Don’t let those smiles fool you! Once upon a time, Danny was drugged and raped by an obsessed fan named Phyllis Summers, who then got pregnant and convinced her favorite singer that he was the father. He wasn’t, but by the time that came out, Danny considered Daniel his own, and loved the tot so much, he won sole custody, ran off to Europe and dropped him in a Swiss boarding school…
By the time a 16-year-old Daniel (first played by Cam Gigandet) came to Genoa City, he had a chip on his shoulder the size of Newman Enterprises from believing his dad didn’t have time for him (gee, how did that happen) and his mom had abandoned him.
It didn’t take long for Daniel to fall in love with Katherine’s granddaughter, Mackenzie. She was 20 and he was 16, but that didn’t matter because he didn’t tell her. But then JT, who was ticked Daniel had messed up his relationship with Colleen, tipped Mac off to her jailbait boyfriend. She ended it before she ended up in prison.
Next up, Daniel befriended town pariah Kevin! Arsonist, internet predator, sex with an underage minor — who would want to be his pal? The point is, Kevin needed help rehabilitating his image and Daniel was just the man kid to do it. In case the drinking didn’t tip you off, it didn’t go well.
Lily (after Daniel’s plan to turn Kevin into a hero almost killed her), for some reason, fell hard for Phyllis’ boy. Daniel felt the same, but the two soon ended up on the run after Cassie’s death, since everyone (including Daniel) thought he was the one driving the car when she died.
Eventually, the whole Cassie thing got sorted out once it came out that she was driving Daniel because he was too drunk. He and Lily then ran off to Vegas to elope and returned to Genoa City to live their happily ever after. For about five minutes.
Daniel’s marriage fell apart after he started flirting with Amber… so that he could get a pass to her adult website. That, naturally, led to a crippling porn addiction. Yeah, they went there. Lily, though, did not. She dumped him.
Once again single and free, Daniel moved in with troublemaker Kevin and started an actual relationship with Amber, which led to countless wacky hijinks. There were dead exes, stolen money, kidnapping, a forged painting or two… life wasn’t dull!
To the surprise of everyone, it turns out, Amber was the one! After a brief fling with Colleen, Daniel realized his heart belonged to the woman who got him hooked on porn. He proposed to Amber and the two were married in a lovely rooftop ceremony officiated by Amber’s good friend Katherine.
OK, maybe Amber wasn’t the one. She eventually took her adopted son, Little Eric, and ran off to California, leaving Daniel behind to be drugged and raped by Sheila’s supposed daughter, Daisy. She ended up pregnant with his daughter and, well, that’s not an experience you want to have in common with your dad.
Having a kid with someone related to Sheila went about as well as you’d imagine. Little Lucy ended up secretly adopted by Billy and Victoria after Daisy ran off. When she came back, Daniel tried making a go at a family by marrying her, only for Daisy to disappear, never to be seen again. Wait, does that mean they’re still married?
Eh, whatever happened to Daisy, Daniel had no trouble moving on with Paul’s daughter, Heather. They gazed soulfully into each other’s eyes as she played the guitar, then the duo took Lucy to Savannah and said farewell to Genoa City for good! Ish.
Because Daniel truly does love his momma, he returned later that year to take Phyllis back to Savannah and get her treatment while she was in a coma. Apparently, it went so swimmingly, when she came back it was like she was a new person!
Daniel next stopped by back in 2016 when he came for Summer and Luca’s engagement party, caught up with his mom (Gina Tognoni now), reconnected with the slightly-less rascally Kevin and even met Cassie’s twin, Mariah. It was a delightfully drama-free (for him) trip down Memory Lane.
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