Y & R: Mysterious Mary Jane's Identity Unmasked
A Recap of all the Clues Leading up to the Big Reveal
Jun 25, 2009
Ever since she debuted on CBS’ The Young and the Restless in February, the character of Mary Jane Benson has been a mystery to viewers. It was clear from the start that she had a past with Jack, although her true identity was unknown. Victor Newman paid for her plastic surgery, and gave her the identity of Mary Jane Benson, complete with a new social security number, bank account, and false job qualifications.
Immediately, fans went wild with theories of who this mystery woman could be. But as the mystery has unraveled, clues kept pointing to one person: Patty Williams, Jack’s first wife and the sister of Paul Williams. It has recently been reported that Mary Jane Benson is indeed Patty Williams. Here’s a look back at all the clues that led up to this big reveal. Find out how many you caught on to.
1: Victor’s first meeting with Mary Jane
Mary Jane gave perhaps one of the biggest clues to her identity when she revealed to Victor that she “had never been on a private jet before.” This is the first indication that MJ came from a working-class family like the Williams family, rather than from a wealthy background.
2: Mary Jane’s name
Clever fans may have caught on to the fact that Patty Williams’ mother is named Mary and she has an aunt named Jane. It is unknown if this was the source of inspiration behind the name Mary Jane, but nonetheless, it was another piece of evidence pointing to MJ being Patty.
3: Mary Jane comments on Jack’s ex-wives
When MJ joined Jack and his ex-wife Phyllis at a business meeting, she jokingly (and ironically) asked Jack, “Do you have this good a relationship with all your ex-wives?” This was a subtle hint that MJ was indeed one of Jack’s ex-wives. Since three of Jack’s ex-wives (Nikki, Phyllis, and Sharon) were all still in Genoa City, they clearly could not be Mary Jane. Therefore, Patty was the only remaining choice.
4: Mary Jane’s past marriage
One day, MJ confided in Phyllis that “people have high expectations when they get married, and then they discover their prince is a toad. And then you end up doing things you might regret.” Indeed, Jack and Patty’s marriage did not end well at all. Jack married Patty so that his father would think he had grown up and make him President of Jabot Cosmetics. When she heard him admitting this, Patty planned to shoot herself in front of Jack. Jack realized his cruelty, and told her to shoot him instead. Jack survived, decided not to press charges, and he and Patty divorced. She left town.
5: Mary Jane avoids Paul and Todd
MJ ran into Paul Williams at a wedding. He introduced himself, and immediately felt that he had met her before. MJ denied any connection and quickly left.
Later, Paul invited MJ to dinner, where he quizzed her on her past. She slipped up when she knew Paul’s ex-wife was from New York and Paul hadn’t mentioned this. When he pressed the issue, she darted out of the restaurant.
Next, MJ went to the coffee house and saw Paul there with his brother, Todd. Todd had come to town unexpectedly, and MJ was taken by surprise. She left the coffee house before they could spot her.
This suggested that MJ once had close relationships with both Paul and Todd. Since Patty is their sister, it makes sense that she wanted to avoid them so she didn’t blow her cover.
6: Mary Jane’s enemy book
MJ planned to add a picture of Paul to her ‘book of enemies,’ but she said she couldn’t do it and she “didn’t want to be enemies with [Paul].” This was yet another indication that Paul and MJ were once close with one another. She couldn’t bear to think of her brother as an enemy.
7: Mary Jane’s vision
MJ imagined what would happen if Paul ever found out who she really was. In one scenario, he was overjoyed that she was back in his life, and in the other, he scolded her for keeping her identity a secret from him. Paul threatened to expose her, and she told him to stop ordering her around, saying “I always hated it when you did that!” This showed that Paul was once in a position of authority over her. This makes sense since Paul is Patty’s older brother.
8: Jack confides in Phyllis about his first marriage
When Phyllis told Jack that she thought MJ was a good fit for him, Jack said he didn’t want to lead her on, and that when he did that to another woman, she shot him three times. He claimed that driving “a perfectly innocent woman to attempted murder” was the biggest mistake he ever made. Jack was of course talking about Patty here, and referring to the same incident that MJ previously hinted about to Phyllis.
9: Mary Jane on children
When MJ met Phyllis’s daughter for the first time, Phyllis asked her if she had any children. MJ said that she had no children, but had always wanted them. She said that she was glad that she didn’t have any when she split up with her husband, because she didn’t want to raise them alone.
While married to Jack, Patty became pregnant with Jack’s child. But when she found out Jack had been having an affair with model Diane Jenkins, she tripped and miscarried the baby. Her marriage to Jack ended soon after and Patty left town.
What are your thoughts on Mary Jane Benson being Patty Williams? Was it a surprise? Or was it too predictable? And what’s next for Mary Jane? Stay tuned for more as this story continues to develop.
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