Eric Braeden attends the BritWeek And The Wallis Present "A Shakespeare Jubilee!" at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on April 28, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images)

Eric Braeden has portrayed Victor Newman on The Young and the Restless for almost four decades. But the latest occurrences make many fear that the end is near for the arrogant Newman patriarch. Victor recently emerged from a comatose state and it looks like he’s, once again, making us feel he might be building up to an exit on Y&R. So, is Eric Braeden leaving and will Victor Newman die? Here’s the latest from Genoa City on Victor Newman.

What Happened to Victor Newman?

In May 2019, Victor learns he has a terminal illness and decides to keep it a secret from the rest of the family. But Nikki finds out just as his condition is getting serious.

But all hope may not be lost for The Mustache. Even though treatments are failing, a bone marrow transplant is likely to save him.

Though the bone marrow transplant story is still developing, fans are speculating the likely donor will be Adam Newman. Either way, it’s going to be tense when the family finds out about Victor’s disease.

Don’t Miss What Happened to Phyllis on “The Young and the Restless”?

Is Eric Braeden Leaving Y&R?

Victor’s illness has led to panic about Eric Braeden’s future on the show. Some believe the storyline is leading to Eric’s eventual exit.

Braeden, who was born on April 3, 1941, and has been portraying The Mustache since 1980, might be ready to retire from the daytime circuit. There’s also a fear that the actor playing Victor might be battling ill health of some sort in real life. There are, however, no reports of an illness for Braeden.

And for a guy who’s very candid with his fans on social media, it’s highly unlikely that he’d keep an announcement about leaving Y&R a secret. And sure enough, he hasn’t.

In response to one fan worried that Victor is going to die, Braeden replied in a tweet that Victor is far from done.

Maybe he should’ve said “Spoiler Alert” before revealing Victor is not succumbing to his deadly illness. But we love the man for his candor.

Braeden has long since stated that when he retires, he dies—which isn’t happening anytime soon. (The Mustache is immortal, people. Don’t @ me.)

Not only has Braeden time and again assured us that he’s not going anywhere, he’s even staged comebacks and proven he’s the very backbone of Y&R. Let’s not forget those dark two-and-a-half months when contract negotiations went nowhere and Victor was written off the show in November 2009 before returning in January 2010.

Earlier this year, he even said that Y&R’s former head writer, Mal Young, was responsible for diminishing the longstanding actor’s screentime. Braeden and Y&R fans celebrated the end of Young’s much-criticized reign on Y&R and Victor’s return to his former glory.

Rest assured that Victor is here to stay for as long as he can.

Also Read: Why Michelle Stafford Reprised Her Role As Phyllis Summers On “Y&R”