Young & Restless is Dropping Clues That Tucker is Working With Diane

Young & Restless’s Abbott mansion is about to be littered with bridal magazines now that Ashley and Tucker have announced their plans to marry in addition to Jack and Diane’s impending nuptials. But what’s really going on here? From where we’re standing the clues have been dropping like anvils that two manipulative characters are playing the long game…

Tucker has been the picture of sincerity since his dramatic return to Genoa City aboard a helicopter that crashed Kyle and Summer’s vow renewal (not literally), except for that unfortunate glitch where he got caught having a mole (Audra) at Chancellor-Winters and Ashley found the Jabot financials in his desk drawer and confronted him about his under-handed tactics.

It’s been coming up roses for the smirking charmer since then, however, as he’s managed to make peace with Devon and worm his way, not only into Dominic’s music group, but also the Abbott mansion. It only took a hot minute until he made his way out of the guestroom and into Ashley’s suite, and was able to turn a fake engagement into a real one … and his “miraculous woman” believes it was all her idea.

Ashley’s growing feelings for her ex, and her vendetta against Diane, are distracting her from her usual ability to see what her ex-husband is cooking.

So, what is Tucker up to, and why do we think he has an accomplice?

Simply put, Tucker is after Jabot. He has been all along and has bided his time. He first eyed it as a “whale” to help shore up his fledgling McCall Unlimited, but his plans didn’t unfold as hoped. Audra getting busted at Chancellor-Winters exposed him just as he was making in-roads with Ashley and had managed to get her into his bed.

You may recall that someone else was trying to make moves at Jabot… at least until their plans blew up when they were framed for murder and landed in jail. Yup, Diane was trying to climb the ladder into Phyllis’ former position before the you-know-what hit the fan.

Now consider the foreshadowing that’s been laid on thick since Diane regained her freedom. Both Ashley and Nikki are wholly convinced that Diane is marrying Jack to secure a high-level position at Jabot… so there must be something to it, right?

Ashley is bent and determined to stop Diane from getting her hooks into the family company and is so laser-focused on sticking it to her brother’s fiancee, that her natural suspicion of Tucker is falling by the wayside. In fact, she’s so driven to find a way to stock-block Diane at Jabot that she may be playing right into her husband-to-be’s hands!

Normally, it would have raised a giant red flag when Tucker pushed Ashley to marry him ASAP because it would give him the maneuverability he needs to take over Jabot. It sure made us sit up and take notice.

Ashley relishes the idea that teaming with Tucker to take control of the company would give her the power to keep Diane on the outside, but she’s not seeing the pitfalls… or the big picture.

Viewers have wondered from the start if Tucker and his ex-lover, Diane, were working together and it’s becoming increasingly likely that they are, and that Jabot is in their crosshairs.

Diane’s objective from the moment she began reaching out via text was to get back into Jack’s life. Having an important position in the family business is something she has mentioned whenever the timing has been right. Jack is so head over heels in love that he’s going to give her whatever she wants at this point. We’d expect it will be a high-level position in the company.

That, of course, will fuel Ashley’s desire to marry Tucker so he can use the fortune Victor paid him for McCall to take over the company and oust Diane. However, if our hunch is correct, Tucker won’t oust Diane at all… because they planned this together in Los Angeles.

Tucker will take over the company with Ashley’s blessing and Diane will be sitting pretty in an executive position, having been installed there by Jack himself. The perfect con and manipulation by Team Tucker and Diane.

Of course, it’s possible that Tucker and Diane believe they can have their cake and eat it too, but we’re not sure Ashley and Jack will want to stay married to them once they find out they’ve been in cahoots all along. Cause that isn’t going to remain a secret.

Do you think Tucker and Diane are working together? Do you think their feelings for Ashley and Jack are real… or are they just playing the long game? Let us know in the comment section.

Take a look back at Tucker’s past in the gallery below.