Young and the Restless puts Mariah Copeland (Camryn Grimes) on a really dark and twisted path right now. She has abducted Dominic Chancellor (Ethan Ray Clark), and she has imaginary Ian Ward (Ray Wise) in her head telling her to do even worse things.
Mariah is going to have a really hard time bouncing back from the things she’s doing right now. We’re going to talk about the messy future that Mariah is facing and whether she’s going to end up behind bars or in the psych ward.
Camyrn Grimes’ Future on Young and the Restless
All of this has me worried about what this means for Camryn Grimes. The actress was already pushed back to recurring status and we were barely seeing her. Then Mariah got a front-burner storyline that started with her almost killing that older dude on her business trip.
All of this, of course, ties back to her Ian Ward trauma because the man that Mariah almost killed reminded her of Ian, and that’s why she attacked him. Then Mariah pushed her wife, Tessa Porter (Cait Fairbanks), away. Mariah even went as far as to get a legal separation and she moved out of the house.
Tracking Mariah’s Mental Health Breakdown on Y&R
Then she just abruptly left Tessa and their daughter, Aria Porter Copeland, behind. Mariah took off to Boston for intensive inpatient psychotherapy, which was a good thing. That should have helped her. But then when Tessa visited, we saw that Mariah was distant and distracted.
She finally said that Tessa couldn’t visit anymore. Then Mariah checked herself out of the mental health facility and started driving south. Tessa only knew this because of the family tracking app on their phones. That’s the only reason she had any idea where her wife was going.
At this point, Mariah won’t talk to Tessa. She won’t text her. She ignored Aria and Tessa on Christmas. Now, Mariah did send Tessa one message when she checked out. After that, it’s just been pretty much radio silence. Mariah’s been roaming around with just Ian in her head keeping her company, which is terrifying.
Is Mariah Copeland Leaving Young and the Restless?
Now Mariah came back to Genoa City to do something awful. Meanwhile, Tessa is ready to file for divorce and get sole custody of their daughter, Aria. Even though we’ve got Mariah back in this front-burner storyline, there’s a chance this could be her swan song because of what they have her doing.
This could be the end of Mariah Copeland’s character on Young and the Restless, at least for a while. Depending on how this all rolls out, we might not be seeing a lot of Mariah after this. Because let’s be real, you can’t just kidnap a kid, in this case Dominic, and walk away without facing consequences.
It’s bad enough that Mariah broke Tessa’s heart and abandoned her and Aria. But Mariah has also completely alienated her mom, Sharon Newman (Sharon Case), and pretty much the rest of the family. Now Mariah has crossed the line and she’s engaging in criminal activities.
It was one thing when she was just hurting herself, but now Mariah is ripping other people’s lives apart. She’s still hallucinating Ian. The things he’s saying to her sound like the same mantras that Mariah endured when she was being raised by Ian in that wacko commune that he called The Path.
Facing Felony Charges for Kidnapping Dominic Chancellor
Even worse, Ian could really come back into Mariah’s life at any time since we know Ian’s alive. It’s just that nobody in Genoa City knows. So whether Mariah wants to be part of the cult again, I don’t think she’s going to make it that far. She may be planning to go rejoin Ian’s other followers. Maybe that’s where she’s taking Dominic, but I don’t think it’s going to go that far.
Instead, I suspect Mariah is facing one of two very difficult futures. One outcome is that she goes to prison for kidnapping Dominic. The other is that Mariah is found mentally incompetent to stand trial and instead sent to an indefinite stay at a mental health facility against her will where she can’t sign herself out.
Right now, Dominic’s parents, Abby Newman (Melissa Ordway) and Devon Hamilton (Bryton James), are frantic and they got the police involved. We know that Detective Burrow (Matt Cohen) is going to be involved. He’s going to be part of the GCPD.
And we know from official Young and the Restless spoilers that somebody is going to need Christine Williams’ (Lauralee Bell) legal services soon. I’m betting it’s Mariah whom Cricket is going to represent in this criminal kidnap case. Plus, Mariah is fleeing with the kid across state lines. That just piles more and more criminal charges on top of it.
Legal Strategies and the Future of Mariah on the Y&R Canvas
Tessa has no idea that her wife’s mental health spiral is so severe that she’d go snatch a kid. Abby and Devon think the kidnapper who took Dominic is somebody who wants revenge on Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) or on the others in the Newman family.
Maybe Christine can work up a legal strategy so that Mariah can avoid prison time and at the same time get the help that she so desperately needs. Either way, we know Mariah’s going to have to pay for kidnapping Dominic. Mariah is going to be facing many felony criminal charges for what she’s done.
Between that and Tessa falling for Daniel Romalotti (Michael Graziadei), I do worry that Mariah might be exiting Y&R or at least being slid way onto the back burner. Honestly, this might be something that the actress wants. She may have asked to go back to recurring instead of staying on contract.
Maybe Camryn Grimes wanted time off to spend with her adorable little son. He’s a toddler; I think he’s two now. Or Mariah may want to pursue other projects. The Mariah actress already clocked in for a movie that’s set to come out soon; she did a horror movie. Mariah may want more time to work on other career options or on expanding her family.
Long-Term Consequences for the Copeland and Newman Families on Young and the Restless
Given the serious nature of Mariah’s crimes and the fact that she seems to just be getting started, it’s really hard to imagine that she’s going to walk free after she’s outed as Dominic’s kidnapper. I would imagine that Mariah has to face some major consequences.
A prison sentence seems like it would be unjust because she’s clearly unhinged. But time in a mental health facility seems like a very fitting outcome for Dominic’s kidnapper. Either way, these outcomes—whether it’s prison or a psych hospital—would both take Mariah off the canvas for a good chunk of the foreseeable future.
It would also leave the door open for her to return in the future after her head is on straight and she pays for her crimes in whatever manner the court decides is appropriate. We could even see Sharon visiting Mariah wherever she is sent, and hopefully Tessa and Aria as well.
Tessa Moving on with Daniel
Of course, all of this is even more complicated since Daniel and Tessa seem on a path to a happily ever after. She has got the ball rolling to get a divorce from Mariah. I expect Victor would do all in his power to make sure Mariah pays for kidnapping his grandson Dominic.
I don’t think the Newmans would accept Mariah just being on the loose in Genoa City. They are going to press charges, and it would be stressful for Abby to have to see Mariah out and about and wonder if she might snatch Dominic again.
Mariah’s not going to be able to walk away from this and go back to her normal life—not for a long time. She’ll have to pay for kidnapping Dominic, and she put Tessa and Aria through a lot. This storyline may be tying off loose ends to pave the way for Mariah’s exit,
Even if it’s short-term while she gets much-needed treatment. Until she’s redeemed and pays for her crimes one way or another, I don’t expect to see Mariah back on full-time or back on contract. But we’ll see how it goes.
