Relive the Romantic History of Danny and Christine on Young and Restless

In the July 10 episode of Young and Restless, Danny Romalotti (Michael Damian) and Christine Blair (Lauralee Bell) got engaged again, nearly 35 years after their first wedding. These two have had quite the romantic history of ups and downs over the years, and seem to have come out the other side stronger than ever. Soap Opera Digest takes a look back at their past as the couple looks forward to living happily ever after in the future. (Though on a soap, that’s not always guaranteed!)

In The Beginning

Teen model Christine (known at the time as Cricket) developed a crush on older rocker Danny when they first crossed paths in 1984. He viewed her more as a friend — that is, until their relationship began developing into more toward the end of 1986. Their romance truly began to flourish in 1987, and she was dejected when he decided that they date other people over the summer and take stock of their relationship in the fall. Phillip Chancellor III saw this as an opportunity to court Cricket himself, and at the end of the summer, Cricket found herself on the receiving end of not one but two marriage proposals — one from Danny and one from Phillip. After doing some soul-searching, Cricket decided her future was with Phillip. But complicating matters, Nina Webster was carrying his child (she’d seduced him after plying him with alcohol and convincing him that Cricket had gone back to Danny!).

After the baby, Phillip Chancellor IV (now known as Chance), was born in 1988, Phillip pressed Cricket to set a wedding date. Instead, she called off their engagement, encouraging him to focus on being a father to his new child. Cricket and Danny even worked together to play matchmaker for Phillip and Nina, who did wind up married until his tragic (apparent) demise in a drunk-driving accident in 1989.

Opposite this, Cricket began dating hunky Dr. Scott Grainger and the pair — who had yet to consummate their relationship — got engaged in 1989. The fact that they hadn’t slept together came in super-handy when, that same year, they learned that they shared the same biological father, Jim Grainger.

In 1990, Danny returned to Genoa City from his latest musical tour and reconnected with Cricket. Before long, they were very much in love and planned to wed. However, Cricket and Danny’s suspicions of Nina’s new suitor, David Kimble, made the dastardly Kimble skittish. Determined to get his hands on Nina’s fortune, he planted drugs in Danny’s dressing room and called the cops on him. The plan worked like a charm: Danny was arrested, and his wedding plans put on hold. With help from Cricket, though, Danny was able to clear his name, although David managed to keep his involvement in the matter under wraps. The wedding was back on!

Danny and Christine tied the knot in a destination wedding in Maui, Hawaii in an episode that aired on November 16, 1990. The bride wore a faux raw silk gown with a re-embroidered lace bodice studded with beads and glitter and a shawl collar, and a beaded floral headpiece. As she was escorted down the aisle by her half brother, Scott, Cricket carried a bouquet of white roses and ivy. Danny’s sister, Gina, serenaded the couple with “Starting Here, Starting Now”, and once the ceremony was complete, the duo changed into more casual white attire and headed down to the beach for a luau reception, replete with traditional hula dancers, where they shared their first dance as a married couple to the “Hawaiian Wedding Song”.

Mr. and Mrs. Romalotti were strong enough to fight back against David in 1991 when he attempted to kill Nina, leading to the villain’s gruesome demise in a trash compactor. They also weathered the storm in 1992 when Cricket, who had become a lawyer, filed sexual harassment charges against fellow attorney Michael Baldwin, who then retaliated by trying to destroy their marriage by hiring a woman to pose for scandalous pictures with a drugged Danny to make it appear like he was cheating on his wife.

In 1993, Michael was found guilty, and when Danny left town to star in a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (as portrayer Damian did in real life), the devoted husband hired private eye Paul Williams to keep a close watch on his wife, lest Michael attempt retaliation. Which he did, attacking her one night in her home. Paul came to her rescue and shot Michael, and Danny raced back home to console Cricket. Danny went to confront Michael and had to be forcibly ejected from the louse’s hospital room. Shortly thereafter, Danny was offered the opportunity to move to New York to star in Joseph on Broadway. Christine decided to join him, despite her thriving law career in Genoa City. In the end, Danny came to the conclusion that it was selfish to ask her to sacrifice her professional life for his, and they agreed to do long-distance.

