Meg Snyder, Emma's youngest child, returned to the family farm in 1986 after a long stay with her uncle. Upon arriving, she met Holden's friend, Lily Walsh and immediately disliked her after Lily snubbed her. Meg thought that Lily was spoiled and rude and so she thought nothing about stealing Lily's boyfriend, Dusty Donovan. Dusty had a huge trust fund, and Meg was anxious to enjoy the good life since her family was poor. In addition to kissing Dusty when she first met him at the farm, Meg also manipulated John Dixon into thinking that Lily was distracting Dusty, thus endangering his chances of getting into Harvard. Feeling enormous pressure from John about getting into Harvard, Dusty skipped his high school graduation banquet and ran off to New Mexico, with Meg following. After the pair made love, they returned to Oakdale. However, Meg was anxious to get Dusty for herself and decided to trap him into marriage by claiming to be pregnant. Trying to be noble, Dusty agreed to marry her and then told Lily the story. Lily discovered that Meg was lying about the pregnancy and threatened to tell Meg's mother, Emma, about it unless Meg backed off. Not wanting to hurt her mother, Meg complied.

Later, Meg became attracted to the rich, mysterious Tonio Reyes. Meg was attracted to his power and, even though he was married, they started having an affair. When Tonio's marriage ended, he was in danger of being deported so he convinced Meg to marry him. No dummy, Meg knew Tonio was using her and made him sign a pre-nuptial agreement. Meg finally had a taste of the good life. Even though she was rich, however, Meg's pride was still hurt when Tonio started having an affair with Emily Stewart. Wanting to get Tonio's attention back, she claimed to be pregnant. However, the plan backfired and Tonio continued to see Emily. Despondent about her marriage, Meg sought comfort with her adopted cousin, Josh Snyder (also known as Rod Landry) and they made love. After, Meg found herself pregnant for real! Finally, Meg decided that life with Tonio wasn't worth it and she confronted him about his affair only to have him rough her up. After that, Meg tried to leave but Tonio stopped her by saying that he knew the child wasn't his. Tonio got into a scuffle with his wife and Meg fell down the steps and lost her baby. Soon after, someone tried to kill Tonio and he threatened to say it was Josh if Meg tried to leave again. Meg was now trapped in a loveless marriage. Though trapped, Meg didn't give up hope and when she learned that Tonio had been in cahoots with James Stenbeck and then double-crossed him, she knew she had the leverage she needed to get Tonio out of her life. After her divorce from Tonio, Meg graduated top of her class in nursing school and married (with protests from her brothers) reformed rapist Josh Snyder.

Soon after marrying, the couple moved to Waco, Texas, where Josh's biological father owned an oil refinery. Meg then discovered that she couldn't bear children and the two petitioned to be put on an adoption list. Unfortunately, they were told it could take up to ten years to adopt a baby. Meg tried to get her pregnant older sister, Iva, to let her adopt her baby since Iva had already adopted a child. However, Iva balked at the idea of giving up her child, so Meg remained childless. Josh and Meg came back to the farm for a visit on Christmas 1992. Meg visited Memorial shortly before Christmas and, in the course of a conversation with Dr. Audrey Samuels, learned that her other sister, Ellie, had aborted her malformed fetus. Incensed, Meg told Ellie's husband, Kirk Anderson, and they both blasted Ellie in front of several people at the Yacht Club. In November 1993, Josh came back to Oakdale without Meg, and it was learned that he and Meg were going through some marital difficulties. Although not forthcoming about the specifics of the marital difficulties between him and Meg, when Lily told Josh that she was fighting her feelings for Holden in favor of making her marriage to Damian Grimaldi work, Josh hinted to her that maybe it wasn't the best idea for her to fight those feelings. A few days after Thanksgiving, Cal and Emma strongly suggested to Josh that he return to Waco to try to make amends to Meg and give his marriage a fighting chance. Later when Josh and Meg returned to town, in June 1994, for the remarriage of Caleb to Julie Wendall, their marriage appeared to be back on track, but there was an undercurrent of tension between Josh and Meg.

