Young and Restless Star Cait Fairbanks Says Tessa Will ‘Fight Tooth and Nail’ for Mariah (Exclusive)

When Mariah returned from her business trip on Young and Restless and was clearly hiding a big secret, her reluctance to open up to her wife drove a wedge between her and Tessa. Then, after Mariah finally confessed that she’d tried to kill a man, she flew off to a clinic in Boston for therapy, which left Tessa once again struggling to make sense of it all. As Tess’s portrayer, Cait Fairbanks, notes to Soap Opera Digest, “I just can’t imagine going through this and not knowing the truth.”

Taking Action

After all these months with no real explanations, Tessa decides that it’s finally time for her to get some answers one way or another. “I think the seriousness of the situation is really starting to hit,” Fairbanks explains. “She’s been alone. She’s been taking care of their child [daughter Aria] on her own. She’s had no answers. I mean, in my life, if my boyfriend was completely blocking me out, I would have gone crazy so much longer ago. So [Tessa’s] stronger than I am.

“I think it’s just reaching a boiling point for her that if she doesn’t get answers, she has to think about the next steps,” the actress adds. “Because they have a child together, and she needs that support. And she just needs answers.”

When crises have come Tessa and Mariah’s way in the past, the couple has always worked together to get through them. But this time around, Tessa has found herself frozen out by her wife. “It just seems so out of character,” Fairbanks frowns, “because they’ve always had a really open and honest relationship. They’ve been a team since the beginning. So I think it feels just extremely out of character for Mariah as well. Just like, ‘Who is this person? I thought I knew her so well and now, all of a sudden, she’s completely changed.’ ”

For Better or Worse

While Mariah has distanced herself from friends, family and loved ones, Tessa remains determined to fight for their marriage — and their family. “I think if they didn’t have a child together, it would be different,” Fairbanks muses. “But now that they have a daughter, I think that just changes the tone of everything. It makes it more serious to stick it out, but also more serious to make sure that their child can have a happy life with the love and support that she needs.

With that driving her, “I think she’s going to try her hardest — like, kind of fight tooth and nail on this,” Fairbanks contends. “But also she needs to think not just about herself and what Tessa wants, but also what Mariah wants and what Aria needs.”

Fairbanks also suggests that if Mariah is guilty of attempted murder or even actual murder, that still wouldn’t make her turn her back on her wife. “I don’t think so,” she shares. “I think Tessa is more just about honesty. We can go through anything together, but she doesn’t want to be shut out. I think that’s more of a deal-breaker than anything.”

Never Go Back

Loyal “Teriah” fans can take heart that even if Mariah isn’t making it easy for her, Tessa is committed to her marriage and to doing whatever it takes to help her wife get through this traumatic experience so they can come out the other side stronger than before.

“She’s never had a relationship in her life the way she’s had with Mariah,” Fairbanks points out. “She’s never had a consistent family. She’s never had a consistent partner. She’s never had consistency! So, I think that is also what’s so pivotal about this relationship for her is its stability, its comfort, its love. There’s so much to it.”

Having found happiness with Mariah, Tessa isn’t about to let things go back to the way they were before her wife came into her life. “I think Tessa has been alone for a really long time,” Fairbanks says. “So being lonely like this probably doesn’t feel that foreign, but now it’s starting to, because it’s been such a long time without that connection.”