Daniel Romalotti and Lily Winters are fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

s and a popular couple from the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 soap opera

Soap opera

A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 The Young and the Restless

The Young and the Restless

The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...

. Daniel is portrayed by Michael Graziadei

Michael Graziadei

Michael Graziadei is an American actor best known for his role as Daniel Romalotti on the CBS daytime drama The Young and the Restless. He is only 14 years younger than Michelle Stafford, who plays the role of his mother Phyllis on the show. Graziadei is of Italian and Lithuanian heritage...

 and Lily

Lily Winters

Lily Winters Ashby is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. Starting off as a rebellious yet naive teenager, the character became one of the series' popular heroines. Stories centered around Lily included the mystery of her paternity and social issue...

 is portrayed by Christel Khalil

Christel Khalil

Christel Adnana Khalil is an American actress.-Career:Khalil is best known for her role as Lily Ashby on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. She played the role from August 15, 2002 until September 2, 2005. Soon after she left the soap, Khalil was replaced by Davetta Sherwood...

. Davetta Sherwood

Davetta Sherwood

Davetta Sherwood is an American actress and musician. Sherwood first worked as a child model before venturing into an acting career including appearing in music videos and guest appearances...

 took over the part in 2006, until Khalil reclaimed the role again in September of that year. The plots they were featured in included a "going on the run" story, teenage marriage, and Internet pornography

Internet pornography

Internet pornography is pornography that is distributed by means of various sectors of the Internet, primarily via websites, peer-to-peer file sharing, or Usenet newsgroups...

. They were written as a star-crossed

Star-crossed

"Star-crossed" or "star-crossed lovers" is a phrase describing a pair of lovers whose relationship is often thwarted by outside forces. The term encompasses other meanings, but originally means the pairing is being "thwarted by a malign star" or that the stars are working against the relationship...

 couple with Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...

undertones. The couple is referred to by the portmanteau "Daily" (for Daniel and Lily) on Internet message boards

Internet forum

An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...

. They were considered a dynamic duo

Supercouple

A supercouple or super couple is a popular or financially wealthy pairing that intrigues and fascinates the public in an intense or even obsessive fashion...

 by the soap opera media.

Background

Daniel Romalotti and Lily Winters were written as star-crossed

Star-crossed

"Star-crossed" or "star-crossed lovers" is a phrase describing a pair of lovers whose relationship is often thwarted by outside forces. The term encompasses other meanings, but originally means the pairing is being "thwarted by a malign star" or that the stars are working against the relationship...

 young loves in a Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...

style storyline. Both her parents, Neil Winters

Neil Winters

Neil Winters is a fictional character in the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, portrayed by actor Kristoff St. John since his first appearance in January 1991...

 and Drucilla Winters, and his mother, Phyllis Summers, tried to keep them apart. This was partly due to Drucilla and Phyllis's animosity towards each other. They were put up against further obstacles with Daniel being wrongly accused of driving under the influence

Driving under the influence

Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...

 and killing Cassie Newman

Cassie Newman

Cassidy Ann "Cassie" Newman was a fictional character on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless.Camryn Grimes originated the role on March 19, 1997 until the character's death on May 24, 2005, and appearing in a few separate occasions since 2005 as a ghost.Camryn's performances made her...

. His imminent arrest sent Daniel and Lily on the run. They traveled from the Young and the Restless setting, Genoa City

Genoa City (fictional city)

Genoa City, Wisconsin is the fictional setting for the long-running American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. The real U.S. village of the same name is otherwise unlike and unrelated to the mid-size city depicted in the series.- Overview :...

, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, to Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

For the story, the show went on a location shoot to the beaches of Malibu. The actors on the shoot were Daniel and Lily's portrayers, Michael Graziadei and Christel Khalil, respectively, as well as Kristoff St. John

Kristoff St. John

Kristoff St. John is an American actor, best known for his role as Neil Winters on the daytime US drama The Young and the Restless.-Career:...

 (Neil), Michelle Stafford

Michelle Stafford

Michelle Stafford is an American actress, best known for her role as Phyllis Summers on The Young and the Restless.-Career:...

 (Phyllis), and Joshua Morrow

Joshua Morrow

Joshua Jacob Morrow is an American actor and former pop singer who plays the role of Nicholas Newman on The Young and the Restless.-Private life:In 2001, Joshua married his longtime girlfriend, Tobe Keeney...