Meg returned to the family farm, in 2005, proclaiming that her marriage was over, though she gave no details as to why. Though she intended to move to Alaska after her brief visit home, she decided to move to Oakdale permanently when she became reacquainted with Dusty. Soon, she and Dusty resumed their old relationship and everything seemed to be going well---except for Dusty's preoccupation with Jennifer Munson. Jennifer was going through a horrible time ever since the death of her newborn baby and Dusty's concern for her seemed to be more than platonic. After struggling with a meth addiction, Jen revealed to Dusty that she believed that her baby was alive. Since there was another baby born on the same day as Jen's, Dusty decided to do some investigating. Doing some digging, he learned that Gwen Norbeck's baby was born the same day as Jen's—meaning he could be Jen's baby. Dusty then asked Meg to help him get a DNA test done. Meanwhile, Meg was approached by Jen's brother, Paul Ryan, who confirmed what Jen believed—her baby was alive! Using Meg's fear of losing Dusty to Jennifer, Paul convinced a conflicted Meg to alter the test. As time went by though, Meg couldn't live with the guilt and hinted to Dusty the truth. Using Meg's clues, Dusty confirmed that Jen's baby had been switched and was indeed alive! Unfortunately for Meg, he also discovered that she'd kept quiet about the truth for months. Furious, Dusty wrote her off and Meg ended up losing her nursing license as a result of faking the DNA test.

Days later, Meg would stumble upon a bloodied Paul at the bottom of a cliff. Meg quickly got Paul to shelter and tended to his wounds. Although she wanted to get Paul to a hospital, Paul refused. He told her that Emily had shot him and he felt guilty for having driven her to it. He then threatened Meg to keep quiet or he would make public her role in the baby cover-up. However, Meg soon became frustrated with Paul's stubbornness and threatened to leave, so Paul offered her 1 million dollars to nurse him to health. Though she still insisted that he belonged in a hospital rather than a very non-sterile cabin, she agreed. There at the cabin, the pair bonded and fell in love. Later, Paul decided that perhaps it'd be best if he was "dead." Since he was facing jail time if he ever returned to town, Paul got Meg to help him stage his suicide. At the same time, Emily was becoming suspicious that perhaps she hadn't killed Paul. Convinced that Meg knew where Paul was, Emily went snooping around Meg's place at the Lakeview (that Paul was paying for) and found Meg's cell phone. She called the last number dialed which happened to be Paul! Emily then confronted Meg who told Emily that it was a ludicrous idea. However, Emily wasn't so sure and began following Meg.

Several weeks later, Dusty discovered the truth and confronted Paul telling him Jennifer was better off thinking he was dead. After a scuffle, Paul went off to reveal himself to Jennifer. After their bittersweet reunion, the police finally apprehended Paul and he was put in jail. Meanwhile, Dusty had gone missing. Meg found Dusty's wallet and, worried that Paul had done something to Dusty, tossed it into the river. Soon after, evidence suggested that Dusty had been murdered and Paul quickly confessed to the crime. Soon after, Emily convinced Hal Munson to search Meg's room where he found bloody gloves. Meg was then arrested as a co-conspirator in Dusty's murder. Meg was placed in the cell next to Paul and after some discussion they realized that neither one of them killed Dusty. But who did? Remembering Emily's visit, and her vindictive attitude toward Meg, Paul realized it was Emily. He also wondered if Dusty was alive and being held captive.

