2016’s 12 Biggest Soap Opera Scandals

Published on December 20, 2016.

Soap operas are filled with scandal and 2016 may be known as the year of controversies, as it relates to the world of daytime drama. There seemed to be a ton of affairs going on, crazy driving accidents, paternity (and maternity) issues, not to mention murders galore. As we head into 2017, we’re looking into some of the best and biggest soap opera scandals of this past year — check it out!

12. Drunk Driving Accident – Days Of Our Lives

It’s been a crazy year for scandals in Salem and to kick off this list we look at something big that rocked the lives of the characters on Days of Our Lives (DOOL) last New Year’s Eve. Eric hops behind the wheel while intoxicated and gets into a car accident that causes injury to him, Jenn, Brady, and Daniel. The aftermath of the car crash was heartbreaking. Daniel was on life support and Brady was fighting for his life. Maggie decided to turn Daniel’s life support off and donated his heart to save his BFF, Brady. Eric is hauled off to jail to serve a five-year sentence and DOOL is never really the same. Nicole grieves; Brady has a new lease on life; and Jennifer battles with a pain killers’ addiction. Salem definitely didn’t start 2016 on a festive note.

Source: www.welovesoaps.net

11. Valerie Gets Kidnapped – General Hospital

To look at Dante and Lulu now, it’s hard to believe that these two endured a near broken marriage, thanks to an affair. At the beginning of the year, these two were struggling with this issue and Lulu had revenge on her mind. Feeling betrayed by not only her husband, but his mistress as well (Valerie is Lulu’s cousin), the youngest Spencer devised a plan with her ex-boyfriend, Johnny Zacchara, to get back at Valerie. The two held the woman hostage in an old cabin and then left her for (almost) dead when it accidentally caught on fire. Even more scandalous than kidnapping is the fact that Zacchara took the blame for the entire incident and was sent back to prison – orange jumpsuit and all.

Source: soaps.sheknows.com

10. Two Unlikely Partners In Crime – The Young and the Restless

Victor always gets the best of everyone and when he was sent to prison, revenge was the only thing on his mind. Despite being locked up, Victor was still quite resourceful as he launched into a plan to frame his son, Adam, for the murder of Constance Bingham. But Young and the Restless (Y&R) fans knew all along that Victor couldn’t pull this off without someone helping him – and it became a huge overarching storyline in the entire murder-frame plot. In the end, Victor’s accomplice was Adam’s nemesis and Chelsea’s BFF Chloe Mitchell, who was still seeking revenge for Adam’s role in Delia’s death.

CBS

9. Toddler Goes Missing – Days Of Our Lives

It was a case of who dunnit in Salem when Tate Black went missing and parents Brady and Teresa could help but speculate that their controlling grandfather, Victor Kiriakis was at the helm of it all. Victor denied the accusation from the get-go, and the search for little Tate lasted for weeks on end. When all was said and done, a huge DOOL shocker revealed that Kate Roberts had been the one to organize the taking of the little toddler. Everyone began to see Victor in a new light.

Source: celebdirtylaundry.com

8. Character Comes Back To Life – Days Of Our Lives

Kate Roberts sure was part of a lot of scandalous activity in Salem this year; however, this one may take the cake. Upset that she figured out her boyfriend Deimos was falling for Nicole, Kate first took a video (from her phone) of Nicole and Deimos having a lover’s spat. She then confronted Deimos on the little fling he was having with Nicole, pushed him and the handsome Greek ended up falling into a river. Kate thought he was dead, and thinking on her feet, she quickly framed Nicole for his murder. However, the plot thickened when it turned out that Deimos was not dead … to Nicole’s surprise and Kate’s horror.

NBC

7. Nelle Tricks Sonny – General Hospital

This 2016 scandal is probably only the tip of the iceberg for what Nelle has in store for the Corinthos family, but it garners a spot on our list. Sweet Nelle rolled into Port Charles in 2016 as the mysterious kidney donor to Josslyn Jax many years ago. Everything about Nelle wreaks of something suspicious, but the only ones who don’t trust her are Bobbie and Jax (who seems suspicious himself when it comes to this entire situation). Alas, Nelle has something up her sleeve, even though GH audiences are not quite sure what that is yet. Just recently, she took the opportunity to drug Sonny and tricked him into thinking they slept together. Scandalous on so many levels!

Source: tvsourcemagazine.com

6. Noah Hits Billy – The Young and the Restless

Who would’ve have thought that clean-cut, by-the-book Noah Newman would have hit Billy Abbott (causing him life-threatening injuries) with a car, only to try and hide it all from the police? Well, this is exactly what happened on the Y&R in early in 2016. After realizing he accidentally hit a beaten-up Billy (who was lying near a car), Noah chose not to go to the authorities and fess up, thanks to a little encouraging from his girlfriend Marissa and good old Uncle Adam. Alas, the truth always comes out, and a huge scandal hit Genoa City when the hit-and-run accident was revealed.

Sean Smith/JPI

5. Paternity (And Maternity) Issues – Days Of Our Lives

It seemed like a pretty cut-and-dry paternity cover up when a pregnant Chloe asked Philip to ‘pretend’ to be her baby’s father to protect the child from his/her bio dad, the evil Deimos Kiriakis. But nothing is ever cut and dry when it comes to soaps. When the untampered paternity test results revealed that Deimos was in fact not the father of Chloe’s baby, Philip abandoned his friend and felt duped. Turns out that Chloe has been a surrogate for Nicole and Daniel’s baby all along, keeping this information from Nicole as she suddenly had gotten so close to Deimos. As the storyline progressed, she shared this tidbit of information with Philip. Scandalous repercussions of this secret are sure to follow come 2017.

4. Audience Find Out Who Charlotte Really Is – General Hospital

Speaking of paternity and maternity issues, Charlotte is a sweet little girl who has stolen the hearts of many GH residents and fans, but she’s also been a child wrapped in mystery. When her mother Claudette brought her to Port Charles, fans were under the assumption it was to nab Nathan West away from his finance Maxie. When it turned out that Nathan was not the child’s father, the storyline seemed to indicate that single dad Griffin Munro would pick up the pieces as pseudo-grandmother Anna helped bond with Duke’s (supposed) granddaughter. In a crazy twist of events, it turns out the child is actually a Cassadine, with Valentin as the father and Lulu (of all people) as her mother. While all the facts aren’t straight, it seems Helena has once again placed her hand over the Spencer family as she tries to ruin their happiness.

Daytime99 / YouTube

3. It Was An Abbott Affair – The Young and the Restless

Affairs happen on a daily basis in the land of Genoa City, but one that was quite scandalous this year was the Billy and Phyllis Abbott affair. What started out as an innocent bond between a brother and sister-in-law, turned into a heated and steamy love affair. The sad part is, it wasn’t even a one-time deal and once these two got a taste, they simply could not keep their hands off each other. They spent a good part of 2016 trying to hide their relationship from Jack, but then they got sloppy when it came to the cover up and the entire little town found out about their indiscretion. In fact, as 2016 winds down Jack, Phyllis, and Billy are still reeling from the aftermath of this scandalous affair.

2. Paul Hornsby Is The Serial Killer – General Hospital

Paul Hornsby has always been a shady character … but a serial killer? That was the case this year when Port Charles was rocked by a who dunnit murder mystery. Staff and patients were dying everywhere and the hospital even had to shut its doors for a while to clean up the mess and scandal that the GH serial killer brought. Good news is, despite losing fan favorite Sabrina Santiago, Paul was eventually nabbed before he could kill Tracy Quartermaine. In an odd twist of events, the motive behind the killings ended up being revenge for his daughter Susan, who currently does not speak and is locked in a mental ward. Makes sense, right? Well, not really, but do soap opera storylines always have to make sense?

Howard Wise/JPI

1. The Truth About Baby Sully – The Young and the Restless

This is the storyline that seems never-ending. Y&R fans were privy to information around Baby Christian and what really happened to him all along, watching Y&R characters scramble. Thanks to Dr. Anderson, a baby switch occurred in 2015 where the infant was handed to Sharon and Dylan to raise. This Y&R plot dominated 2016, where piece by piece, people began to find out that Sully was in fact Christian. First it was Sharon and Sage, with Sage dying and Sharon then hiding the secret. Mariah was clued in and kept her mom’s secret, but all heck broke loose when Patty Williams entered the storyline, threatening to let everyone know who Sully was. It was then revealed to Nick and Dylan – and now everyone’s world has come crumbling down. The sad part is, there is still so much more to the story, moreover Christian’s real bio dad (being Adam), plus the fact the Chelsea and Victor know the truth. There is sure to be more big scandals around Christian come 2017.

Source: soaps.sheknows.com