Mariah Copeland and Tessa Porter became an official Genoa City couple and soon moved in with one another as Tessa's singing career began to take off. This is also when Tessa revealed she had been married to a fellow musician named Tanner Watts before arriving in GC and he wanted her to come on tour with her. She didn't want to leave Mariah, but Mariah insisted that their relationship not hold her career back. So, Tessa left on tour, and the pair tried a long-distance relationship (via Soaps in Depth).

However, when Mariah learned that her mother had breast cancer, she took solace in another woman named Lindsay she met at a bar, and that's when Tessa made a surprise return and found them together. Tessa walked out, but Mariah followed her on tour, got on stage, and professed her love. Tessa still rejected her, but eventually, the two made amends (via Soaps in Depth).