Who is Ian Ward on Young and the Restless?

In a shocking turn of events, Ian Ward is back in Genoa City and shaking things up on The Young and the Restless.

On today’s episode, Y&R viewers learned that Jordan (Colleen Zenk) was behind the texts from Sharon (Sharon Case) to Phyllis (Michelle Stafford), leading to the car crash.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, we learned that crazy Aunt Jordan has teamed up with evil Ian Ward (Ray Wise).

Ian and Jordan wreaking havoc on Genoa City was so not on our bingo card.

However, here we are, and it’s a safe bet these two lunatics really killed Heather (Vail Bloom), not Sharon.

It’s been a while since Ian has been on The Young and the Restless, so here’s a refresher on the bad man.

Who is Ian Ward on Young and the Restless?

Long-time Y&R viewers know that Ian’s reign of terror dates back to the 1980s when Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) joined his New World Commune.

Nikki became his target as Ian was desperate for an heir. When Nikki got pregnant, she gave the baby up for adoption before leaving the cult.

We met the villain in 2014 after Nikki found her long-lost son Dylan (Steve Burton). Ian posed as a life coach to Summer (Hunter King) to use her to blackmail Nikki.

The villain went to great lengths to torment Nikki for cash, especially after learning that Paul (Doug Davidson) was also a New World member and Dylan’s birth father. That tidbit came about when Paul was shot.

Ian sued Nikki for emotional distress, claiming she lied to him even though he knew all along because he couldn’t have kids. The case was thrown out after Nikki read from a diary revealing all the horrible things he did to her in the commune, including raping her.

It’s because of Ian that Mariah (Camryn Grimes) was brought to town. Ian knew she was Cassie’s (Camryn Grimes) twin sister since he stole her at birth.

Ian used Mariah to help terrorize Sharon simply with her existence. Thankfully, Nick (Joshua Morrow) learned the truth, but not until Ian had drugged Mariah and married her.

When Ian disappeared, Dylan was charged with his murder. Nikki and Paul knew Dylan was being set up, so they lured Ian out of hiding and arrested him.

Ian Ward returns to Genoa City on Y&R

In true soap fashion, Ian’s stint in prison didn’t last long because he escaped with a new trick up his sleeve. Ian returned to Genoa City with Gabriel Bingham (Justin Hartley) to take down Victor (Eric Braeden) and Newman Enterprises.

The villain befriended Phyllis (then Gina Tognoni) to help him get revenge on Nikki and Victor, but Summer ruined that by exposing his real identity. Learning the truth sent Victor and Nikki to prison, only to find Ian in his cell, claiming he’d been there the whole time.

Ian wasn’t done, though, because he slipped out of prison again. This time, he set fire to Newman Enterprises Tower on Halloween.

Adam and Ian fought, with the latter being left for dead in the rubble, only to be rescued by Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk). Ian wasn’t done yet. He tried to destroy Newman Enterprises with the Paragon computer virus but was stopped by Victor and Phyllis.

When Victor was found guilty of killing Constance Bingham (Sally Kellerman), Adam turned to Ian for help. Instead of helping Ian escape per his promise, Adam double-crossed him in court.

Realizing he had been duped, Ian took Nikki hostage, taking her to a cabin where Phyllis was staying. Holding the two women captive, Ian struck a deal with Victor to release them for money.

Unfortunately for Ian, authorities were alerted when Victor made the money transfer, and Ian was again caught. That was in 2016, and Ian has supposedly been in prison since then.

Be sure to tune in to find out where Ian has really been and how he ended up working with Jordan.

The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS.