The Young And The Restless: Tessa's Mysterious Past Explained

Tessa's love life took an unexpected turn after she and Noah were invited to a music festival by Mariah and her boyfriend. During their time together, Mariah surprised Tessa with a kiss before hurriedly apologizing. Tessa shocked Mariah (and us) by cutting the apology short and admitting she liked the kiss. However, neither made another move, and Tessa moved in with Noah.

Sadly, her past again took center stage when she received a distressing call from Crystal, who had been kidnapped and sex trafficked. The Newman family, including Sharon's then-boyfriend Scott Grainger, soon became involved, as Scott had long been investigating the sex trafficking ring responsible. Tessa provided crucial information that revealed that Alice Johnson — the woman who adopted Cassie (Sharon's late daughter she gave up as a teen) — was somehow involved with the sex trafficking ring. 

She and Mariah joined forces to kidnap Alice and safely rescued Crystal before getting her into protective custody. Finally, Tessa felt a semblance of peace, and she and Mariah confessed they had feelings for each other. This realization overjoyed Mariah, but Tessa's next words were not what she hoped to hear. Tessa told her they couldn't be together because she wanted to shield Mariah from becoming entangled in her murky history.