Trish came to Salem with her mother Jeri and stepfather Jack. Upon arriving Trish and her mother Jeri became an overnight singing sensation at Doug's Place. In 1975 Trish wanted to get away from her family, so she took an apartment with a now adult Mike Horton. In 1976 Trish would learn the startling truth from her stepfather Jack Clayton that her mother had been a prostitute, and that her father was a man named Jim Stanhope. Trish attempted to find Jim Stanhope, and when he came to Salem she was hurt that he rejected her as his daughter. Later that year Trish had a one-night stand with David Banning. In 1977 Trish's stepfather Jack Clayton began obsessing about her. One night he came to her apartment while she was alone and began attacking her. Luckily Mike Horton returned in time and began fighting with Jack Clayton. Eventually Trish hit her stepfather over the head with an iron, killing him. This incident cause Trish to breakdown, and as a result she slipped into two personalities, Cynthia and baby Lisa. Mike Horton admitted to the murder of Jack, but through counseling and therapy it was revealed that Trish killed him. Trish was cleared of the charges when it was proven she had suffered from years of abuse. Trish moved out of her apartment with Mike and in with Brooke Hamilton. Later in 1976 Trish discovered she was pregnant with David Banning's child.

In 1977 David and Trish married, and in September Trish gave birth to Scotty Banning in September of 1977. In 1978 Trish took Scotty Banning and left David. David hired a private investigator and eventually found Scotty living with Jeri Clayton in L.A., Trish was off doing a movie. David took Scotty and returned to Salem. In 1979 Trish returned to Salem, and was steamed to find David dating Stephanie Woodruff. Trish and David eventually reconciled and moved back in together. Later that year Trish stole a fortune in gems from a singer named Durand. She asked Margo Horton to hide the gems for her, which she did. Later Durand came looking for his diamonds, which Trish returned but he was upset when one of them was a fake. Trish realized that Earl Roscoe had scammed Margo out of a diamond, so she confronted him and eventually got the diamond back. In 1981, after David had fled town with Scotty, Trish found him in California. She took Scotty and returned to Salem, and David soon followed. David and Trish eventually divorced one another. Later that year Tony made Trish the manager of the Twilight Bar. Trish soon became involved with a singer named Woody King. Eventually, Trish left Salem to pursue singing options elsewhere.