The Young And The Restless: Adam And Chelsea's Relationship Timeline
It may be splitsville for Adam Newman (Mark Grossman) and Chelsea Lawson (Melissa Claire Egan) — sometimes known as "Chadam" — on "The Young and the Restless" in 2022 as they realize they're toxic together and may be better off with other people.
But, somehow, Adam and Chelsea have never been able to stay away from each other — no matter how hard they try — and are bound to wind up in each other's orbit again at some point. After all, neither character is pure of heart (to put it kindly), and their manipulative natures seem to draw them together.
Adam still feels resentful toward the Newman family after not learning he was a Newman until he was a young man, and Chelsea was raised by a con artist to be a con artist. So it would seem that they're the perfect pair.
So, how did Adam and Chelsea meet and get to the point they are now? Let's take a look at their relationship timeline.
Adam and Chelsea bond over their outsider status
Adam's mother, the blind Hope Adams (Signy Coleman), decided that he wouldn't know that he was a Newman while growing up, despite Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), his father, wanting to be a part of his life.
When Adam (then played by Michael Muhney) learned the truth, he was still considered a black sheep in the Newman family after moving to Genoa City. That caused him to do some pretty rotten things, including kidnapping Sharon Collins' newborn baby, per Soaps In Depth.
Chelsea Lawson arrived in Genoa City already pregnant with Billy Abbott's (then played by Billy Miller) baby after they had a one-night stand while he was out of town. Billy was already married to Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle). But they moved both Chelsea and her mother, Anita (Catherine Bach), in with them, and Chelsea agreed to give up her parental rights and give the baby to Billy and Victoria when he was born.
During this time, Chelsea and Adam met and bonded over not being accepted by others in town because of the horrible things they had done in the past. However, that didn't stop them from doing even more horrible things.
Adam delivers Chelsea's baby and marries her
Victoria did not like the fact that Chelsea was close to the younger half-brother she hated, which caused a terrible fight. That prompted a very pregnant Chelsea to run off and fall into a frozen lake.
Adam rescued her and delivered a little boy, whom Chelsea gave to Billy and Victoria as promised. But, at this point, Adam and Chelsea were falling in love. He was there for her as she stopped running cons, got a job, and even got her GED.
After Adam proposed, the pair wed in Kansas on the farm where Adam grew up, and they looked forward to a happy life together. Sadly, Chelsea got pregnant and miscarried.
She was also furious when she spied Adam kissing his former flame, Sharon (Sharon Case). When Adam refused to give up Genoa City and his Newman Enterprises job for her, Chelsea demanded a divorce — before learning she was pregnant again.
Chelsea has Adam's baby — and lies about it
Since Chelsea had a one-night stand with Dylan McAvoy (Steve Burton), she managed to pass her baby off as his, and they got married.
However, when Chelsea's newborn, Connor, was diagnosed with a disorder that could cause blindness — just like Adam's mother — Adam realized the baby was really his. Chelsea had to admit this was true, and Dylan left her.
After Adam and Chelsea remarried, tragedy struck when Adam accidentally killed Billy's daughter with Chloe Mitchell (Elizabeth Hendrickson), Delia Abbott, when he hit her with his car. Billy confronted Adam, and tragedy struck again with yet another car accident. This time, it was Adam who died, and Chelsea was devastated.
However, the audience knew that Adam was still alive and had plastic surgery after being burned, so he looked like someone completely different. Adam (then played by Justin Hartley) later returned to town, claiming to be a man named Gabriel Bingham and getting close to Chelsea.
She fell for Gabe and agreed to marry him before learning he was really Adam and had been lying to her the whole time.
Adam and Chelsea reconcile, but he goes to jail
Chelsea was furious when she learned that Gabe was really Adam, but quickly forgave him, and the pair reconciled, hoping to finally be happy and raise Connor together. However, that wasn't meant to be.
Adam still had to pay for running down Delia and driving away because he didn't realize he had hit someone. He was first sentenced to 10 years in prison for that crime and then more prison time for poisoning the real Gabe Bingham's mother, Constance (Sally Kellerman). While behind bars, Adam started going mad as Chelsea pledged to wait for him, but Victor Newman decided Adam needed out and plotted his escape.
Just as Adam and Chelsea were ready to go on the run with their son, their cabin hideaway exploded with Adam still in it, and he was presumed dead. Chelsea went on to fall for Adam's brother, Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow). But, then, she skipped town with Connor and money she embezzled from the company of Lauren Fenmore (Tracey E. Bregman).
Adam is found alive and Chelsea returns
Adam Newman had not been seen since 2016, but, in 2019, he turned up in Vegas with amnesia as a man going by the name Spider. Victor brought his son back to Genoa City, and his memory returned — as did Chelsea.
However, Chelsea chose not to be with Adam (now played by Mark Grossman) and, instead, returned to Nick. Adam waffled back and forth for a while between Sharon and Chelsea and eventually chose the latter.
Eventually, Chelsea realized it was Adam she belonged with, but, after a head injury that resulted in a stroke, she lost her grip on reality for a while and believed Adam was having an affair with Sharon.
So she didn't tell anyone that she had recovered her voice and her mobility and set up Adam to take the fall for murdering Sharon's new husband, Rey Rosales (Jordi Vilasuso). After Chelsea was caught, she was sent to a mental health facility and spent time out of town with her mother upon release.
When Chelsea returned to town, Adam had moved on with Sally Spectra (Courtney Hope), disappointing Chelsea. However, she now finds herself fantasizing about Sharon's husband, Rey, so anything can happen to "Chadam" now — just as it often does.