The Young and the Restless spoilers document that Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) has a noticeable problem.

Anyone in Genoa City, Wisconsin, or observers on the other side of the screen can see the difference in his face when he’s with Claire Newman (Hayley Erin) or Audra Charles (Zuleyka Silver).

Claire is the sweetest of the sweet. She’s the new woman in his life who represents a form of Summer Newman (Allison Lanier) redux.

Audra is her own entity. She’s incomparable to any other woman Kyle has known. That could be a reason why she rubs him the wrong way so hard. Then again, maybe she’s simply the destructive force he recognizes her as being.

Is Claire Newman The New Summer Newman?

With Lanier’s character written out of the script, Claire took center stage in Kyle’s life. Many scenes included reaction shots of Summer recognizing that her returned-from-the-dead cousin caught Kyle’s eye.

Devoted fans likely wondered if a triangle would form. But the Summer character was eventually shelved instead of that part being taken.

She’s said to be working in Europe indefinitely. That also allowed Harrison to be written away, with occasional drop-ins likely ahead.

Summer was the first great love of Kyle’s life. Her role as Harrison’s stepmother means they will remain tied together.

While Claire didn’t have Summer’s actual blessing, there were no ties to her blocking what became a relationship with Claire.

So, Claire is different than Summer. But she’s part of a legacy family and is someone whose connections and backstory set her far apart from Audra.

Audra Charles Isn’t Incomparable To Anyone

Eden Baldwin (last played by Jessica Heap) last appeared in 2013. She was Michael Baldwin’s (Christian Le Blanc) paternal sister through River Baldwin (Michael Gross). That was Kyle’s first relationship, long before Mealor embodied the role.

Lola Rosales (Sasha Calle) became the second great love of Kyle’s life during one of the periods when he and Summer were split.

Calle’s character was introduced as part of an entire family in GC. Sadly, they were all written away, with Lola leaving in 2021.

Audra isn’t like Tara Locke (Elizabeth Leiner), whose purpose was to introduce Harrison Locke (Redding Munsell), now Harrison Abbott, and Ashland Locke (last played by daytime legend Robert Newman) into the show.

Tara and Kyle had a brief connection while Mealor’s character was off-screen in New York, and that event was later injected into the plot, which allowed Kyle to know he had a son.

Kyle Abbott Isn’t In Control

Kyle finds himself in an untenable position. He sincerely loves Claire. He’s also disgusted and enraged by the influence Audra maintains in his life.

There’s no denying that he and Audra were physically attracted to each other and were involved in a transactional connection in the recent past. Kyle didn’t want it to go further. Audra did, but buried her true intentions.

As Kyle has come to see, Audra’s repressed desire for him has proved destructive. She doesn’t openly deny wanting him.

He responds by saying that she’ll always be alone. But will Kyle give in to Audra if he becomes forcibly single because Claire chooses Holden Novak (Nathan Owens) in the near future?