Faith Newman is a fictional character in the popular American television daytime series “The Young and the Restless.” Her mere presence inside her mother’s tummy had stirred some major drama in the series, including her being abducted as a baby up to the time she grew up as a teen, and struggled with cyberbullying, which led to an alcohol problem. She was a sweet girl who had the misfortune of being associated with the wrong people, who impaired her judgment. She eventually matured, owned up to her mistakes, and tried to turn her life around with the help of her parents and a love interest. The fans were confused about the recast of the character in 2021, initially thinking Faith was to be written out because the original actor quit the show.
“The Young & the Restless”
In the history of the entire daytime TV series, “The Young and the Restless” (“Y&R”) dominated the TV ratings, and remained on top for 32 years, one of the flagship series of the CBS network since its premiere in March 1973. The soap opera was created by William J. Bell, who was the head writer of NBC’s “Days of Our Lives,” and his wife, Lee Phillip Bell, who was a former talk show host. It was originally entitled “The Innocent Years,” but before it was marketed as such, the creators changed their minds, because they realized that in the early 1970s, the youth in America had already lost much of their innocence.
The premise of the series
Initially, the drama series focused on two families – the Brooks and the Fosters – who lived in the fictionalized Genoa, a small city in Wisconsin. However, it evolved when the narrative changed its focus to a rivalry between Katherine Chancellor and Jill Foster. Katherine was married to Phillip Chancellor II for 12 years, but the marriage was nearing its end mostly due to Katherine’s alcohol addiction. At that time, Katherine and Jill were friends, as the former was helping the latter with her numerous problems, and they became each other’s confidants. However, things had become ugly when the manipulative Jill had an affair with Phillip. The Chancellors divorced when Phillip learned Jill was pregnant; he married Jill on his deathbed, and subsequently the two women fought for his estate, and custody of Phillip’s son. Around that story, new families were introduced including the Abbotts-Williams, Newmans, Barbers-Winters, and Baldwin-Fishers,
Actors who played Faith Newman
Faith first appeared in the series as a baby in 2009, and was portrayed by the Lutsky twins. Due to the many changes in the narrative of her story, her birthdate changed from 2009 to 2006, and then it was permanently changed to 30 September 2004. In 2007, “Y&R” fans were quite confused, and many theories were talked about when it was rumored that the character of Faith in that season would be presented not only with a new face, but also with a new age. Most of the young characters in long-running daytime series had rapidly aged to fit the kind of storyline that the writers wanted the characters to adapt. Here are the three actors who played Faith Newman over the years:
Alyvia Alyn Lind (2011 – 2021 except in 2013 – 2014)
When Faith appeared again in the storyline as a three-year-old girl, Alyvia Alyn Lind was tapped for the role. She was a child actress, and the daughter of veteran actress Barbara Alyn Lind. Since Faith wasn’t a lead character in the daytime series, over the years Alyvia would often take on other TV projects on the side, such as “Revenge,” “See Dad Run,” “NCIS,” and “Transparent.” However, in 2013, she never thought that a conflict of filming schedule would lead her to be replaced in “Y&R”, albeit temporarily. After a year of doing other things, she returned to the “Y&R” set in May 2014 to resume her portrayal of the role. There was a time when she took longer breaks from the series, but the producers didn’t have to hire a temporary replacement, because the writers sent her away to a boarding school to explain her absence. However, in March 2021, she formally said goodbye to the character permanently, as she took up a lead role in another TV series, “Chucky.”
Mckenna Grace (2013 -2014)
While the role of Faith wasn’t regarded as a main one in the series, her presence was needed for the continuity of some of the narratives. When the original actress couldn’t play the role, the producers were in a dilemma, as they needed someone to fill in as quickly as possible, and they found McKenna Grace. Initially, some of them thought McKenna would have a difficult time acclimatising into the role, but the actress who played Faith’s mother in the series, Sharon Case, shared that the new actress was confident, and wasn’t nervous at all.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg4kjByvlyz/
Reylynn Caster (2021 – present)
The producers were in a conundrum when Alyvia quit the series in 2021. The role of Faith had become one of the biggest storylines “Y&R” had at that time, and they needed someone who could step into the role immediately and smoothly. They hired Reylynn Caster for the role, but some fans were confused because she started playing Faith Newman just a few days after Alyvia left. Reylynn said that she had to force herself to adjust quickly to the story, and work on the chemistry with her co-actors; it helped that she knew a lot about soap operas before she joined the series. She also said, ‘When I found out that I was testing for the role, I did quite a bit of research, and watched clips of Faith on YouTube, just so I could really get her right.’
