Lily was later paired with leading character Cane Ashby (Daniel Goddard), a romance that has attracted significant fan attention.

[4][5][9] Former executive producer and head writer Lynn Marie Latham said she was happy with the casting change; she was impressed by Khalil's work, saying that she is a "brilliant actress".

[4][5] On her MySpace blog, Sherwood said she felt negativity from others on the set of the soap opera before her replacement; she was not told the reason for her firing, which she thought neither right nor fair.

[3] On August 21, 2012, The Young and the Restless put out a casting call for the role of "Sally Tate", and the character description lead to speculation that it was a recast for Lily Winters and Khalil was exiting the soap.

[12] Upon learning of her impending exit, fans of Khalil began a letter write-in, snail mail, e-mail and phone call campaign in support of her remaining on the show.

[17] In late September, newly appointed head writer Josh Griffith confirmed in an interview with TV Guide that contract negotiations had been resolved and Khalil would remain in the role.

[21] In 2002, when Lily was rapidly aged to a teenager, the character was designed as an "angst-ridden" heroine who struggled with "trauma";[22][23] she was also described as strong, rebellious, and sassy.

Khalil described her happiness with her character's evolution, with more adult storylines and having to "deal with things like losing a baby or breaking off her engagement [to Cane]".

[27] One of Lily's first storylines centered around her manipulation by internet predator Kevin Fisher (Greg Rikaart), who gives her the sexually-transmitted disease chlamydia.

"[2] Lily was next involved in a Romeo and Juliet-inspired romance (attracting a significant fan following) with Daniel Romalotti (Michael Graziadei), Kevin's friend.

[30] When Khalil left the show, former head writer John F. Smith promised the character's recast would "bring an entirely new level" to Lily and Daniel's romance.

Love triangles and questioned paternity occur frequently in soap operas, but he felt that Maria Arena Bell made the plots fresh.

She forgives him after he saves her from another predator who is trying to rape her, but the situation was staged by Daniel Romalotti (Michael Grazaidei) to make Kevin look like a hero.

In 2006, they marry, and soon afterwards Lily discovers her biological father is her uncle Malcolm (Shemar Moore); this strains her relationship with her mother.

They briefly separate when Cane's true identity is revealed, but are reunited when Lily is diagnosed with ovarian cancer (and mourns the death of her best friend, Colleen).

Soon afterwards, Lily goes into remission; an Australian (Blake Joseph) arrives in Genoa City and blackmails Cane, followed by his father Colin Atkinson (Tristan Rogers) in December 2010.

After her “hallucination” leaves footprints in the snow, Lily realizes that Cane is alive, having faked his death; his twin brother, Caleb, was the one who died.

They decide to remarry in February 2012 and work at Jabot Cosmetics, where Lily develops an attraction to Tyler Michaelson (Redaric Williams) which makes Cane jealous.

In 2014, after repairing their marriage, Cane and Lily agree to become the new managers of the Genoa City Athletic Club after her brother Devon Hamilton (Bryton James) buys it.

The marriage continues to deteriorate to the point where Lily believes the two are having an affair and she, in an act of revenge, beds Joe Clark (Scott Elrod), a business associate and friend of Cane's.

During their separation Lily continues to get closer to her old friend and current Brash & Sassy photographer, Jordan Wilde (Darnell Kirkwood).

Lily, racked with guilt and being forced to by Devon, confesses to running the red light that caused the accident and is sentenced to 1 year in prison.

Cane pleads with Lily to stay with him in Genoa City but she leaves the day after her father's funeral to start a new life in Lakewood, Wisconsin as a teacher to the inmates with whom she was once imprisoned.

[69] CBS Soaps In Depth said Sherwood "got off to a slow start", but praised her work during the revelation that Lily's husband Daniel was responsible for her attempted rape by Alex.

[70][71][72][73] Janet Di Lauro of Soap Opera Weekly praised the storyline for highlighting Neil and Lily's relationship, saying that they "are one of the most effective and heartfelt father-daughter combos in daytime.

Kristoff St. John and Christel Khalil share a chemistry that lets the viewers feel Neil's pain when Lily is hurting, and relate to his anger when she has been wronged.

[79][80] The Daniel-and-Lily storyline attracted viewer support for both Khalil and Sherwood,[7][8][31] and the magazine called the scene when Daniel and Lily make love after his acquittal for the death of Cassie Newman (Camryn Grimes) one of the top three moments of 2005.

[81] Roscoe Born, who played Tom Fisher, praised their storyline: "It really brought the two families into so much conflict, and I thought they were very believable as young lovers.

"[85] Nelson Branco of TV Guide Canada criticized the couple; he thought they had no chemistry and wanted Cane "in the big leagues and not with little girls", but conceded that they had "a very vocal, and loyal fanbase".

[86] Soap Opera Update named Cane and Lily the best couple on The Young and the Restless in 2008,[63] and viewers voted them into top-couple polls in soap-opera magazines.