As soon as we learned that The Young and the Restless was ushering in an older brother for Nate (Sean Dominic), we instantly predicted that this brother would be a new love interest for Lily (Christel Khalil).
Before Damian’s (Jermaine Rivers) arrival, the Genoa City landscape didn’t really have any great romance options for Lily. Despite Daniel (Michael Graziadei), Nick (Joshua Morrow) and Adam (Mark Grossman) all technically being single, Daniel not too long ago cheated on Lily with Heather (Vail Bloom), Nick is probably on his way to reconnecting with Sharon (Sharon Case) and it’s unlikely Lily would even look in Adam’s direction due to his well-known checkered past.
So again, we couldn’t help but think Damian being brought onto the soap would not only give Nate a new sibling dynamic, but it would also give Lily a potential love interest. It’s worth noting, that Nate and Lily are maternal cousins, while Damian is Nate’s older brother on his father’s side of the family. Essentially, there’s no risk of incest here.
Fast forward to The Young and the Restless episode airing on February 13, and Nate catches Lily and Devon (Bryton James) up with the latest developments about Damian, Holden (Nathan Owens) and Amy (Valarie Pettiford). Both Lily and Devon are skeptical of Damian and the lengths he went to in order to hide his identity. Additionally, they question his initial response to Amy’s bombshell news. By the end of the trio’s discussion, Lily cautions her cousin to be careful of his new big brother.
A few scenes later, Lily walks into society as Damian is picking up a to-go order. As he walks toward the exit on his phone, he bumps into Lily. He immediately apologizes, and the pair exchange smiles. When she walks away to place an order, he looks back at her, clearly intrigued. In our opinion, the moment showed a spark between the two, and we can see the chemistry coming in the not-so-distant future.
Of course, any potential romance between Damian and Lily is bound to get rocky given he has a mysterious and possibly shady past that’s yet to be revealed. Plus, we’re almost certain Devon is not going to like Damian, thinking he’s a threat to his cousin and his sister. However, despite the possible challenges, we think #Lamian or #Dily is written in the stars.
If our hunch is correct, this would be amazing for longtime fans of The Young and the Restless, who know all about Lily’s mom Druscilla (Victoria Rowell). When Druscilla first arrived to town, she was a runaway teen who was rough around the edges. She was also illiterate and Nathan Hastings (Nate and Damian’s father) taught her how to read. Nathan also served as somewhat of a mentor.
Druscilla eventually grew to develop feelings for Nathan, but he was in love with her sister Olivia (Tonya Lee Williams), even rejecting Druscilla’s attempts at seduction. However, once they got over the awkwardness of Druscilla’s heartbreak, the duo went on to become family as he married Olivia and had a kid with her, aka Nate. Oh and boy did Druscilla and Nate have some conflicts as soap opera in-laws. Check out this clip of a heated confrontation between them (it makes us really miss Druscilla).
@yandrscenes ♬ original sound - Young And Restless 🇺🇸
Having said all of that, it would be quite ironic for Damian to strike up a meaningful connection with Lily, as Druscilla once struck one up with Nathan as a new arrival to town. And unlike her mother, Lily doesn’t have a sister to compete with for Damian’s attention. We just hope a romance with Damian doesn’t put Lily in danger, given we again don’t know much about Damian’s past.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air on weekdays on CBS. If you miss an episode, you can catch up on Paramount Plus.
