Inside Billy And Lily's Relationship On The Young And The Restless

When Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson) and Lily Winters (Christel Khalil) became an item on "The Young and the Restless," it was as much a surprise to fans as it seemed to be for the two longtime characters. Both Billy and Lily are legacy characters, having been born on-screen to prominent Genoa City families. Billy is the son of John Abbott (Jerry Douglas) and Jill Abbott (Jess Walton), while Lily is the daughter of Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John) and Drucilla Winters (Victoria Rowell). What was so surprising is they never shared many storylines together before they suddenly became an item in 2021.

Each character had just come through another rough time in their lives. Lily had spent some time behind bars for a car accident caused by her negligence. That accident killed her brother, Devon Hamilton's fiancée, Hilary Curtis, and their unborn baby (via Soaps In Depth). At the same time, Billy had once again broken up with Victoria Newman after striking up a friendship behind her back with Amanda Sinclair, Hilary's twin (via Soaps In Depth). Then, Billy's mother, Jill, offered them both jobs and informed them that they would be working together (via Soaps.com).

The last interaction Billy Abbott and Lily Winters had before working together was when a jealous Billy made his way to visit Lily in jail to inform her that her husband, Cane Ashby (Daniel Goddard), had kissed his partner, Victoria Newman (via Soap Dirt). That was the last straw for Lily after an already-troubled marriage and she divorced Cane from jail. 

When she was released, she lived out of town for a while but returned when Jill offered her a chance to revive the media part of Chancellor Industries called Chance Comm. She offered her ne'er do well son the job of being Lily's partner as well. Both thought this might be a bit awkward, but it turned out they got along well (via Soaps In Depth). While Lily was not approving of all of Billy's journalism choices, she seemed to just go along with whatever he wanted whenever he explained himself.

Billy Abbott's feelings for his ex, Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle), intruded on his relationship with Lily Winters after they had moved in together and he wanted to use Chance Comm to publish the truth (as he knew it) about her new duplicitous husband, Ashland Locke. First, Lily wanted Billy to be sure he knew what he was writing. She also learned that if he published his findings, they could be in big trouble (via Soaps.com).

Second, Lily was a little bit concerned about Billy's obsession with Victoria and anything that had to do with her. Yes, they shared children together, but for a while, it seemed to go a little further than that. Eventually, when they learned Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) had tricked them into publishing wrong information, Billy seemed to admit his obsession was a mistake when they essentially brought down their company by jumping the gun on a story Billy never should have written (via Soaps In Depth).

After Billy Abbott lost his job helping Lily run Chance Comm, he and Lily remained together despite her anger. Then, Billy decided his next venture would be a podcast he produced and hosted in the middle of the night in which he essentially rambled on about his emotional troubles, according to Soap Hub. While it seemed like therapy for Billy, the podcast was not really doing much for Lily, although she thought it would. There was also the issue of Victoria.

Billy's ex now knows she married a liar when she said "I do" to Ashland Locke and has ended things. That makes Billy want to be there for Victoria and help her pick up the pieces of her broken life (via Soap Hub). Understandably, that doesn't sit well with Lily, and as of this writing, the pair are having the same troubles they have had from the start. Billy is impulsive and Victoria will always be on his mind. That might just destroy his relationship with Lily.