Cait Fairbanks struggles Young and Restless
Credit: Image: Jill Johnson/JPI

Young and Restless actress posts mirror selfie and opens up.

Actress Cait Fairbanks, who plays musician Tessa Porter on The Young and the Restless, took to social media to courageously open up about some of her personal struggles in hopes of inspiring others and encouraging a conversation about these issues. Soaps.com has the post below in which the actress begins, “We all have things we don’t like about ourselves. I’m pretty open about anxiety and depression, not for attention, but to try and reach out to those who may feel the same. Growing up auditioning, I always felt I had to fit into a category and I never quite fit in.” She went on to explain how this led to her punishing herself physically and elaborated, “I’d starve myself (a few hundred calories day) then binge, then make myself vomit. Rinse, repeat, you get it. I started working out, then that became another obsession, hours in the gym every day, twice a day. I wasn’t seeing any changes I wanted. I was so hard on myself.” Fairbanks, who also is a recording artist under the name Ginesse, revealed she has reached the point where she wants to treat herself better and described the positive changes she has been making. She stated, “I’ve been working out every day, but listening to my body. I’ve been eating well and drinking water, cut drinking, staying in when I need, forgiving myself.” The actress ended her post with thanks to those in her life who have been patient and supportive and a message to her followers: “I’m not sure who needs to hear this, maybe no one, but I hope that you can be patient and kind to yourself.”

Fairbanks certainly isn’t alone in these struggles and several other soap opera actresses have spoken out in hopes of helping others including Karla Mosley, who plays Maya Avant on Bold and the Beautiful. Mosley revealed her eating disorder and body issues back in 2018, while former co-star Linsey Godfrey (Caroline Spencer, now Sarah Horton, Days of our Lives) went public with her own challenges. Earlier this year, Godfrey spoke about her anxiety and PTSD as a sexual assault survivor. Former General Hospital actress Brytni Sarpy, who now appears as Elena Dawson on Young and the Restless was another member of the daytime community who let her followers know they weren’t alone. Sarpy opened up about her emotional distress related to anxiety and depression, while another of her former co-stars on General Hospital, Kirsten Storms has battled depression in her personal life outside of work on the ABC soap opera as Maxie Jones.

Soaps.com thanks Cait Fairbanks and these brave ladies of daytime for coming forward to share with others who may be struggling. If you believe you or someone you know may be suffering from an eating disorder, please visit the National Eating Disorder Information Center online or call the helpline at 1-866-633-4220. Additionally, anyone in North America can call the United Way at 211 to be directed to the appropriate help and resources in their area.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B56NgTwHdWz/