'Young and the Restless' Star Melissa Ordway Was 'Taken Off Contract'

Melissa Ordway

The Young and the Restless star Melissa Ordway says that the daytime soap has taken her “off contract.”

Ordway, 41, has played Abby Newman on the long-running CBS series since 2013. She revealed to her fans via Instagram Stories on Wednesday, November 13, that she got a shorter haircut after receiving some disappointing professional news.

“Honestly, it’s been an interesting couple of months,” Ordway announced. “The show decided to take me off contract so I decided to change my look up a bit for auditions.”

She added: “Definitely not something I wanted but I love and respect my YR family and appreciate any time they ask me back.”

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In a subsequent Story, Ordway explained that she’s “still playing Abby” but “not guaranteed episodes and can work on other projects. I’m still a part of the YR family and pray they continue to let Abby be a part of all the things in Genoa City. Trust me, I hope I’m still there all the time!”

She noted, “I think they’re just focusing on other characters and storylines. But I worked today and lots of fun stuff coming up!”

Melissa Ordway’s Instagram Story on November 13.

Us Weekly reached out to a Young and the Restless rep for comment. 

According to Soap Opera Digest, Ordway’s longtime character had married Devon Winters (Bryton James) during the show’s 13,000th episode that aired Wednesday. In 2022, Ordway earned an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress for playing Abby. 

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Pre-Y&R, Ordway appeared in a recurring role on TV’s 90210 reboot and was part of the ensemble cast of Nick at Nite’s Hollywood Heights. That show’s producer, Jill Farren Phelps, later joined the production team of Y&R and recruited Ordway to the show. 

“I was so excited because I always wanted to be on a soap, so it was a dream come true,” Ordway told Soap Opera Digest last year. “My mom had told me for years, ‘You need to do a soap opera,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, who do I call? How do I get to do one?’ Hollywood Heights was a nice introduction but I wanted to be on one of the big soaps. So when Jill offered the role to me, I was over the moon about it. I had just done six episodes of 90210, and I was more thrilled about Y&R.”

The Young and the Restless airs weekdays at 12:30 p.m. Eastern.