— Reylynn Caster (@ReylynnCaster) May 13, 2022
Highlights of Faith’s journey in “Y&R”
Faith Newman’s parents, Nicholas and Sharon Newman, were one of the “super couples” of “Y&R.” She had many siblings, but from both her parents she only had an older brother named Noah. Through her mother, she had two older sisters Mariah Copeland and Cassie Newman – the latter died in a vehicular accident in 2005. With her father, she had an older sister, Summer, and a younger brother, Christian.
The secrets surrounding her birth and identity
Her parents were already divorced and were married to other people when she was conceived. She was a result of an affair, and her mother initially claimed that her biological father, Jack Abbott, was her husband at that time. Her mother was institutionalized in a mental hospital when Faith was born, and to make matters worse, her uncle, Adam Newman, abducted her and passed her off as Ashley Abbot’s new baby. Apparently, Adam caused his stepmother’s miscarriage accidentally, and before anybody discovered it, he replaced the dead infant with Faith. Both Faith’s parents thought that she’d died, and the truth was only revealed later on, when Sharon already developed a relationship with Adam. When Faith was about six months old, someone discovered that Adam had blackmailed the doctor who delivered Faith, and left a note about the baby before he died.
Nick obtained full custody of Faith
Due to the convoluted relationship between Sharon and Adam, Nick filed for sole custody of Faith. Sharon was declared to be unfit to take care of Faith, because she continued seeing Adam, despite the reality that he was the one who kidnapped her daughter and lied to everyone. However, the judge didn’t rule in his favor during the custody hearing. Sharon, in the end, had to give Faith up to Nick, because she was charged with the murder of Skye Lockhart.
Rejected her parents and lived with her grandparents
Faith was confused and disgusted with the conflict between her parents. There was a time when Nick and Sharon became engaged again, but it didn’t last due to Sharon’s mental issues. Apparently, Sharon did things that Nick wasn’t able to forgive, such as tampering with the DNA of one of their children, Summer, so she could pass her off as another man’s daughter. They had custody battles one after the other, and Faith couldn’t take it anymore. When she was given a choice to be with her parents again, due to the shared custody arrangement, she said no to both of them, and went to live with her grandparents.
https://www.facebook.com/youngandrestlessobsessed/posts/pfbid02uoa97J45D5dWyZXLDvsq7dBuwPc8nS6FQoZJE3sHQQabPfTkDQSmmMcY42MUmuYAl
Attended boarding school
Each year, Faith grew disenchanted with how people around her misbehaved, including having to witness her aunt kiss her mom’s boyfriend. She was also disappointed with her father’s new relationship, so she gladly attended a boarding school to be away from all of it. She was in a peaceful phase until the story about her abduction by Adam was published online and offline. It didn’t help that people also questioned her mom’s relationship with Adam. The mean girls in the boarding school were just too fascinated with her birth secret story, and Faith suffered cyberbullying.
Developed an alcohol problem and was expelled
“Y&R” fans were divided on the character of Faith Newman at this point; some of them thought that she kept on acting out when things didn’t go her way, but other fans believed it was the result of coming from a dysfunctional family. Faith’s happy world was shattered during school vacation, when she learned that her mother had cancer. Upon returning to school, she started to misbehave, befriended by a girl named Jordan, who turned out to be a bad influence on her. Her new friend encouraged her to drink alcohol and even pressured her to steal Vodka. An alcohol bottle was found by school officers inside her locker, and though Faith claimed that she was set up, no one believed her, so she was expelled. She was later on exonerated when it was proven that someone framed her.
