Young & Restless Exclusive: Brytni Sarpy Weighs In on Devon and Elena’s Future — Plus, Why Her Character *Really* Slept With Nate

The actress knows that Elena’s bad behavior is going to make for really good story.

Although The Young and the Restless‘ Elena is currently being eaten alive by the guilt she feels for having slept with Nate, portrayer Brytni Sarpy is not exactly having the same reaction. “I’m here for the drama,” she tells Soaps.com with a laugh. The shocking twist upset some fans, sure, but it also gave the actress strong material to sink her teeth into.

Truth be told, Sarpy might have preferred that Elena and Nate’s encounter at the clinic stop at a kiss, if only because she’s a fan of seeing how couples deal with everyday issues as opposed to the type which tend to have massive consequences. “I think with what we’ve built for Elena and Devon, it would be beautiful to expand on that further before they start to have trouble in their relationship.”

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For example, she thought they might deal with something like fostering Jared… or Elena’s issues regarding not having grown up with a father. “Things that you deal with in a relationship,” she expounds, “but you don’t necessarily see a lot of on soaps. You see a lot of breaking up and getting together again in the storylines, but what you don’t see a lot is situations where fans don’t have to wonder if the couple is going to stay together. What they have to wonder is how they’re going to get through things. Those are the lessons people grow from.”

Seeing couples deal with realistic issues can also, she points out, be almost therapeutic. “Hopefully, a lot of people are trying to stay in long, committed relationships, not switching things up as often as we sometimes do on soaps,” she laughs. “Of course, we’re all going through things and trying to figure them out, so it gives people an opportunity to watch a couple and learn from them as opposed to the audience saying, ‘Well, you either break up or stay together!'”

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The drama set to unfold for Devon and Elena, however, seems to be far bigger… especially if she winds up carrying a child which might have been fathered by her beau or her lover. Despite the high-stakes nature of the situation, Sarpy says it’s still very grounded in understandable human emotions. “Elena’s only able to see the worst-case scenario, which is, ‘What if this time [Devon is drawn to Amanda]? What if we can’t get through it?’ These are things I feel like people do in real relationships. When you get over one earthquake, and then another earthquake comes along later, it sort of takes you right back to that place where you feel it. You feel where you were stabbed, you feel like you were wounded all over again, and you react from that place instead of dealing with what’s actually happening in that moment.”

From Sarpy’s point of view, it’s important to look at Elena’s motivations. “I don’t think of her as vindictive or someone who does things out of spite,” she insists. “On a subconscious level, the amount of time that Devon’s been spending with Amanda, she’s been equating to the amount of time that she’s spending with someone.” Of course, that equation was knocked all out of whack when Elena — in a moment she will never be able to take back — slept with Nate. This being a soap, it’s only a matter of time until Devon finds out what really happened… and the drama kicks into high gear!

Do you think sleeping with Nate will cost Elena her relationship, or will Devon be able to forgive his girlfriend? Before sharing your thoughts in the comment section, relive happier days for Devon and his girlfriend by visiting the gallery below!