‘The Young And The Restless’ Actress Speaks Out On Tessa

On The Young and the Restless against all the odds, Tessa Porter is still there and still figuring how to live her life in Genoa City. She’s gone from a successful singer-songwriter to a struggling barista who lost her job. Plus, she’s managed to win Mariah’s heart despite all their difficulties.

Earlier this month, Tessa actress Cait Fairbanks took to Twitter to express her thoughts on playing Tessa. The actress wrote, “Random thought but I’m so lucky to play such a complicated female character there’s not enough out there. Thank you @YandR_CBS for the opportunity.”

She also opened up to Soaps In Depth about the Tessa haters in the Y&R viewership, and there are plenty. Since her arrival in Genoa City, Tessa has lied, schemed, and done whatever she possibly could to get what she wants. Unfortunately, Mariah (Camryn Grimes) has found herself entangled in the mess since early on. Their relationship began by both women cheating on Noah (Robert Adamson) and Devon (Bryton James). The situation nearly cost Mariah her relationship with her brother Noah.

Then, Tessa proceeded to keep secrets and flat out lie to Mariah in multiple cases. It seemed as if the whole thing was over after Tessa blackmailed the Fab Four, which included Mariah’s mom Sharon (Sharon Case). However, right as Mariah planned to break up with the woman, Tessa called needing a ride after Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott), Victoria (Amelia Heinle), and Sharon kidnapped her, which caused Mariah to try again with her girlfriend despite all the lies.

The Young and The Restless' Cait Fairbanks Defends Tessa – CBS Soaps In Depth #YR #Teriah https://t.co/TpyKDNnIOz

— Kim Huck (@acejordan23) January 7, 2019

Fairbanks said, “I actually like the challenge of making bad behavior into more of a human instinct. It’s more interesting as an actor to try to take a character that is a villain and try to humanize them as much as possible. It becomes a fun game!”

Y&R viewers are incredibly outspoken online about their dislike of Tessa — especially the way she’s treated Mariah. First of all, the relationship came as a shock to fans because before Tessa, Mariah had relationships with men. However, most frustrating for viewers is the fact that Tessa has lied and hurt Mariah so much since they started seeing each other, and they aren’t shy about discussing it.

“It is interesting because sometimes people don’t just attack the character of Tessa, it turns into personal attacks, which is where I’m like, ‘Wait, wait, wait! That’s not me! I promise you, that’s not me! I’m not hurting Camryn [Grimes, Mariah]. It’s Tessa hurting Mariah!'” explained the actress.

While some felt that Mal Young’s exit as executive producer and the head writer might lead to Tessa leaving Genoa City, so far, she seems like she’ll be around for a while because there is more of her story to tell.

One fan summed up the possibilities well by writing, “See that look on her face in that pic? I actually would like to see her character turn ‘dark and twisty.’ I don’t think this character has been explored enough.”