1996: Sam Grey was the result of a teen fling between Bobby Warner and Kelsey Jefferson. Anita Santos arranged for Maria and Edmund Grey to adopt Sam. He had a life of privilege at Wildwind.
1997: Sam got a new little sister with the birth of Madelyn Flora Grey. But happiness in Wildwind was short-lived. Maria died in a plane crash on her way back to Pine Valley. Though Edmund at first had a hard time adjusting to life without Maria, he eventually adapted well to being both mother and father to the little Grey’s.

1997: Maria died in a plane crash. Edmund raised Sam and Maddie as a single parent.

2000: Sam and Maddie helped Edmund propose to Aelex Marick. Before they were married, Dimitri was revealed to be alive.

2001: Sam received calls from a missing Alex. Edmund at first did not believe his claim. The calls eventually gave Alex’s whereabouts.
Phoebe Wallingford enlisted Sam’s help to bring Brooke and Edmund together at midnight at the Crystal Ball. It was clear that they were a couple again.

2002: Sam had a hard time adjusting to the idea that Brooke English was going to become his stepmother. Edmund assured Sam that he could love Maria and Brooke equally. Right after the ceremony, Maddie made the revelation that Maria was still alive and on the Wildwind grounds. Only, Maria thought she was a woman named Maureen Gorman from Las Vegas with no memory of her life and family in Pine Valley.

2003: Sam had felt left out of Maria’s return. Maria only had memories of Maddie’s birth. He stayed at Wildwind as Maddie bonded with their mother.
Maria’s memories returned after she rescued Maddie from drowning in the ocean. She returned to Wildwind, and the Greys were a family once again.

2004: Sam began attending Boarding School. Little did he know, his perfect family life was falling apart at the seems.

2005: Sam returned to Pine Valley after learning the tragic news of his father’s murder. Sam resented his mother after learning her ex-lover, Zach Slater, was the prime suspect. Edmund left his entire estate to his children and named Brooke, and not Maria, as the executor.
Sam joined in the manhunt for Edmund’s real murder, Jonathan Lavery. After Jonathan seemingly died in a cave explosion, Sam discovered Lily Montgomery, the only witness to Edmund’s murder, in a carved out tree log. He did his best to help the autistic teen. After the ordeal, they began to see more of each other.
Maria announced they were going to move to California for a fresh start. But, Sam did not want to end his blossoming relationship with Lily. He asked Maria if he could stay behind in Pine Valley to discover his Martin roots. Maria agreed to let him move in with Joe and Ruth Martin, his biological great-grandparents.
Sam began acting out. After sneaking a few beers at the 4th of July, Sam drunkenly lashed out at Lily. Brooke took the matter seriously. She had lost her daughter to a drunk driver. But Sam’s bad behavior continued. The only person who seemed to have any influence on him was his aunt, Julia Keefer. Julia had escaped Witness Protection and took refuge in Tad Martin’s attic. Julia implored Sam to come to terms with Maria and Edmund’s broken marriage, and not blame his mother for his father’s death.
At the end of summer, Sam joined his family in California.