The Young and the Restless: Who is Daniel Romalotti's real father?

Daniel Romalotti has been one of the characters on The Young and the Restless since 1994. He was legally born to Phyllis Summers and Danny Romalotti but was taken into sole custody by Danny and away from town to have some distance from Phyllis.

This plot dynamic takes place after Danny finds out he isn't Daniel's father and becomes devastated. Phyllis' ex-lover, Brian Hamilton, is Daniel's real father on the soap. Unfortunately, Danny was conned into thinking he was the one who got Phyllis pregnant and even broke off his marriage with Christine to fulfil his duties as a father.

Even though Danny is no longer a recurring character on The Young and the Restless, his namesake son continues to be an active part of the story. Daniel has been trying to mend his past relationship with his mother and move on in life currently on the soap.

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Who is Daniel Romalotti's biological father on The Young and the Restless?

Michael Graziadei as Daniel Romalotti in a still from the soap (via CBS)

Daniel Romalotti was introduced on The Young and the Restless as a baby in 1994 but was quickly aged up into a young adult by 2004. Much of the character's initial storyline revolved around the confusion about his parentage.

Daniel's biological father on the soap is Brian Hamilton, who got Phyllis Summers pregnant. However, Phyllis staged a relationship with Danny Romalotti, which led Daniel to believe he was Danny's son for many years.

During this time, many actors were cast in the role of Daniel. The list begins with names like Desiree, Hannah Wheel and Michael McElroy, who played the character as a child. The role was passed from Chase MacKenzie Bebak in 1997, then Roland Gibbons until 2004, with Cam Gigandet taking the role for a brief while.

Currently, actor Michael Graziadei plays the role of Daniel. The actor first signed a contract with the soap in 2009. As of 2024, his storylines have involved a brief relationship with Heather and a furious battle over the same with Lily.

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Daniel Romalotti's paternity backstory explored

Baby Daniel Romalotti was born in 1993 as the son of Phyllis Summers. Initially, Phyllis had a relationship with Danny Romalotti at one of his concert tours. She was a fan of his and made him believe that he slept with her and got her pregnant with Daniel.

However, a paternity test proves this wrong, as Daniel subsequently turns out to be the child of Phyllis' ex-lover, Brian Hamilton. Brian does not play a big role in his son's life. But Danny stepped in instead to become a more active parent since Daniel was legally registered as his child.

With the help of his ex-wife and current lawyer Christine, Danny won custody of Daniel since the court deemed Phyllis too unstable to be an active parent. In time, Phyllis got visitation rights so she could be close to her son and mend her equation with Danny in the process.

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Audiences can watch new episodes of The Young and the Restless streaming online via Paramount+ and CBS.