Y&R: A Look At The Chaotic Marriage Between Michael Baldwin And Lauren Fenmore

Soap operas have a reputation for the crazy storylines they create, such as all of the dueling businesses on "The Young and the Restless" or the devil possession on "Days of Our Lives." By association, some of the relationships on soap operas can also be chaotic, and none more so than the marriage between Michael Baldwin (Christian J. LeBlanc) and Lauren Fenmore (Tracey L. Bregman).

Lauren arrived in Genoa City in 1983 as a teenager who was constantly berating Traci Abbott (Beth Maitland). Michael didn't make an appearance in town until 1991, and when his brother Kevin Fisher (Greg Rikaart) came to Genoa City, his arrival spelled trouble for Lauren. Kevin became obsessed with Lauren, and when he asked her out on a date, she agreed so that she could get a confession of his crimes. Her plan went sideways and Kevin found out that she had set him up, so he held her at gunpoint until Michael came and rescued Lauren. They finally met, and sparks flew between the couple.

During the date, Kevin Fisher confessed his various crimes to Lauren Fenmore, and after he was arrested, Michael and Lauren teamed up to get Kevin the help he needed. During this time, Michael Baldwin and Lauren fell in love and planned on getting married. Their engagement hit a road bump when Michael secretly contacted Lauren's son Scotty (Daniel Hall) and invited him to the wedding. Lauren was upset because up until now, she had kept Scotty in hiding to protect him from Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown). However, her protections were for naught, as Sheila had wormed her way into Scotty's life under the alias Brenda.

Sheila trailed Scotty to Genoa City and plotted to ruin Michael and Lauren's wedding with Michael's stepfather Tom Fisher (Roscoe Born). Sheila targeted Lauren and poisoned the necklace Scotty gifted to Lauren, causing her to fall ill. Lauren was admitted to the hospital and the wedding was postponed until she got better. Finally, Lauren and Michael were married on December 9, 2005.

Sheila Carter and Tom Fisher weren't quite done with Lauren Fenmore and Michael Baldwin yet; they bombed their yacht on their honeymoon, causing Michael to believe that Lauren had died in the explosion. However, Tom kidnapped Lauren and hid her in an abandoned farmhouse. John Abbott (Jerry Douglas) found and killed Tom while Paul (Doug Davidson) rescued Lauren and she was reunited with Michael. She gave birth to their son Fenmore Baldwin (Max Ehrich), and the two were happy for a while. Until Sheila kidnapped Fenmore and Lauren rescued him, shooting Sheila in the process.

Michael and Lauren's marriage was tested when their now-teenaged son Fenmore was accused of harassing a student who fell off a roof, and Michael had to arrest his own son. It was revealed that the student had actually jumped, but the rift between Michael and Lauren had caused her to stray and have an affair with Carmine Basco (Marco Dapper). She also kissed Cane Ashby (Daniel Goddard), which made Michael demand a divorce; however, they reconciled. They hit another snag when Michael represented Diane (Susan Walters) after she was accused of murdering Phyllis (Michelle Stafford). Lauren believed Diane to be guilty, but she learned to accept it. Even though they've been through lots of trials and tribulations, Lauren and Michael always seem to find their way back to each other.