To get the answers, Paul had to get to Emily. Soon after, Paul arranged a meeting with Emily and told her that Meg betrayed him. He said that Emily was right, warning him about Meg, and he apologized for not believing her. He declared that the biggest mistake of his life was not marrying her. Privately, Paul revealed to Emily that he didn't kill Dusty, but he did deserve to go to jail for the way he treated her. Emily then stated that maybe there's a way to get him out of this mess. But it all depended on Paul, and whether he could prove his love for her - by marrying her. Paul agreed. After the wedding, a photo of Dusty with the current day's paper was sent to Jennifer, proving that Dusty was still alive. Paul immediately recanted his confession. However, there was still the issue of his previous crimes. Convinced that Paul knew where Dusty was, Jennifer agreed to drop the charges so he would lead them to Dusty, but in order to do that Paul had to prove his loyalty to Emily and he did that by seducing his new wife. Later, Paul confessed to Jen his belief about Emily and got Jennifer to tell Emily that she'd heard from Dusty.

As expected, Emily went to the farmhouse where she was holding Dusty. But by this time, Dusty got the upper hand and escaped; so had Emily. Realizing Emily was still a danger to Meg; Paul frantically went searching for her and found her on the same cliff side where she shot Paul. Distraught, Emily seemed set to jump when Paul found her and pleaded with her to trust him. However, that went out the window when Meg and Dusty came as well and a frantic Emily ended up stepping off the cliff. Luckily, Paul was able to revive her and Emily was sent to the hospital for her injuries. Then came a startling revelation--Emily was pregnant with Paul's baby. Meanwhile, Jennifer's son, Johnny, became ill and was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer. While Emily was trying to decide whether to proceed with her pregnancy (since she didn't want Paul to raise the baby with Meg), it was discovered that stem cells from Emily's fetus could save Johnny's life. However, it was risky; Emily's baby could die. Emily took the risk and not only did her baby survive the procedure, but Johnny recovered as well. Grateful, Jennifer wanted leniency in Emily's sentencing and continually asked Dusty to either not testify against Emily or ask the court to go easy on her. However, Dusty continually refused. Not long after, tragedy struck when Jennifer died from complications from viral pneumonia.

After Jennifer's death, Emily tried to remind Paul and Dusty that Jennifer wanted her to go free so their children would know each other, neither man would budge. At her trial, Emily was advised to plead guilty when salvation came from an unlikely source—Dusty! He'd had a change of heart and refused to testify against Emily. Though a desperate Paul tried to have charges brought up for Emily shooting him, it was much too late. Emily was free. Convinced that Emily was still a dangerous woman, Paul was determined that she would never raise that her child. Paul's obsession with Emily distressed Meg and she declined his marriage proposal but later reconsidered. Later, upon learning that Meg and Paul were engaged, Emily made plans to flee the country. Unfortunately for Emily, Meg got word from Henry and tried to stop her from leaving. However, Emily ignored all of Meg's pleas. While they argued at the Snyder farm, a freak snowstorm hit Oakdale. To keep a stubborn Emily from going out in the storm, Meg locked her in the barn. At that moment, a hysterical Emily went into labor. As Meg was trying to help Emily, the barn caught on fire. Luckily, the pair was rescued by Paul but, tragically, Emily's baby died during childbirth. Though Meg was free to marry Paul, she backed out at the last minute when Emily informed her that Paul had tried to smother Craig Montgomery with a pillow at the hospital.

Meanwhile, Craig usurped Worldwide right out from under Lucinda Walsh and Lucinda recruited Meg to help oust Craig, so Meg went to Paul for help. Pretending they were on the outs, Meg got close to Craig while Paul "confessed" that was having visions about Craig's son, Johnny. Meg then spun a tale about Paul being unhinged. Paul then came up with the idea of Alison Stewart impersonating Rosanna in order to "haunt" Craig. Unfortunately, that idea didn't work because of Alison's drug problem. Realizing Craig might be on to them, Paul urged Meg to drop the vendetta against Craig but she refused. Later, Meg found an unconscious Craig and realized that Lucinda must have drugged him. She rushed him to the hospital but he lied that the overdose was accidental. Soon after, Craig told Meg he would give Lucinda back WorldWide if she married him. Having bonded with Craig over the past few months, Meg decided that he wasn't a dangerous man and agreed. Though Paul objected, Meg assured him that she knew what she was doing and urged him to wait for her. Despite her own trepidation, Meg went ahead and married Craig. Unfortunately, Craig was on to Meg all along and, after drugging Meg, arranged for Paul to meet him near a steep cliff. Craig confronted Paul with a gun. As the pair struggled, Paul fell over the cliff and was presumed dead. Though Lucinda wanted Meg to testify that Craig tried to kill Paul, Meg witnessed Craig trying to save him from going over the cliff and refused to lie. Soon after, Craig presented Meg with WorldWide and told her it was up to her what to do with it.

In the meantime, Lucinda was annoying Meg with her insistence about the company being turned over to her. Finally, Meg decided that maybe Lucinda wasn't the best choice to head the company after all and decided to head it herself hoping that she could make some good out of it. As Craig showed Meg the ropes about running the business, Meg started seeing a softer side to him and decided to stay with him. Making the choice easier was the fact that Paul was dead. Or so she thought. Later, Paul returned home with Rosanna in tow. Hurt to learn that Meg was still married to Craig, believing she must have enjoyed her new lifestyle too much to give it up, Paul turned his back on Meg. Distraught, Meg finally made love to Craig. At the same time, Paul's old feelings for Rosanna began to resurface and he asked her to marry him. However, no matter how hard he tried, Paul could not deny his feelings for Meg and when he found her at the cabin, they made love. Though Paul declared his love for Meg, she realized he still had a vendetta against Craig and walked away.

Later, Meg went to Paul and informed him that she was ready to end things with Craig. He planned on ending things with Rosanna as well. However, before he had a chance, he was rocked by Craig's announcement that Meg was pregnant. Believing the child was Craig's, Paul turned away from Meg again and quickly married Rosanna. Devastated, Meg committed herself to her marriage. However, Meg was convinced that her baby was Paul's and asked for a DNA test which Paul agreed to. Unfortunately, Meg was shocked when the test showed that Craig, not Paul, was her baby's father. After Paul coldly rejected her, Meg resolved to build a family with Craig. Though initially thrilled at the prospect of being a father, Craig's attitude changed at one point. He became cold and almost seemed repulsed by the child she was carrying. Things got stranger when Craig unexpectedly knocked a drink out of her hand during a toast. As the days went by, Craig began acting more and more erratically.

Finally, after making a scene at the Lakeview lounge, Craig revealed to Meg that her DNA test had been altered. He made it clear that he wasn't responsible but Paul was indeed the baby's father. Meg immediately went to Paul and while they were celebrating, she remembered that Craig's hostility toward her baby didn't occur until after she saw him speaking with Rosanna. Rosanna must have altered the test. At the same time, Meg remembered Craig knocking the glass out of her hand. Since that hand became infected, she realized that he tried to drug her. Craig admitted that he did buy a drug to make her lose her baby but pointed out that he couldn't go through with it. Craig begged Meg to stay with him and let him raise her child. Repulsed by what he almost cost her, Meg ordered him out of her life and decided not to let Paul know what Craig did for fear of what Paul would do. Unfortunately, in the heat of anger, Rosanna let the truth slip out. As Meg feared, Paul left to confront Craig. The pair got in a vicious fight and when she tried to break it up, Paul shoved Meg which caused Meg to fall and lose her baby. Afterwards, Craig tried to convince Meg that he loved her but she refused to go back with him. Though Paul tried to reach out to Meg, she blamed the loss of her child on his intense rivalry with Craig. Later, Meg returned Worldwide to Lucinda who, unexpectedly, turned the company over to Paul. Meanwhile, Paul begged Meg to take him back, but Meg couldn't live with what Paul's quest for vengeance had cost her and refused.

Not long after, Emma surprised the family by stating that she intended to sell the family farm. Soon after, family friend Mike Kasnoff returned after a year's absence. Now working as a project supervisor for a large corporation, Mike pitched the idea of his company buying her land and using it to build an environmentally friendly housing development. Emma was immediately impressed and accepted Mike's offer. However, when Worldwide made an offer that same day, Meg convinced Emma to listen to both offers. Remembering how Paul had hurt Jennifer, Mike took an immediate dislike to Paul and distrusted him. However, Meg was beginning to soften towards Paul again. Finally, it was decided that both companies pull their resources and work on the project together. After being rejected by his ex-wife, Katie, Mike made plans to leave. However, Meg pleaded with him to stay. Although Mike assured her that he would find a suitable replacement to oversee the project. Meg argued that he was the one that she and her mother trusted. As the weeks went by, Mike's friendship with Meg deepened. At the same time, Paul constantly begged Meg to take him back, but she was reluctant since she'd been hurt before. Mike continually warned Meg about Paul, and even went so far to convince Meg to seek a restraining order against Paul when it seemed that Paul was harassing her. While Meg was enjoying Mike's company, Paul was enjoying the company of the younger Sofie Duran, with Meg catching the two in the act of making love. Meg was devastated but for Mike, this reinforced what he thought about Paul. Despite her words, Meg found herself continually charmed by Paul. At the same time, Meg found out that Paul's mother, Barbara, had cancer and was hired as her private nurse. Though Paul offered to let Meg out of her obligation since it might make her uncomfortable, Meg stayed on as Barbara's nurse.

Things finally came to a head when Mike informed Meg that Paul raped Sofie. Meg refused to believe it and wholeheartedly supported Paul. Believing that Sofie was delusional, Meg was determined to prove that Sofie was lying and, with Mike's help, caught Sofie in a lie regarding her education. Though Paul was charged with rape, Sofie later admitted that she'd lied. Paul and Meg were forced to contend with an obsessed Sofie, who went as far as to switch Barbara's medication so that Meg would be blamed for it. Soon, in front of his mother, Paul asked Meg to marry him. Meg said yes and was pleasantly surprised to get Holden's blessing. The day that Paul and Meg were set to elope, Mike informed Meg that Sofie was pregnant with Paul's baby. Doubtful, Meg went to Sofie who provided proof in the form of a sonogram. A day later, Meg was shocked when Paul told her that he took care of their problem. When Paul mentioned that Sofie was dead, Meg was shocked. Meg's shocked response proved to Paul that Meg was not responsible for fatally injecting Sofie, which was what he believed when he covered up the body. Since Meg was obviously not the culprit, Paul's suspicion fell on Barbara. Determined to protect his mother, Paul continued to keep Sofie's death a secret.

Meanwhile, Paul and Meg decided to marry ASAP when Barbara led them to believe that she didn't have much time left. With no time to notify Meg's family, the pair married alone at the rose garden at Fairwinds with only Barbara in attendance. Unfortunately, their wedded bliss wouldn't last for long. Suspicious about Sofie's sudden disappearance, Mike suspected foul play and went to Jack with his suspicions. Though there was no real evidence, Jack questioned Paul and Meg. Unfortunately, their answers failed to put his mind at ease and Jack decided to ask for a search warrant to dig up the rose garden. Though Paul attempted to transport Sofie's body once more, he was caught in the act by Jack and promptly arrested for Sofie's murder. Later, Barbara denied murdering Sofie and enlisted the help of Rick Decker to prove Paul's innocence. Before getting fired by Paul, Rick reported that whoever killed Sofie was a professional in the use of needles—which led Barbara to suspect Meg. Not long after, Cole returned to town and manipulated Barbara into believing that she did kill Sofie. Soon after blackmailing her for money, Cole kidnapped Barbara and prepared to hold her for ransom. Luckily, Paul rescued her and Cole was uncovered as Sofie's murderer. Drug crazed, Cole shot Meg before running off and ultimately getting captured by the police. As Meg recovered at Memorial, an out of town Emma finally returned and was distressed to learn not only of the shooting but also of Meg's quickie marriage. Seeing no choice, Emma supported Meg's decision to marry Paul and was in attendance at Meg and Paul's second ceremony, this one held at the hospital.

