The Matt Scene In The Young And The Restless That Went Too Far

Matt Clark (now Rick Hearst) slipped back into town in 2000 after getting plastic surgery and changing his name after tormentingNick and his wife Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) in the '90s (see below). Now working under the name of Carter Mills, he took a job at Crimson Lights, Sharon and Nick's coffeehouse. Using his position at the shop to get closer to Sharon, he secretly planned to take his enemies down for good. 

First, Matt teamed up with Larry Warton (David Fralick) to frame Nick for selling ecstasy out of the coffeehouse, charges which quickly escalated to a murder rap when a teen died after taking the drugs. While Nick was briefly incarcerated for those charges, Matt took up with married Tricia Dennison (Sabryn Genet) and tried to rape Sharon again (see below), tricking her into meeting him in a remote cabin. Interrupted by Nick during the latter encounter, Matt used Tricia as his getaway ride. But Tricia had deadly plans for them both and drove her car off the side of the cliff in an act of attempted murder-suicide. Tricia survived, but Matt was mortally wounded. 

Lying in the hospital on life support, Matt used the last of his energy to pull out his own breathing tube in front of his rival in an effort to frame Nick for the crime. Nick was subsequently charged with murder but was eventually exonerated when Warton came forward. Fans often reference the shocking incident when talking about Sharon and Nick's tortured love story. CBS spotlighted Matt's suicide as a memorable moment in 2013, referring to the character's presence as "emotionally scarring." But that wasn't the first time Matt tried to ruin Nick and Sharon's lives.