Is Matt Clark (Roger Howarth) Leaving The Young and the Restless?

NO EXIT HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED FOR ROGER HOWARTH, AND MATT CLARK IS BACK IN GENOA CITY WATCHING PHYLLIS SUMMERS

TL;DR: No exit has been announced for Roger Howarth. Matt Clark left Genoa City with Patty Williams on September 28, but after Patty grabbed the wheel he made his way back, and now he is hiding in the club Phyllis just bought.

The Short Answer: No Exit Has Been Announced

Is Matt Clark leaving The Young and the Restless? Not as of Wednesday, October 7, 2026. CBS, the show and Roger Howarth have announced no exit. The character did leave Genoa City on screen. He just didn’t stay gone.

He drove out of town with Patty Williams on Monday, September 28. A week later Patty grabbed the wheel, and on Wednesday a battered Matt slipped into the Genoa City Athletic Club just as Phyllis Summers announced she owns it. Nobody saw him come in. What comes next is in our two-week Young and the Restless spoilers.

As we reported in Wednesday’s Canadian day-ahead, when Matt wanted a front-row seat, he ducked behind the staircase and watched Phyllis show off the club to Nick Newman and Sharon Newman, the two people with the most reason to want him gone.

Do you want Matt to stay in Genoa City, or should he have kept driving? Tell our editor at amber@soapoperamagazine.com.

Matt Has Said Goodbye All Year and Keeps Coming Back

Fans have heard this goodbye before. Matt went off screen in January after Victor Newman‘s men took him to the ranch. When Matt returned in April, the actor teased that “there’s a shift coming up in the story that’s been a lot of fun.” In July, Matt announced he was leaving town, and Phyllis told him, “I’m not letting you go.” He stayed.

Then came September. On September 18, Matt said his goodbyes at Crimson Lights and told Phyllis he was too much like Patty to stay, then cried alone. On September 25 he spent the night with Phyllis at the motel, and she woke up to find him gone. On September 28, Victor’s man Eddie caught him heading out of town, and Nick let him go with a warning that it would end very badly if he ever came back.

Is Roger Howarth leaving The Young and the Restless?

No exit has been announced. Roger Howarth is a 2026 Daytime Emmy nominee as supporting actor for playing Matt Clark, and the Daytime Emmys are Friday, October 30. Michelle Stafford is nominated too, as lead actress for Phyllis.

Here is the tell. When executive producer Sally McDonald previewed the fall, she said Phyllis would score a win and then have to decide whether she wants Matt in her life. That win just aired: Phyllis closed on the Athletic Club this week and announced it Wednesday. Matt walked in at that exact moment. Shows do not set up a choice about a man they are writing out.

Some casting chatter online claims Howarth exits in October and may come back later. It names no source, and nothing from CBS or Howarth backs it up.

The Voice in the Mirror Wants Him Gone

Wednesday’s episode put the exit question on screen. Back at the Riverbank Motel, broke and bloodied, Matt wonders whether to warn everyone that Patty is loose. Then a darker voice takes over, telling him kindness made him weak and that he needs to get out of there. Matt says he is not going anywhere. He insists he is not a bad guy, that he was abused and neglected and started hitting back, and that he needs to heal.

“I want to be the guy that Phyllis thinks I am,” he says. The voice shouts back that he is who he will always be. He breaks down, then grabs his key and heads straight for the club where Phyllis is celebrating her big win. A man planning to leave town does not do that.

Patty Is Loose and Nick Already Warned Him

The danger is what he drove away from. On October 5, Matt told Patty she was wanted for attempted murder, insisted he and Phyllis were “done” and begged her to turn herself in. Patty said she would rather die than be locked up again and grabbed the wheel. The car hit a tree, and when Matt came to, he climbed out of the wreck alone.

Fans feared that head injury would bring back the old villain. Wednesday showed a man fighting that version of himself instead. Matt Clark now has a choice nobody in town knows he is making: warn them about Patty and face Nick’s promise, or keep hiding.

My gut tells me Matt Clark is not going anywhere until Phyllis makes her choice. Spoiler chatter has Patty circling Billy and Sally’s wedding, and don’t be surprised if Matt is the one who has to step out of the shadows to stop her. If I know these writers, that is how a man nobody wants back earns a reason to stay.

Should Phyllis welcome Matt back or tell him to keep driving? Leave your verdict in the comments.

Find out what Matt does next in the full two-week Young and the Restless preview.

Phyllis Summers Holds the Key to Whether Matt Clark Stays

Our take: nothing on screen or off says Roger Howarth is on his way out. Every exit this year has been a door the writers left open, and this time they parked Matt a few steps from the woman who has to decide about him.

Team Phyllis says she should take him back. Team Sharon says he should have kept driving. Pick your side on our Facebook page.