Y&R Exclusive: Camryn Grimes Previews Mariah’s Showdown With Ian!

Howard Wise/jpistudios.com; Sonja Flemming/CBS

The Phantom Menace: Mariah (Camryn Grimes, r.) is horrified when she spies Ian (Ray Wise) with her wife, Tessa (Cait Fairbanks).

2024 goes out with a big bang for Mariah on Young and Restless when she comes face-to-face with Ian Ward, the man who stole her at birth!

A Shocking Reunion

For Camryn Grimes, who plays Mariah, the chance to once again act opposite Ray Wise as Ian was a welcome one. “Ray is such a wonderful man, first off,” she says. “He has had such a wonderful career, which speaks to all of his [real-life] qualities. I think he made such an incredible character out of Ian and fleshed him out in a way that I don’t know that a lot of people could do. I mean, let’s be real — he makes a great villain! Ian is such a great character, and that is only made possible by Ray. So seeing Ian come back into the canvas as a catalyst [for more drama] was really, really exciting to me, not just because of Mariah’s involvement with Ian, but from the perspective of being a fan of the show myself. It’s great when you have characters returning, but especially characters who really drive story for a lot of other people.”

Grimes had a blast on set filming with Wise. “I enjoy working with him so much,” she enthuses. “It seems like no matter what the project is, he is so invested and so present and he works really hard to have a great result. That’s just so enjoyable, you know? It makes you really trust your acting partner.” That said, she admits, “It is hard to [play] shocked or upset or angry at him because he’s such a lovely person! You’re facilitating this deep hatred [that Mariah has for Ian] but then you just look at Ray and you’re like, ‘Oh, right! You are lovely!’ But he’s so enormously fun to work with and I count myself extremely lucky.”

On the show, of course, Mariah’s reunion with Ian is far from a happy one. “It’s a complete shock,” Grimes notes. “I think Mariah well and truly thought that she had put that chapter of her life to bed and thought that Ian was in the prison system, so that was all taken care of and was not something that she was going to have to deal with again. I think that she has moved on in her life, though there are probably parts of her life that she hasn’t really come to terms with. I think there is a difference between dealing with your trauma and just kind of locking it in a box and shoving it in the back of a closet somewhere — and I think Mariah may have been guilty of [doing that] as she’s developed this very full and wonderful life for herself. So Ian coming back, this is absolutely something that could be a trigger.”

Mariah laying eyes on Ian “is like seeing a ghost,” Grimes shudders. “As I said, she thought she had put this part of her life to bed.” The actress points out, “Mariah is in a really wonderful part of her life that she has struggled to achieve for a long, long time. She was trying to find her footing in her family, trying to find her footing in Genoa City, trying to find her footing in love, and she’s settled now — she’s married, she has a baby. She has kind of stopped being someone who is in the midst of chaos herself, and she has tried to really establish a new identity and a new life for herself. But like I said, it’s one thing to have moved on, and it’s another to be healed. She has definitely moved on, and she has a very different and arguably more successful life and he’s found love and a family, but did she ever really face what he had done to her? Those are things that are going to come up with his reappearance — and, I think, very quickly answer that question.”

The stakes are even higher because Ian isn’t alone — he is with Tessa, Mariah’s beloved wife. And when she realizes that, Mariah’s fear about what Ian’s presence portends skyrockets. “I think there is an instant protectiveness that is going to rear its head,” Grimes hints. “And it will maybe lead to Tessa seeing a side of Mariah that she hasn’t seen before. She has a whole history and chapters of her life before Tessa, and I think that seeing Tessa and Ian together, the effect it’s going to have on Mariah is something that Tessa might not expect.”

As Mariah reels from the sight of Ian and Tessa together, it is not immediately apparent to her that her wife has been chemically altered, courtesy of Ian. “I don’t know if it starts there,” Grimes sets up. “I think she is catapulted into confusion by witnessing Ian in the flesh, and then it’s furthered by her looking over and seeing Tessa in a state.” Expect Mariah to leap to her wife’s aid. “Immediately, it becomes about trying to figure out and fix what’s going on,” the actress explains. “That becomes the priority over her interaction with, or reaction to, Ian. Obviously, that protectiveness [of Tessa] is going to come out when she sees that Tessa is in some sort of peril, but I don’t think she’s put together [that Ian is responsible]. She has no idea what happened!”

Mariah tends to Tessa, then directs her attention back to Ian. Grimes says, “Once it is clear that Tessa is recovering or doing fine and that she’s stable, then it immediately goes back to the concern about Ian. I think for Mariah, it would make sense that she sees him as dangerous, and so if anybody that she loves is in danger, she’s going to connect the two. She’s going to have suspicions and she’s going to have a lot of questions.”

Grimes is of the belief that Mariah’s desire for answers is matched equally by her terror of what Ian’s agenda is. “Those are pretty much hand in hand,” she says. “The fact that he’s out of prison and walking around, she has no idea how that’s possible, and it brings up her history with him and what she knows he’s capable of. So I would say there’s absolutely fear there. She’s wondering, ‘To what degree do I need to be scared, protective, on alert?’ ”

The actress thinks that “Teriah” fans have a lot to look forward to as this new storyline for Mariah and Tessa unfolds. “They’ve been living pretty happily for a while now, so it’s nice to introduce something that gives them some screen time, and puts them in a place of problem-solving, you know? When they’re up against something together, I think that’s where Tessa and Mariah thrive. They’re very good teammates and they’re very good partners and so them being faced with a mutual conflict and watching them navigate it as a couple is, I think, going to be enjoyable.”