Why now: In the CBS episodes of October 5–7, 2026, Matt Clark survived a car crash and slipped back into Genoa City. The show’s preview for this week, as described by Soaps.com, has Detective Burrow telling Nick and Adam that prints in a wrecked car 100 miles south match Matt — and Matt letting himself into Sharon’s house. To understand why that is so alarming, here is the whole story in order.
1994–1996: the beginning
- 1994: Matt (then Eddie Cibrian) arrives as a high-school senior who dates Sharon Collins. She chooses Nick Newman. Matt rapes Sharon, who keeps it secret, and later exposes that she gave up a baby for adoption at 16.
- Before the wedding: Sharon tells Nick the truth. Nick goes to confront Matt and finds him shot. Matt lets Nick take the blame, and Nick is sentenced to 15 years.
- The truth comes out: Victor tracks down Amy Wilson, who admits she shot Matt after he assaulted her as well. Nick is cleared, and Matt leaves town in 1996.
2000–2001: “Carter Mills”
- 2000: Matt returns with a new face from plastic surgery (Russell Lawrence briefly, then Rick Hearst), calls himself Carter Mills and gets a job at Crimson Lights. He uses Tricia Dennison to frame Nick for drug dealing and goes after Sharon again; Victor stops him at a remote cabin.
- 2001: Badly injured when Tricia crashes her car, he pulls out his own breathing tube so that Nick will be blamed for his death. Nick is found not guilty. For 24 years, everyone believes Matt is dead.
2025: “Mitch Bacall”
- October 31, 2025: Los Angeles club owner Mitch Bacall (Roger Howarth), husband of Sienna, is revealed to be Matt. Sharon recognizes him while she and Nick look into their son Noah’s car accident.
- Soap Hub’s summary of what followed: Matt targeted Sharon, Nick and Noah, who had an affair with Sienna; he was arrested, released, and fled to Las Vegas.
2026: explosion, memory loss and a “new” Matt
- Late April: In Las Vegas he kidnaps Sharon and Noah and lures Nick and Adam to an abandoned gas station. Nick collapses from fentanyl Matt supplied, and Matt blows the building up. Everyone escapes. Sienna says she killed him.
- May 5–7: Matt is alive, with no memory, and resurfaces in Genoa City.
- September: Soap Hub reports he and Phyllis plan to speed up his redemption by putting Sharon in danger and then rescuing her. Matt backs out. On September 17 he tells Nick and Sharon goodbye at Crimson Lights and leaves with escaped Patty Williams, writing that it is to protect everyone else.
- October 5–7: Matt urges Patty to turn herself in; she grabs the wheel and the car hits a tree. He wakes up bloodied, Patty is gone, and he checks into a Genoa City motel, torn between warning people and giving in to his dark side.
What’s next
Soap Opera Digest’s photos for this week show Nick and Sharon discovering Matt right under their noses, asleep on Sharon’s couch. Soaps.com has openly wondered whether the blow to his head brings the old Matt back. Nothing confirms that yet.
Your turn: After 32 years, do you believe Matt has really changed — or should Sharon and Nick never trust him again?
Sources: Soap Opera Digest character history; TV Insider explainer; Soaps.com, October 31, 2025; Soap Hub, April 30, 2026; Soap Central recap, May 5; Soap Hub, September 10; Soap Central recap, September 14–18; Soap Central recap, October 5–9; Soaps.com preview; Soap Opera Digest first-look photos. Previews are subject to change by the network.