 (Nick, Cassie's father). Graziadei felt that going on location added to the scenes in the story. "[I]t's just so much more involved," he said. "You're actually out there."

Originally, the Daniel character was introduced as a bad boy. His relationship with Lily was used as a way to show a different side of the character. In that way, the Lily character was said to have "tamed" him.

The romance was put on hold when Khalil chose to exit the role of Lily in late-2005. In the storyline, Lily's parents sent her to boarding school in an effort to keep her and Daniel apart. After the actress's departure, the series continued Lily and Daniel's interactions through a letter and communication over the internet. The website, SoapCity

Sony Pictures Television

Sony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...

 displayed the letter and the emails. The character's email addresses reflected the continued Romeo and Juliet theme by featuring the names of those Shakespearean characters as Lily became Ibejuliet and Daniel took on the name Iberomeo. Two months after Khalil's departure, the Young and the Restless attempted to convince the actress to come back to the role. Those attempts failed. The show's then head writer

Head writer

A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...

 and executive producer

Executive producer

An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...

 John F. Smith

John F. Smith

John F. Smith is an American soap opera writer and producer. During the WGA strike, he chose financial core status with the WGA and continued working....

 planned to recast the role and promised to "bring an entirely new level" to Daniel and Lily's story. Davetta Sherwood

Davetta Sherwood

Davetta Sherwood is an American actress and musician. Sherwood first worked as a child model before venturing into an acting career including appearing in music videos and guest appearances...

 was hired as the Lily recast.

Sherwood expressed unconcern in taking the place of an actress who took part in creating the popular Daniel and Lily romance. "It's okay, because she [Khalil] wanted to leave," she said, "she was ready to move on, which is always a good thing. I haven't gotten any Lily versus Lily, or Christel verses Davetta mail." Daniel and Lily's popularity continued with Sherwood in the role. The way Sherwood portrayed the character was with more feistiness, though the character was never written as timid. Sherwood's take on the part brought on comparison's to the character's mother, Drucilla. That new "fire" was brought into the Daniel and Lily relationship. "Dru can be a little dramatic," Sherwood said. "And I think sometimes when Lily is facing issue with Daniel, she's not going to remain calm. She's going to do what she saw her mother do." The actress praised the couple's story for not focusing on the differing races of the characters.

In September 2006, Sherwood was replaced in the role by Khalil. Former Young and the Restless executive producer and head writer Lynn Marie Latham

Lynn Marie Latham

Lynn Marie Latham is an Emmy Award-winning television writer and producer. Her initial foray into writing for television was as a story editor for the short-lived series Berrenger's in 1985...

 said, "Davetta did a fine job, but shows generally prefer to have original players back when they can get them." Upon her return Khalil was surprised by the advancement of Daniel and Lily's story and with the Lily character as a whole, particularly the new development of the characters being married.

An obstacle written into the couple's story was Daniel's addiction to Internet pornography

Internet pornography

Internet pornography is pornography that is distributed by means of various sectors of the Internet, primarily via websites, peer-to-peer file sharing, or Usenet newsgroups...

. "My initial conflict was that Daniel has had so many problems with his wife that I couldn't figure out why he'd be doing this," Graziadei said. The actor worried that his character might be seen as "lecherous and creepy". Viewers instead sympathized with the character. This addiction and the lies surrounding it ended the Daniel and Lily romance.

Lily next moved on to a controversial pairing with Cane Ashby

Cane Ashby

Ethan "Cane" Ashby is a fictional character in the American soap opera The Young and the Restless. Daniel Goddard has portrayed the character since his January 12, 2007 debut...

, disappointing Daniel and Lily fans. "I think with Daniel it was kind of a first love thing," Khalil said. "Daniel will always be in her heart, but with Cane, it's a more mature love." She asserted that Lily and Cane were true loves.

Storyline

Daniel and Lily become friends when they meet at the Crimson Lights coffee shop. Lily and Daniel do not get romantically involved until 2005. Both Lily's parents and Daniel's mom Phyllis Summers, keep the pair apart. Phyllis reminds her son that he can not be with Lily because of his involvement in her drugging when he first came to town. Daniel goes to a party and gets drunk to drown his sorrows over not being able to be with Lily. Cassie Newman

Cassie Newman

Cassidy Ann "Cassie" Newman was a fictional character on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless.Camryn Grimes originated the role on March 19, 1997 until the character's death on May 24, 2005, and appearing in a few separate occasions since 2005 as a ghost.Camryn's performances made her...

