What happened to Lily Winters on The Young and the Restless?

On The Young and the Restless, Cristel Khalil stars as Lily Winters, former CEO of Chancellor Industries. Up until last week, Lily had been at the helm and was responsible for the company’s recent growth and success.

Chancellor Industries is owned by Jill Foster Abbott, who has been distracted by health issues. In her absence, she entrusted her voting shares to her son Billy. Lily had partnered with Billy to run Chancellor together, but she had other intentions. Secretly, Lily was using Billy to gain his trust, and she plotted to eventually get rid of him so that she could run the company on her own.

However, Billy suspected what Lily was up to. When they began to butt heads about how to run the company together, Billy ousted Lily before she could do the same to him.

Lily claims her motivation isn’t power-driven but rather a strong desire to protect the company. She considers herself dedicated to preserving the legacy of Katherine Chancellor, and she sees Billy as a liability to that.

It would be hard to find anyone in Genoa City who would disagree that Billy’s past gambling and recklessness have proven to be a liability, both personally and professionally. However, Billy recently hit a nerve when he pointed out to Lily that she could also be viewed as a liability, as she's a convicted felon.

Why did Lily go to jail on The Young and the Restless?

In 2013, Hilary Curtis (Mishael Morgan) came to Genoa City and was hired as the assistant of Cole Ashby, Lily’s husband. It was eventually revealed that Hilary blamed Lily’s father, Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John), for her mother’s death. Hilary tormented Lily’s family, but eventually, it was all patched up, and she was forgiven for her vengeful deeds. Forgiven, at least, by the men in the family.

Lily held a grudge against Hilary, and matters worsened when Neil and Hilary married. If their relationship wasn't rocky enough, the differences between Lily and Hilary became irreconcilable when Hilary began an affair with Lily’s brother—and Neil’s son—Devon.

In 2018, Lily was driving in a car while fighting with and yelling at Hilary. Lily ran a red light. They were involved in a car accident, which ended Hilary’s life and the life of Hilary and Devon’s unborn child.

Lily was riddled with guilt, but Devon had no mercy for his sister. Lily felt she had no option but to confess, and she was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Despite his contempt for what Lily had done, Devon went to the judge and said that he did not want Lily separated from her children. The judge reduced the sentence to one year instead, but Lily had to start her sentence immediately.

Lily was released the following year, but on the day she got out of prison, she found out that her father, Neil, had died in his sleep from a stroke. Devastated, Lily left town to start anew.

In 2020, Lily returned to Genoa City at Jill’s request to run a new company, Chancellor Communications, with Billy Abbott. This marked the beginning of Lily and Billy's professional partnering, which also developed into a romantic relationship.

Is Lily leaving The Young and the Restless for good?

When Billy ousted Lily last week from her role as co-CEO at Chancellor Industries, many fans wondered if Lily was leaving Genoa City.

Weeks ago, Lily caught on that Victor was plotting a takeover of Chancellor when he hinted to Devon to convince Lily to get out while she could. Lily has sworn to preserve Katherine’s legacy and to fight to get her job back, so she has enlisted Victor Newman to help her take the company from Billy.

Lily has asked Victor to let her help be part of the takeover he has planned. In return, Lily tells Victor that she expects to get her position back, but she is unaware that Victor has promised his wife, Nikki, that she will be CEO instead.

While it may not be a smooth road ahead for Lily, she seems determined to achieve her goals, and there are no indications she could be leaving The Young and the Restless. Lily intends to take back the company from Billy and restore herself at the helm of Chancellor Industries, and she is showing no signs of backing down.

The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS.