Classic Y&R: Olivia, Nathan, Keesha, and HIV

Been a YouTube addict this afternoon going down soap opera memory lane.

One of my ALL TIME favorite storylines on Young and The Restless was when Olivia, played by the fabulous Tonya Lee Williams, found out her husband, Nathan, had been having an affair with Keesha, who happened to be HIV-positive.

Such a well-written and well-acted storyline by all involved. And it showed how good Y&R was with its realistic black characters... especially with the following clips featuring Olivia and her sister Drucilla processing about "what a dog" Nathan is.

What made the storyline work was the classic Y&R formula... slow build up to the scenes you see here. Olivia was an ambitious doctor, who worked a lot of hours. Nathan felt neglected, didn't like that Olivia wasn't home all the time and that she'd hired someone to look after their son. Soon, Nathan met Keesha out in Genoa City (I believe on a case he was working on, Nathan was a private investigator), and their affair started. Keesha found out she was HIV-positive from a previous lover... and all hell broke loose. Nathan HAD to tell his wife about the affair and the exposure to HIV. It took a good year for this storyline to play out. And this was long before HIV and the black community made headlines.

Olivia is returning to the show, played by Tonya Lee Williams. Hopefully Dru played by Victoria Rowell will follow. (My sidenote, the actor playing the husband Nathan is/was sooooooo cute to me, but that's a major sidenote, lol)

In the meantime, some great clips:

Olivia confronts Keesha when she finds out about the affair and the HIV exposure. (Olivia eventually tested negative, and they followed her testing process in real time over the next year)

Olivia and Dru talk about Nathan. Part 1.

Olivia and Nathan Part 2... and Part 3.
fs