, who has a crush on him, decides to take him home by driving his car. However, Cassie is only 14 at the time, and does not have a driver's license. She ends up crashing the car and is left fighting for her life at the hospital. On the other hand, Daniel survives, but he can not remember if he was the one driving. Daniel confides in Lily about how scared he is of going to jail, and how he wants to run away to Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. Lily tells Daniel she will go with him anywhere, and Daniel kisses Lily. Cassie dies, and Daniel is arrested for her death, but is later released. When Daniel is being investigated in Cassie's death, he and Lily run away to Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. They are caught. During the trial, Cassie's father, Nicholas Newman, provides the evidence that his daughter, not Daniel was behind the wheel the night of the accident. Daniel is freed. However, Lily is still in trouble for aiding and abetting a fugitive. In a plea bargain with the judge, Lily's parents agree to send her to boarding school

Boarding school

A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...

 in New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

 to get her away from Daniel. The school is very strict, so Lily and Daniel can not communicate at first, but later, with the help of a good friend, they are able to stay in contact.

In 2006, Lily ends up coming home from boarding school early because she tricks her parents into thinking she has dumped Daniel by sending him a Dear John letter

Dear John letter

A "Dear John letter" is a letter written to a husband or boyfriend by his wife or girlfriend to inform him their relationship is over, usually because the author has found another lover. Dear John Letters are often written out of an inability or unwillingness to inform the person face to face...

. In reality, Daniel does not know about it because Lily's foster brother Devon Hamilton

Devon Hamilton

Devon Hamilton is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, played by actor/musician Bryton James since June 1, 2004. James' portrayal of Devon has earned him the 2007 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series, and the 2009 NAACP Image Award...

 never gave him the real letter Lily sent, and he tells Daniel the first one was fake. They reconcile, and the two sneak around and see each other using Colleen Carlton

Colleen Carlton

Colleen Cecile Carlton is a fictional character from the American soap opera The Young and the Restless. She was last portrayed by Tammin Sursok, who joined the cast on July 30, 2007 and departed on October 5, 2009...

 as a cover up. Lily finds out her mother Drucilla Winters has kept her real father's identity a secret for years when she overhears Daniel's mother Phyllis Newman

Phyllis Newman

Phyllis Newman is an American actress and singer. She was nominated twice for the Drama Desk Award and won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.-Early life:...

 threatening to tell Neil Winters he is not Lily's father, but rather that his brother Malcolm Winters

Malcolm Winters

Malcolm Winters is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, portrayed by actor Shemar Moore from May 1994 to February 14, 2002 and from November 1, 2004 to September 1, 2005...

 is. Lily is shocked and angry, but takes advantage of the situation to tell her mother the truth about her relationship with Daniel. When confronting her mother, Lily tries to blackmail her mother to accept her relationship with Daniel. Lily feels guilty about lying to her dad, and decides to tell him about her and Daniel. Neil's reaction was not surprising—he demanded that she return to boarding school.

Daniel and Lily run away to Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

 to get married, but since she is not about to turn eighteen until a couple of months later, she fakes her parents' signature on the marriage license. Meanwhile, Neil and Dru are worried that Lily and Daniel might have left the country and hire Paul Williams to track them. Neil then goes to Daniel's mom Phyllis Newman to ask if Daniel has left the country with his daughter. Phyllis tells Neil that Daniel could not have left the country because his passport was still in her room.

Paul tracks Daniel and Lily down in Las Vegas and then brings them back to Genoa City. Neil, Dru and Phyllis are all very upset with what Daniel and Lily did, but all acknowledged that the two are married and there is nothing they can do about it. Daniel and Lily move out of their parents houses, and with the kindness of Daniel's former stepfather Jack Abbott they move into the old Abbott play house. Daniel gets a job at Newman Enterprises as a mail boy, while Lily gets a job as salesperson at Lauren Fenmore Baldwin

Lauren Fenmore Baldwin

Lauren Baldwin is a fictional character from the American soap opera The Young and the Restless and its "sister soap" The Bold and the Beautiful. She is portrayed by American actress Tracey E. Bregman...