Faith was catfished by her friend
When Faith developed an alcohol problem, her mother immediately confirmed who instigated her daughter to drink, and warned Jordan to leave her daughter alone. Faith’s family believed that she needed to unfriend Jordan, but at that time, Faith felt that Jordan was the only friend she had from school; even if she knew her friend’s flaws, she initially refused to follow their advice. Her parents were skeptical about her actions and decisions – it didn’t help that Faith heard them talking about her. She felt so alone, and the Internet became her haven, but she disregarded the safeguards on interacting with anonymous people online, and was catfished by a schoolmate. It began when she received messages from someone who pretended to be an admirer named Tommy; imagine her shock and disappointment when she found out that Jordan was the one who orchestrated it. Jordan told her that she did it because she’d become quite boring and whiny. Her former friend also found it disappointing that Faith had let her parents dictate to her.
Had an accident and turned a new leaf
Due to Jordan’s betrayal, Faith felt like a legit screw-up, and everything spiraled down from there. A distraught and intoxicated Faith drove her grandpa’s truck and had a vehicular accident; Adam witnessed the whole thing, and came in time to save her. She survived the crash but had sustained broken ribs, head trauma, and damage to her kidneys; with the help of her family, she bravely faced her inner demons. Jordan apologized to her, but Faith didn’t accept her excuses and told her that she never wanted to see her again. She also went to court to face her misdemeanors, such as driving under the influence and underage drinking. The judge sentenced her do community service, check into a rehab facility, and pay a fine.
Returned to school and had a new friend
Faith knew that she would attract the attention of gossipmongers and bullies in her school, but felt that she needed to get past it. She also now believed that many people loved her, and she could count on her family when things went bad. When she arrived, a boy named Wayne confronted her, and blamed her for Jordan’s expulsion, even telling her that she was a loser, but another boy named Moses Winters came to her rescue. Moses told Wayne that he was the loser for confronting a girl who just recently came out of the ICU. Moses was the new friend she met at the hospital when she was recovering from the accident, the son of Neil Winters and Sofia Dupree, and the adopted younger brother of Devon Hamilton, who was a friend of her parents.
— Devon Hamilton (@DevonHamilton20) February 21, 2017
Developed an infection and needed a kidney transplant
When everything seemed great for Faith, she suddenly collapsed, and doctors found that she suffered from Acute Interstitial Nephritis or AIN. It was an infection that damaged her kidney, and there were only two ways to treat it: she had to undergo dialysis for the rest of her life or have a kidney transplant. The waitlist for acquiring a kidney was 10 years, and it could take longer than that because Faith had a rare blood type. It was her grandfather Victor Newman who revealed that Faith and Adam shared the same rare blood type in the family. To her parents’ dismay and Faith’s as well, Adam was the only compatible match, after searching for many potential donors in the family. While they were extremely wary of Adam, they didn’t have any choice but to accept it. The surgery was successful and she survived this life-threatening illness.
Faith and Moses
Faith and Moses felt an attraction for each other during their initial meeting. Moses was studying to be a doctor, and was at the hospital to observe Dr. Nate Hastings do his hospital rounds. Faith, on the other hand, told her parents that she was in the “no friendship zone” phase because of what she had been through. However, when Moses invited her for a coffee, she immediately said yes, but instead of going out with him somewhere else, she invited him to the Crimson Lights, the coffeehouse owned by her parents. When Moses arrived, he was given the third degree by Nick, and when the latter was satisfied by the younger man’s answers, he left the two alone. Moses then asked Faith if they could go out more, but she told him that she would be quite busy because of the court orders that she needed to follow. She was honest enough to share all that had happened to her, and said that she would understand if he wanted to stay away from her. Moses then assured her that he wasn’t leaving her, because he understood her situation, sharing that his father too went to Alcoholics Anonymous.
Moses and Faith are so cute! 😍 #YR pic.twitter.com/5LOFQ0SAet
— Young and Restless (@YandR_CBS) August 13, 2021
So many unfortunate things happened in the life of Faith Newman, though for now, she has been living a more peaceful and stable life. Her loved ones were quite ecstatic that she was able to turn her life around, despite being in a chaotic family. Her sister, Mariah, once said that Faith inspired her to be more hopeful and braver in dealing with whatever trials she might encounter.
In the world of soap operas, especially “Y&R,” no one can predict what can happen to each of the characters. While Faith must be having a grand time at the moment, with Moses by her side, one could expect the writers to create a storyline that would shake her peaceful universe with abductions, terminal illnesses, amnesia, and more birth secrets.
Leave a Comment