Afterward, Paul got involved with a loan shark in order to save the Snyder farm. This questionable endeavor brought him in his father's orbit again. Ultimately, Paul seemingly killed his father who had been holding a presumed dead Dusty hostage. Meg's renewed friendship with Dusty brought out irrational jealousy in Paul and he set out to destroy his imagined rival. Finally fed up with Paul's dishonest actions, Meg divorced him and sought out sole custody of Eliza. Soon, an unstable Paul kidnapped Eliza but promptly returned her to Meg. As the weeks went by, Paul's jealousy and anger toward both Dusty and Meg continued to grow and he became hell bent on destroying them both. Finally, Paul kidnapped Eliza again and ended up at a co-op farm where he saw a familiar face—Rosanna. Paul called Barbara and told her he would bring Eliza home if Barbara could get Meg to agree to sign an affidavit stating that Meg had allowed Paul to take Eliza out of state. Meg agreed and, to Dusty's chagrin, refused to press charges against Paul. Eventually, it was discovered that Paul's erratic behavior was caused by a computer chip that James had implanted in his brain. However, the damage to their relationship had already been done and Meg and Paul remained divorced.

In the meantime, despite having made love, Meg's relationship with Dusty fizzled out. At the same time, she began a new friendship with Damian Grimaldi—Lily's ex-husband. Despite her family's warnings, Meg was captivated by the charming Damian. Unfortunately, it was obvious that Damian still had feelings for Lily, especially after he comforted her after Holden was presumed dead in a car crash. In record time, Damian and Lily embarked on an affair and then married. Angry that she'd been tossed aside, Meg started looking for dirt on Damian. Meanwhile, not long after Holden returned to Oakdale very much alive, Meg discovered that Damian knew that there was no DNA proof that the dead body found earlier was Holden's. Obsessed with Damian, Meg used this information to blackmail Damian into dumping Lily and staying with her. Damian seemed to comply by making love to Meg. Afterwards, when Lily caught a half dressed Meg with Damian, Damian accused Meg of being delusional. To make Meg look even more delusional, Damian laced the cake for his and Lily's vow renewal ceremony with a toxin and planted the toxin in Meg's purse. Meg revealed the truth about Damian, but with the toxin in Meg's possession, Lily accused Meg of concocting the story to cover up Meg's own crime: trying to kill Damian and Lily. Irate, Meg threatened Lily with a glass shard—which led her to being committed to a psychiatric hospital. Though Meg managed to escape, Paul found her and convinced her that she needed to get help.

Meg played the role of the model patient, but once alone with Damian, she threatened to kill him upon her release. Meg kept her word and, after her release, she crashed Damian and Lily's vacation. As Meg and Damian fought over a syringe, Damian inadvertently choked Meg with her scarf. Believing he'd killed her, Damian stuffed her body in a trunk. Soon, Lily discovered Meg's body in a trunk, and when Holden showed up, Lily told him everything. A revived Meg popped out of the trunk, and Damian fled. Later, Meg asked Emily to mother Eliza while Meg got her life back together at the hospital. Later, Paul let Meg spend her night away from the hospital at Fairwinds. Unbeknownst to Paul, Meg and Eliza lied in bed with him. When Emily found them, Meg played innocent about it, and Paul asked her never to do that again.

Soon after, Emma checked Meg out of the hospital. Certain that Meg was stable, Emma initiated a custody battle to ensure that Meg would get joint custody of Eliza, and not just supervised visits. Though Holden believed that Meg might not be stable enough to care for Eliza, Emma refused to believe that anything was wrong. When Meg began acting oddly, evidence sprang up that suggested that she was being drugged. Though the evidence pointed to Emily, Paul had a hunch that Meg was medicating herself in an attempt to get rid of Emily. To test his theory, Paul set it up for Meg to believe that he suspected Emily. As Paul predicted, Emily confronted Meg who wound up brandishing a gun. Luckily, Paul saved Emily and a dejected Meg was led out by her mother and some orderlies. Before being transferred to a facility in Washington, Meg was visited by Paul who told her that while she did save him, he was just not good for her.