TV

See Mariah propose to Tessa on The Young and the Restless

It's the first same-sex engagement in the soap's history on CBS

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Published on January 26, 2022 11:08AM EST

First comes love, then comes history being made on CBS' The Young and the Restless.

On Thursday, Mariah (Camryn Grimes) will propose to Tessa (Cait Fairbanks) — the first same-sex engagement in the show's history. Tessa won't exactly be surprised; she first proposed to Mariah on the Jan. 20 episode. Mariah is just getting her chance at staging a romantic moment, too — and EW has the exclusive first look (above)!

"We get information in our scripts literally as we go, so after the first proposal, it was a surprise to learn about the second," Grimes tells EW exclusively. "I thought nothing could have been more appropriate for these characters, who as a couple view themselves as equals. That concept was really exciting to me, and after being engaged personally, now it seems crazy that it doesn't more often!"

Adds Fairbanks to EW, "I had no clue there was a second proposal to be perfectly honest! Getting proposed to did make me more emotional because I didn't have to say anything and I could just absorb the speech Mariah gave! It was a special and beautiful moment."

Mariah proposes to Tessa on 'Young and the Restless'. CBS

Y&R first brought together Mariah and Tessa in 2017. There was no coming out story; instead, it followed two women who happened to fall in love. "That's always been the most beautiful thing about this story," Grimes told EW in 2021. "It was something new for them and it was definitely new for the audience, but it was like any other love story where it takes you by surprise. It existed without labels. I really appreciated that at a time when labels could be so restrictive for some people. It just felt like a really genuine, authentic story about two individuals falling for each other, no matter the circumstances."

Dubbed Teriah by shippers, the Y&R duo is the only full-time, same-sex couple in daytime right now.

The Young and the Restless will be celebrating its 49th anniversary in March and has been TV's No. 1 daytime drama for 32 years. It airs weekdays on CBS.

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