Mackenzie. Colleen (now Adrianne Leon) returns to town wanting to reconcile with J.T. He is not interested in her because he is still devoted to Mac. He finds out Mac became pregnant with his baby, yet did not tell him until she miscarried. He is angry that she confided in Kevin Fisher instead. Angry, he cheats on Mac with Victoria Newman. A broken-hearted Mac leaves town when he tells her. Colleen romantically pursues J.T. and is angry when she finds out he had sex with Victoria, who had recently become Colleen's stepmother. J.T. soon reconciles with Colleen. Their relationship is strained when his work as a private investigator forces him to keep secrets from her. J.T. breaks up with her after she has an affair with Adrian Korbel (Eyal Podell). He still harbors affection toward Colleen and investigates her disappearance, including breaking into Korbel's apartment where he finds one of Colleen's earrings. J.T. and Korbel save Colleen from a fire, which they falsely believe was started by Kevin Fisher, who previously tried to kill Colleen. They refuse to believe Kevin when he says the fire was started by Jana, his ex-girlfriend, who set him up. Colleen is put on a respirator due to her oxygen level, and J.T. sits with her many times, admitting to her how much he loves her and how he will never stop.
He becomes engaged to Victoria Newman in October 2007. At the time Victoria is expecting a baby that may be either J.T.'s child or the child of her estranged husband (and Colleen's father) Brad Carlton. J.T. assures her that the paternity of Victoria's child will make no difference for him and his plans for their life together. When Victoria is hit by a fallen rock during the Clear Springs explosion, she is left comatose. The doctors suggest that they do an emergency C-section to save Victoria, leaving the baby's chances slim. Victor wants to save Victoria and Nikki wants to save the baby. J.T. is left frustrated, as he does not have a say in what happens to his fiance or "his" son. The decision is made after Victoria's condition takes a turn for the worse, and the baby is delivered via C-section while she is still comatose. A paternity test done when blood is removed for medical tests proved that J.T. is the father of Victoria's son. With Victoria still comatose, J.T. decides that their son needs a name. He names the baby Reed, after Victoria's mother's maiden name, and because a reed is strong and bends with the wind.
Victor hires J.T. to investigate Nikki's fiance David Chow (Vincent Irizarry). When J.T. inadvertently tips Nikki off due to the way he is questioning her, Victor fires J.T. J.T. has some unease about the strong role Victor plays in the lives of the Newman family, but when Victor offers him a job as head of Newman Enterprises security, J.T. accepts. In late January 2008, Victoria wakes up and reunites with J.T. and Reed. J.T. and Victoria are married several days later.
In 2009, Victor asked J.T. to investigate his old flame and lover, Colleen (now Tammin Sursok), in order to take away her seat on the Newman Board. J.T quit his job at Newman and is now working with Paul. Colleen dies tragically in October 2009 from drowning. J.T. is heartbroken and admits to Colleen that he loves her.
J.T. and Colleen
J.T.'s relationship with Colleen Carlton is regarded as one of the show's supercouples. They were immensely popular despite their controversial age difference. J.T. was most popular when paired with Colleen, the tough yet innately sweet young sophomore.
In the August 17, 2009, episode, Colleen admits to J.T. that she still has feelings for him, and they eventually kiss.