The Young and the Restless storyline that's been in limbo for too long

The Young and the Restless has several storylines that need to be resolved, and we've been waiting patiently to see light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.

But the one storyline that has been in limbo for too long is the one involving Mariah, Tessa, and Daniel.

Mariah's emotional struggles on The Young and the Restless

Tessa has leaned on Daniel for support on The Young and the Restless | Image: CBS

For most of the second half of 2025 on The Young and the Restless, Mariah (Camryn Grimes) has been tormented by the fact that she tried to kill a man (a fact we didn't learn until just a few months ago). She avoided telling Tessa (Cait Fairbanks) because she felt too ashamed to confess what she had done, which put a strain on their relationship.

As a result, a heartbroken Tessa struggled for months, wondering what Mariah had done and why she didn't feel comfortable confiding in her. Meanwhile, Tessa's friendship with Daniel (Michael Graziadei) has grown, and she's been leaning on him more and more for emotional support.

We thought Mariah had reached a breakthrough when she finally confronted her hallucination of Ian Ward (Ray Wise) and told him to get out of her mind and her life. But since then, it seems like the storyline has gone backwards, and Mariah has retreated into her shell, as she is now unwilling to interact with Tessa at all. Is there any end in sight for this storyline? How many more weeks or months will Mariah be at the facility, trying to heal from her traumatic experience with the man she supposedly tried to kill?

Tessa and Daniel brought Sharon up to date on the source of Mariah's problem

Tessa and Daniel met with Sharon to discuss Mariah on The Young and the Restless | Image: CBS

Eventually, on The Young and the Restless, Tessa and Daniel filled Sharon (Sharon Case) in on the source of Mariah's struggles. As they did some investigating of their own, they discovered that Mariah had become flirtatious with an older man in a bar, and the pair took a hotel room together.

According to Mariah herself, she tried to kill the man, perhaps because she mistook him for Ian Ward. Clearly, he was not Ian, based on the flashbacks we saw of the man. But when are we finally going to see Mariah find some sort of inner peace and realize that she is ready to reunite with Tessa and baby Aria?

We know the Y&R writers are keeping Mariah offscreen because the longer she alienates herself from Tessa, the closer Tessa and Daniel will become. But can we at least see a little forward movement in Mariah's story? Now that Thanksgiving is over, as well as Danny's (Michael Damian) and Christine's (Lauralee Bell) wedding, can we please get back to Mariah's struggles and see how much progress (if any) she has made?

Daniel is no longer shy about expressing his feelings for Tessa

Daniel kissed Tessa at Danny and Christine's wedding on The Young and the Restless | Image: CBS

For months on The Young and the Restless, Daniel kept his feelings for Tessa a secret and only shared them with Danny. Then, we saw Daniel and Tessa share a few drunken kisses at the GCAC on the stairway. But at Danny's and Christine's long-anticipated wedding, Daniel showed no shame in showing the rest of the world how he feels about Tessa. He laid a big smooch on her, which was a little odd, considering he previously said he would never do anything to interfere in Tessa's marriage to Mariah. So, what was that public kiss about?

Tessa seems as though she's ready to call it quits with Mariah, since her attempts to reach out to her haven't done any good. Is Mariah truly ready to give up on her relationship with Tessa? If she isn't, then it would be nice if we could return to this storyline that's been in limbo for too many months. Are the Y&R writers gearing us up for a triangle between Tessa, Mariah, and Daniel? If they are, then it's time for Mariah to come back into the picture.

Catch all-new episodes of The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS and Paramount Plus.