Flashback Friday: Y&R’s Camryn Grimes Recalls Cassie’s Death

Fans of The Young and the Restless remember Cassie Newman’s tragic death and how it rocked Genoa City. Actress Camryn Grimes, who now plays Cassie’s twin sister, Mariah, has lots of behind-the-scenes memories of that time and how sad she was to leave the soap opera, and she’s this week’s Flashback Friday.

Camryn Grimes — Leaving Cassie Behind

Grimes grew up on The Young and the Restless, and she told Soap Hub in the past that she’d been just a bit behind the older teenagers on the soap, and she’d been so excited for Cassie to start doing things with that group. “I remember thinking I was finally going to be a part of the teen storyline,” relayed the actress. “That was all cut short given Cassie’s death, but it was exciting for me to start to get all the juicy stuff.”

She was surprised to learn that Y&R had decided to kill Cassie, and Grimes remembered how difficult filming those scenes were for not only her, but also Joshua Morrow (Nick), Sharon Case (Sharon), and others who were connected to the character.

“Those were rough days. The last ones were really somber. I always felt bad for Amelia [Heinle, Victoria] because she had just started on the show. She was maybe a few episodes in, and she had to witness [Cassie’s death]. Everyone was miserable. Everyone came down to the set to watch. You could hear the crying. People were trying to be quiet. Everyone was in tears. I was upset too, but I was also trying to be professional. I thought, ‘I can’t fall apart. I’ve got a job to do. I’ve got to get this done.’”

During the coronavirus pandemic, The Young and the Restless replayed episodes, and Camryn Grimes live-tweeted the one where Cassie died. She relayed, “Everyone gathered on set to watch.” She later added, “It was impossible not to cry, if you look closely, you can see tears running down the sides of my face.”

Another point she made as the scenes replayed was, “Also, can we just acknowledge that Cassie died because of a crush? Learn from this, young ones.”

Do you remember Cassie’s death? Let us know your feelings and memories of the emotional scenes in the comments below.