Daniel put Tessa first on The Young and the Restless so she could see if her marriage can be salvaged. But Tessa’s connection to him may prove to be trouble for her and Mariah. Not only because there’s a well of hurt the couple have to work through. But also because Mariah’s guilty conscience could be the very thing that sends Tessa running back to Daniel.
Key Takeaways
- Why the end of Daniel and Tessa’s romance isn’t so clear cut.
- Whether lingering feelings could be a challenge for Tessa.
- How Mariah may get in the way of reconciling with her wife.
Tessa and Daniel Can’t Turn Their Feelings Off
The love that blossomed between Daniel (Michael Graziadei) and Tessa (Cait Fairbanks) wasn’t a passing fancy. Their bond, largely rooted in their shared love of music and Daniel being there for Tessa, is genuine.
There’s a depth to their affection for one another that Tessa expressed wishing to keep. But Daniel had to put up a boundary, reminding her that the intimacy they shared went beyond friendship.
Texting each other at all times, being in constant communication, and being vulnerable in the way they once were is off the table. So where does that leave them? For Daniel, possibly yearning for what was. For Tessa, potentially feeling the same. She is working on her marriage with Mariah (Camryn Grimes), but what broke between them won’t be fixed overnight.
Daniel recognized that the love Tessa has for Mariah didn’t fade with her absence. She is very much still a married woman, and Mariah’s return put that in stark focus for him. It’s why he stepped back from a future with Tessa. He could see she wasn’t ready to give up on the life she had with Mariah and their daughter, Aria (Maddie and Millie Ingle).
But Daniel seeing that Tessa’s heart still lies with her wife doesn’t mean that Tessa’s feelings for him are null and void. That’s not how love works and the two may find themselves wrestling with the end of their romance.
They shifted from friends to lovers. Shifting back is going to be hard, particularly when their romance ended so abruptly by Daniel’s choice. No one can turn their feelings on and off like a light switch, no matter how hard they try.
Will Trouble Continue to Find Teriah?
Tessa’s priority should be Mariah. While the judge did rule that she should be admitted to a mental hospital instead of prison, Mariah could have a long way to recovery. She’s told Tessa more than once that she deserves to be punished for kidnapping Dominic (Ethan Ray Clark). While she walked back rotting in a jail cell over it, she’s still harboring immense guilt over her actions.
Mariah’s MO this whole storyline has been to push Tessa and her family away. While she could be past that impulse, it’s possible that she won’t be. Especially as she seeks treatment and has to relive what pushed her to take Dominic. Her journey to healing could be thorny as could her journey back to a healthy place with Tessa.
If Mariah falls back into old patterns, and Daniel’s in the wings, Tessa may have doubts about their ability to be together. Mariah wanted her to be happy with Daniel. She believed her life to be over, and she wanted Tessa to move on without her. Deciding not to close herself off, Mariah chose to try again with her wife. But the operative word here is “try.”
Has too much happened? Can they heal and get past this? That’s what Teriah are going to have to figure out. But if they don’t do it as partners, they could wind up splitting after all. Tessa now has someone else who wants a life with her, that could hover over both women’s heads as they look to keep their family intact.
