Does Viki's DID count? That went on for nearly 40 years. I was a re-occuring disease that wasn't cured like "inoperable" brain tumors etc.

off the top of my head, lily's paternity maybe on Y&R, starting with dru sleeping with malcolm cause she she took too much cold medicine, to when it was revealed??? im sure there are others!!!

What about the Babe/Bianca babyswitch on AMC didn't that go like over a year

bill bell and james reilley are the KINGS of this thread and i LOVE them for it! great start to a LOOOOOOOONGGGG and outstanding finish!!!!

Passions is the biggest offender with this, Little Ethan's Paternity, Gwen/Rebecca framing Theresa for outing Ethan as a Bennett and not a Crane, Eve's secret love child with Julian etc etc.

I remember Sheridan was pregnant for over a year

Longest running soap storyline? Easy. Y&R: Kay vs Jill. 1973-2003 without interruption.

I was thinking about this, as well as Viki and Dorian's rivalry, and I wondered if we're really talking character relationship here rather than storyline. Perhaps various storylines born out of a single umbrella relationship? What are everyone's thoughts on that?

OLTL's first baby switch with Jenny Wolek and Katrina Karr last 3 years before the truth was revealed.

It took 18 years for Chris and Paul to learn Phyllis ran them down on Y&R, but it wasn't really ongoing.

I remember Kay on Passions being pregnant for literally over a year and they tried to say the baby was born months premature.

I remember Kay on Passions being pregnant for literally over a year and they tried to say the baby was born months premature.

Well when you have an entire summer worth of episodes last one day on camera, then a year's pregnancy does equate to prematurity

I don't think it is fair to compare it to a rivalry or love triangle because those can last forever on soaps, but a true secret or twist that the viewers knew about for NINE years is crazy, IMO. Couldn't possibly be done now.

Oh? We'll see about that!

OLTL's first baby switch with Jenny Wolek and Katrina Karr last 3 years before the truth was revealed.

BEST. STORY. EVER.

AMC's Erica and Brooke as one of the original frenemies, and OLTL's Dorian and Vicki are in this category as well.

The battle because and for JR on AMC - it's a story that spanned over 24 years and affected the development of JR himself, and shaped the relationships of Adam/Brooke/Tad/Dixie.

Days' last babyswap. Sami slept with EJ when Lucas was in jail in winter/spring and got knocked up, as did Nicole. It was clearly the set up. Mia came to town and was knocked up shortly after, Sami was in witness protection and Nicole lost her baby in the summer/fall. Nicole found out where Sami was going to give bith and hatched her plan, taking Mia there and swapping the babies. The following winter/spring Sami's child Grace died and she told Ej it was really their child and then that fall Nicoles plan was exposed and Sami got her baby back. A great story, that should have ended there but didnt as then nicole went on the run and ej kidnapped and faked the death, etc... It was like a 3 year story all in all. Unless i am just thinking it was longer than it was.

DAYS never should have switched back the babies. Yeah, I said it.

DAYS never should have switched back the babies. Yeah, I said it.

I agree, to a point. never? no. They should have let it go when Grace died and come back years later. I was glad they revealed it because it had dragged from the death to that point, and those scenes were fantastic. Esp that double slap and Nicoles line about sami already having enough kids, lol.

They should have let it go when Grace died and come back years later.

That's what I meant. Let Sami grieve for the loss of a child that wasn't hers. Then, years later, after Nicole's daughter (er, the one she raised as her daughter) became an adult, let her and everyone else learn the truth.

See how my mind works, lol?