Lily and Daniel on Y&R — Their Romantic History
Daniel and Lily on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS have quite the history together. And as the pair have begun to reconnect as adults, some newer viewers might be curious about their past as teenagers. And heck, even some fans who were watching back then might want a refresher! So let us fill you in on this tale of young love in Genoa City…
Daniel Romalotti and Lily Winters first became friends back in 2004, but when things grew romantic, their mothers, rivals Phyllis Summers and Drucilla Winters, schemed to keep the teens apart. After they broke up, Daniel drowned his sorrows at a party and Cassie Newman (who had a crush on him) offered to drive him home. Tragically, she crashed the car and they were both injured. Daniel had no memory of the accident and when Cassie died from her injuries, everyone assumed he’d been driving. Panicked, Daniel went on the run with Lily to Los Angeles, but they were soon brought home to face the music. Thankfully, Daniel was proven to not be driving that night, but Lily was charged with aiding and abetting a fugitive and her parents sent her to boarding school.
When Lily returned home, she let her parents continue to believe she and Daniel were over while actually seeing him in secret. After the shocking revelation that Malcolm Winters, not Neil Winters, is Lily’s biological father, she came clean about her and Daniel. Unfortunately, her parents still objected to the relationship and when they tried to send her back to boarding school, Lily and Daniel took off and got married in Las Vegas! (The underage teens forged Neil and Dru’s signatures to make it happen.)
After dragging the pair home, their families had to accept the relationship and Jack Abbott offered them a place to live on the Abbott estate. Daniel began working at Newman Enterprises in the mailroom while Lily sold cosmetics at the Jabot boutique. Unfortunately, Daniel’s old friend, Alex, resurfaced and threatened to tell Lily about how Daniel was in on Kevin Fisher’s scheme to drug and rape her years ago. Daniel cut him off at the pass and confessed himself, but a heartbroken Lily moved out. Although pressed to get an annulment, Lily eventually reconciled with Daniel. Though their relationship was strained after Lily blamed Phyllis for the death of her mother, Dru.
When Daniel began neglecting Lily, she was surprised to learn he’d become addicted to internet pornography. They tried couples counseling, but after Daniel got mixed up in various schemes — including helping Amber Moore and Kevin bury a dead body and going to a strip club — she decided it was time to end their marriage.
Although they both moved on to other relationships, when Lily was diagnosed with cancer in 2010, Daniel was there to support her. And when Lily believed her husband, Cane Ashby, was dead, she leaned on Daniel again. When Cane turned up alive, Lily was angry that he’d lied to her and it pushed her closer to Daniel. But after Cane explained his reasons, Lily soon forgave him and they reunited, leaving Daniel heartbroken.
Lily and Daniel remained friendly, though, right up to when he left town in 2013. When Daniel returned in the fall of 2022, he reconnected with Lily, who was stinging from the end of her relationship with Billy Abbott. Daniel had his own problems with his breakup with Heather Stevens, so the two bonded and things once again became romantic, although now as adults, they are taking things much more carefully and seriously.
Stay tuned to Y&R to see how things develop!