's Jabot Boutique. Daniel and Lily's happiness later fades when Alex comes back to town to blackmail Kevin and Daniel about their involvement in Lily's drugging two years ago. Daniel later confesses to Lily about his involvement in her drugging, and Lily, angry and upset, moves out of their home and back into her parents' home. Neil suggests that Lily get an annulment from Daniel but Lily becomes angry with her father. Lily and Daniel become close and eventually work out their problems. More problems followed: Carmen Mesta

Carmen Mesta

Carmen Mesta is a fictional character in the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. Marisa Ramirez played the role from May 8 to October 30, 2006, and returned several times as a sighting or in a part of a new flashback during the next few months...

, a woman who had an emotional affair with Neil, is found murdered at a new club Neil opened. Lily's mother Dru is later accused of murder. Lily's now adopted brother Devon Hamilton is diagnosed with Meningitis

Meningitis

Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...

, and lost his hearing, and then on top of that, he is also accused of Carmen's murder. It is later revealed to be Jana Hawkes

Jana Hawkes

Jana Hawkes was a fictional character in an American soap opera The Young and the Restless, portrayed by actress Emily O'Brien first on recurring status from May 11 to September 5, 2006, and then on contract from October 10, 2006 to February 20, 2007. The actress returned on June 15, 2007...

 who killed Carmen.

In 2007, Another tragedy strikes when Lily's mother Drucilla Winters while on location for a photo shoot, along with Sharon Abbott, falls off a cliff during an argument with Phyllis. Lily then finds out that the search and rescue team have found Dru's jacket floating past the falls. The Police changed the mission to a recovery operation to find Dru's body. Lily is devastated and blames Phyllis for her mother's death.

Daniel is turned onto pornography

Pornography

Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...

 by Amber Moore

Amber Moore

Ambrosia "Amber" Moore is a fictional character on the CBS soap operas The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless played by actress Adrienne Frantz who debuted on July 18, 1997 on The Bold and the Beautiful where she stayed until April 14, 2005...

. He becomes addicted and neglects his marriage to Lily. Lily then finds out about his addiction and goes undercover as someone flirting with Daniel on line. He tells her he is unattached. The couple undergoes counseling but after Daniel along with Amber Moore and Kevin find a dead body with $700,000 in a bag beside it. They bury the money and dispose of the body. Then he goes to a strip club where he gets arrested for being underage. When Lily finds out about this and on top of the porn, she ends her marriage to Daniel. It is also revealed that since she forged Malcolm's name on the marriage certificate

Marriage certificate

In some jurisdictions a marriage certificate is the official record that two people have undertaken a marriage ceremony. This does include jurisdictions where marriage licenses do not exist...

, the whole marriage is invalid

Invalid

Invalid may refer to:* Patient, a sick person* A person with a disability* .invalid, a top-level Internet domain not intended for real useAs the opposite of valid:* Validity, in logic, true premises cannot lead to a false conclusion...

 and she gets an annulment

Annulment

Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place...

.

Daniel and Lily move on after their union and have become friends. They have also each remarried, Daniel to Amber Moore & Lily to Cane Ashby.

By March 10, 2010, Lily learns that her cancer isn't gone yet; she lies to Cane and confides in Daniel, and he is the only one to know that she is not cancer-free.Eventually, Lily is able to overcome her cancer and even has Mackenzie Browning

Mackenzie Browning

Mackenzie Hellstrom is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, introduced in 1999 as a part of the new teen scene and revealed to be the granddaughter of wealthy businesswoman Katherine Chancellor.-Casting:Ashley Bashioum, the actress that played the role for the...

 act as a surrogate for her twins with Cane. However, by winter 2011, Cane was dealing with his past again. His father, Colin Atkinson and one his henchman, Blake, came to Genoa City in hopes that Cane would return to the family business. Cane's family was a major mafia organization in Australia and they wanted him and his two young children. Eventually, it was believed that Cane died after Colin and Jill Fenmore

Jill Foster Abbott

Jill Abbott Fenmore is a fictional character on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless. She is one of the series' original characters, and the only one remaining from its debut in March 1973...

married. In reality, it was Cane's evil twin brother, Caleb Atkinson, who died. For months, Lily dealt with Cane's "passing" and Daniel was there to comfort Lily. Things got worse when Lily believed that she was seeing Cane's ghost, which was really Cane. By June, the truth about Cane and his father's plan to steal Lily's children came out. However, everyone in Genoa City has been cold to Cane, especially Lily. This prompted Lily and Daniel to reconnect further. He even suggested that Lily divorce Cane. He then kisses her at Jimmy's and Cane sees.