J. T. Hellstrom
 | This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary. (April 2013) |
| J.T. Hellstrom | |||||||||||||
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| The Young and the Restless character | |||||||||||||
| File:ThadLuckinbill.jpg | |||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Thad Luckinbill | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 1999–2010 | ||||||||||||
| First appearance | August 27, 1999 | ||||||||||||
| Last appearance | November 5, 2010 | ||||||||||||
| Classification | Former, regular | ||||||||||||
| Created by | Kay Alden | ||||||||||||
| Introduced by | William J. Bell and Edward J. Scott | ||||||||||||
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J.T. Hellstrom is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. The role was portrayed by actor Thad Luckinbill from August 27, 1999 to November 5, 2010.[1][2] Luckinbill originally appeared on a recurring basis until he was put on contract in November 2002.[3]
Storylines
J.T. Hellstrom is introduced in 1999 as a high school friend of Billy Abbott, Raul Guittierez, Mackenzie Browning, Brittany Hodges and Rianna Miner. 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. Colleen is heartbroken when J.T. has a one night stand with Brittany's mother, Anita, 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 husband's enemies. The truth comes out, and he reunites with Mackenzie. Colleen 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 she 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. 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. At the time, Victoria was 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 her mother Nikki Newman want 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.
Victoria's father, Victor Newman, hires J.T. to investigate Nikki's fiance David Chow. When J.T. inadvertently tips Nikki off due to the way he is questioning her, Victor fires J.T. He 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. Victoria wakes up and reunites with J.T. and Reed. He and Victoria are married several days later.
Victor then asked J.T. to investigate Colleen in order to take away her seat on the Newman Board. J.T quits his job at Newman and beings working with Paul. Colleen dies in October 2009 from drowning. J.T. is heartbroken and admits to Colleen that he loves her.
It brings the end of J.T. and Victoria's marriage as they decide to divorce. During this time, he relies more and more on the pregnant Mackenzie, his former high school girlfriend for support. He seeks and received full custody of his son, Reed. He especially does not want Reed to be around his maternal grandfather, Victor. Victoria has vowed to fight and overturn the judge's ruling, with the help of her family.
J.T. reunites with Mac, however, J.T.'s current job, spying on Newman Enterprises and gaining information on it for Tucker McCall, puts a strain on their relationship. In September, Mac tells J.T. that she may be pregnant with their second child, the first ending in a miscarriage.
When a powerful storm/tornado hits the Genoa City area, J.T. gets into an accident, as his car hits a tree when he tries to get to Cane Ashby and Lily Winters at the lake retreat. After he regains consciousness, J.T. tries to get moving again but gets electrocuted when a power pole hits his car, causing him to fall back into his car. Mac and Reed are at the Athletic Club waiting for him to return. Lily and Cane discover him on the side of the road when they are returning to Genoa City. Lily goes to call for help, and Cane performs CPR. Earlier in the day, J.T. had proposed to Mac, but she had turned him down.
When the tornado was over, while J.T. was hospitalized for electrocution, she realized life's unpredictability. After pleading with him to wake up, she whispers, "I love you," in his ear, and then accepts his proposal. J.T. and Mac move to Washington, D.C., taking Reed with them.
In 2011, it was revealed that J.T. and Mackenzie welcomed a son, Dylan Hellstrom. The couple gets well wishes and congratulations from Victoria, Billy and Kevin.
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 August 2009, J.T. and Colleen admit to still having feelings for each other and eventually kiss, leading J.T.'s wife at the time Victoria Newman to sleep with Deacon Sharpe.