Y&R's Cait Fairbanks Says Tessa and Daniel's 'Connection Is Growing' (Exclusive)

The secret that Mariah is keeping from Tessa on Young and Restless has “Teriah” fans worried for the future of their marriage. But viewers have also taken note of Tessa’s budding friendship with Daniel, with some wondering if the show intends for the characters’ platonic connection to blossom into something more. While it’s still early days for the characters, Cait Fairbanks (Tessa) has also taken note of the uptick in her screen time with Michael Graziadei (Daniel) and weighed in to Soap Opera Digest about what it all means.

The Music Man

First and foremost, Fairbanks says that she is delighted to be working more with Graziadei. “It’s funny because I remember doing my first scene with Michael, and I was like, ‘Wow, that was so fun. I would love to do that again,’ ” the actress recalls. “And then I kind of kept getting scripts where we were doing scenes together, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s so nice.’ I love working with him so much. He’s such a talented actor and he’s been really inspiring to work with, honestly.”

Adding to the excitement of working with Graziadei was the fact that recent scenes have seen Tessa teaching Daniel how to play the guitar. “I love the opportunity to play guitar again,” enthuses Fairbanks, who in real life is a talented singer-songwriter who has released multiple songs under her own name and the stage name Ginesse. “It’s also helped me get back into playing guitar.” Of course, Graziadei is a gifted musician in his own right. “He’s also a great guitar player, by the way, in real life,” she nods. “Much better than me.”

Howard Wise/jpistudios.com

Beautiful Music: Tessa teaching Daniel guitar has proven therapeutic for both of them.

Tessa is teaching Daniel guitar as a way of helping him move on after the death of his partner, Heather — and she is also finding him someone she can lean on as she struggles with her fears about what Mariah is keeping from her. “I think their connection is growing in a really fun way,” Fairbanks muses. “And I think, especially with two people struggling, it can be so helpful to have friends that are there for each other.

“They’re not going through the exact same thing, obviously,” she adds, “but they’ve both had a lot of intense things happen to them in a pretty short period of time, so [they] definitely understand each other.”

Chemistry Test

While Tessa has been married to Mariah for nearly three years now, she has been romantically linked to men in the past — not only did she previously date Noah Newman, but she was wed to musician Tanner Watts before arriving in Genoa City. This has led some fans to speculate that Y&R is positioning Tessa and Daniel for a potential pairing in the future if Mariah’s secret causes the end of her and Tessa’s marriage.

“Well, as an actor, of course I love the opportunity to get to work with someone who’s so great, also nice and fun and a good person,” Fairbanks says when presented with the idea of more Tessa and Daniel moving forward. Though, she quickly laughs as she adds, “Honestly, they don’t really tell us anything. I don’t really know what’s going on. So I’m just kind of along for the ride, honestly.”

For now, Fairbanks is just enjoying the scenes she’s sharing with Graziadei and thinks it’s far from a given that Y&R will go down a romantic road between Tessa and Daniel. “Right now, they’re definitely friends, and connecting, and supporting each other through this time,” she declares. “I think Tessa is so distracted by pain and confusion, so she’s really just focused on that right now.”

CBS

Broken Hearts: Mariah’s (Camryn Grimes) silence has Tessa imagining the worst.