Separation Anxiety

Christine (as Cricket was now officially known) was gobsmacked in 1994 when Danny sent her a letter ending their marriage. She leaned on Paul, who had become a good friend (and was secretly in love with her) through her divorce. Then Danny unexpectedly returned to town, having belatedly realized what a huge mistake he had made letting Chris go. He came clean with her: He had fathered a son, Daniel, with a woman named Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford), with whom he had spent a drunken night. (Little did he know at the time that Phyllis had actually drugged him!) Phyllis had threatened to expose the tryst in the tabloids, and wanting to spare Chris such a scandal, he had divorced her instead and married Phyllis! Now, he wanted Chris back — but Paul had just proposed to her.

Soon, Phyllis and baby Daniel arrived in Genoa City. The new Mrs. Romalotti resented Chris so much that she tried to mow her down on the day she was slated to marry Paul. Paul leaped in front of his bride-to-be, and the wedding was postponed while he recovered from his injuries. Little did anyone know that the driver was Phyllis!

In 1995, Paul called things off with Chris (the accident had left him impotent and he felt the right thing to do was end their engagement). Danny was still holding out hope of reuniting with Chris, but Phyllis convinced him to give their marriage a shot. He agreed to a four-month trial — on the condition that they maintain separate bedrooms. Phyllis took the deal, and hoping to impress Danny, she asked Chris and Paul to serve as Daniel’s godparents. When Paul overcame his impotency, he and Chris set a new wedding date.

As 1996 got underway, Danny was growing increasingly desperate to get out of his marriage, as he saw his window of opportunity to win back Chris closing. Chris, meanwhile, was more affected than she wanted to admit by Danny’s efforts to woo her. She felt torn between the two men she loved and one night, she impulsively slept with her ex. Paul spotted them together and was heartbroken. He called off the wedding — and punched Danny. In happier news, for Danny at least, his divorce from Phyllis was finally granted. However, Chris and Paul reconciled and tied the knot, crushing Danny.

At midnight on New Year’s Eve, Danny popped the question to Phyllis again, and early in 1997, they remarried. The union soon crashed and burned when Danny got proof that he was not Daniel’s biological father! Danny promptly sued for divorce and went after custody of Daniel. Chris signed on as his lawyer, causing some friction in her marriage to Paul. Daniel was granted the divorce, and custody, in 1998. He still pined for Chris, but when she made it clear she was committed to Paul, he left town.

Missed Connection

Danny returned to Genoa City in 2003 and reconnected with Christine, who had separated from Paul. Chris and Danny parted ways again and Danny went back on tour. In 2008, they had a wistful encounter in which they reminisced about their past together. The duo explored their feelings again in 2012 and renewed their sexual relationship. He wanted her to move to California with him, but she turned him down.

Christine married Paul in 2013, but as the years went on, their lives went in separate directions. He eventually moved to Portugal, and Christine informed everyone that they had split up. So when Danny returned to Genoa City in 2023, she was single again and reminiscing with Danny about their past sparked romance between them once more. Of course, it also sparked jealousy in Phyllis, who did her best to snag Danny for herself.

When Christine ordered Danny to pick one of them, he opted to take a step back from them both. Though he later had a heart-to-heart conversation with Christine, and they subsequently informed Phyllis that they were together officially. Although a big case kept her from joining Danny on his next tour, she eventually changed her mind, and the pair enjoyed life on the road with the occasional visit home.

Now, feeling that their relationship has developed, Danny decided that he wanted to take the next step and pop the question again. Christine happily accepted, and the couple can now begin planning their wedding. But how long will the honeymoon last this time around?