‘The Young and the Restless’ Icon Melody Thomas Scott Celebrates Nikki and Victor's 40th Wedding Anniversary

40 years ago today, Victor (Eric Braeden) and Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) tied the knot on The Young and the Restless for the first time. With Nikki spiraling, Victor thinks an anniversary party is just what she and the Newman clan need, and maniacal Jordan agrees – but not for the same reasons!

As Jordan plots her next attack, Nikki's portrayer Melody Thomas Scott sits down with FIRST for Women to talk about the magic of "Niktor," falling in love in daytime and playing the victim.

Plus, in honor of Nikki and Victor's 40th wedding anniversary, we've collected some photos and video clips of the famed couple over the years, from exchanging their vows on April 13, 1984 to present day.

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Y&R icon talks finding love in daytime

Melody Thomas Scott wasn't looking to find the love of her life when she left The Waltons to play The Young and the Restless' Nikki Reed 45 years ago, but the daytime icon managed to find him – twice!

Off-screen, the actress, whose first film role was in Alfred Hitchcock's 1964 thriller Marnie, has built a life and a family with Edward J. Scott – her former The Young and Restless executive producer, who is now a supervising producer on sister soap, The Bold and the Beautiful. The couple celebrated 38 of marriage last October.

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Then, there's Scott's work husband, Eric Braeden, who plays the inimitable Victor Newman. While Victor and Nikki's onscreen romance has certainly taken many hits over the years, the super-couple's milestone anniversary proves they can survive anything – including the tests of times, temptation, divorce and even death!

"What a blessing," Scott marvels. "Eric is an incredible scene partner, and in the beginning, we had no idea what an astounding opportunity we had been given."

Y&R star Melody Thomas Scott Reflects on Nikki and Victor

Scott was first paired with Braeden back in 1981 in a My Fair Lady story that saw dapper businessman Victor take young, struggling stripper Nikki under his wing.

"Over the years, they have become an iconic couple in the fans' eyes because they started out as the most unlikely pairing you could ever imagine," Scott says. "And then against all odds, they fell deeply in love, and everyone was rooting for them."

After a few false starts and the birth of their daughter Victoria, the couple finally tied the knot in 1984...and 2002...and 2013.

"Invariably, things have gone south," Scott says. "They separate, they marry others and they get back together. It's become a long saga of push/pull that the viewers have become enamored with. They're very invested in Nikki and Victor. They feel that they know us or want to know us, and I'm so honored to be half of that."

Y&R star Melody Thomas Scott talks chemistry with Eric Braeden

While their chemistry seemed electric from the start, Scott reveals it took her and Braeden by surprise.

"Even back in the stripping days, we didn't know we were going to have the chemistry that we had," she admits. "We didn't understand why Bill was putting us together, at all. But Bill, in all his wisdom, knew what he was doing."

Scott is referring to The Young and the Restless' creator, William J. Bell, who had a knack for spotting chemistry between his players.

"That elusive word, 'chemistry,'" Scott sighs in wonderment. "The closest I can come to describing our chemistry is that when Eric and I share scenes, our souls want to dance together. I know the fans at home feel it through their TV screens, and Eric and I feel it in the studio. It’s the third entity in the room. It can’t be created. It just has to BE. So we're very fortunate that we've had that magic SOMETHING – and we still do!”

Y&R beauty Melody Thomas Scott says tragedy has strengthened 'Niktor'

Another thing Scott and Braeden have shared over the decades? Some truly wild stories!

Last year, when Jordan kidnapped Nikki and her entire family, Billy was quick to become concerned. In an epic throwaway line, he noted that when it came to the Newmans, the obvious and simplest explanation is not that something reasonable has happened – but rather that something totally crazy has!

"Truer words have ever been spoken," laughs Scott, and it all starts with Victor and Nikki. “For example, how many times has Victor died and come back? I don’t know the exact number, but there was always that scene where Nikki's at his gravesite, crying...and then he shows up and he's not dead. Then everyone's crying and happy.

"We have done similar scenes over the years, but there's a reason for it," she adds. "When you create extreme drama between two characters who are so much in love they can't live without each other, that makes an impact. So I don't think that can be overdone."

The actress talks playing the victim on The Young and the Restless

Nikki has certainly come a long way since her stripper days. She's grown into an upstanding matriarch and businesswoman who has survived all sorts of tragedy and even played hero a time or two.

Scott's own recent 45th anniversary with the show, however, made her realize that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

“In my first few years on the show Nikki was always somebody’s victim...and all these years later, she's still a victim," Scott says. "She's just a much OLDER victim. A grandma victim! Being in jeopardy is something I’m seemingly good at, at any age!"

Nikki has certainly found herself in plenty of jeopardy lately. In addition to being repeatedly assaulted and tormented by Jordan, she’s been forced to grapple with her sobriety, anew. That's allowed Scott to dig into some down-and-dirty drama – sometimes even going makeup-free or getting grunged up to bring reality to her scenes.

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“I have no vanity about such things,” she says. “I don’t want any outside distraction to pull the viewer out of the scenes. And if I am perfectly made up, and beautifully coiffed, it takes the audience out of the story. I want it to look as real as possible."

Melody Thomas Scott is not ready to retire from The Young and the Restless

Since Jordan threw Nikki forcibly off the wagon and started stalking the Newman clan, it's put Melody Thomas Scott on the front burner, once again – and we hear Victor and Nikki's 40th anniversary is going to be a doozy of a party, with a killer Monday cliffhanger.

Whatever Jordan - and The Young and the Restless! - can dish out, the daytime beauty who's turning 68 this month insists she and Nikki have still got the stamina to take it.

"I've had a grueling schedule the last six months, but I'm still standing," Scott tells FIRST with a grin. "And if I start to fall, I've got plenty of Newman family members to hold me up, so I'm not too worried about it. I'm such a workhorse; I will go until I drop, and I'm not ready to drop yet – especially not when the story is so much fun to play!"

With Victor and Nikki’s 40th anniversary party just getting started, we can’t wait to see Jordan’s next disguise. In the meantime, here’s a The Young and the Restless sneak peek of the calm before the storm.