Articles and Interviews: 2000-2003

The Never Ending Story (Soap Opera Digest 12/4/01)

Getting a Complex (Story): Kassie DePaiva (Blair)

The Best of Enemies: Former rapist Todd and full-time schemer Blair shared a one-nighter in late 1994. In 1995, Blair fakes a pregnancy and married Todd to get his inheritance. They divorced, but remarried for love. Blair gave birth to Todd's daughter, Starr, in 1996, but his jealousy drove them apart and he paid Tea to marry him so he'd obtain parental custody. After a divorce and a remarriage to Tea, Todd fled town and prosecution in 1998, came back in 2000 and knocked up Blair earlier this year. She lied that the kid was Max's after Todd dumped her at the altar. In October, Todd gave the newborn away and told Blair that the tot had died; he just got his hands back on the baby after learning that it really is his son, after all.

DePaiva On The Long and Winding Road

When Blair met Todd, how did she feel about his rapist past?
"Blair wasn't one to judge. Todd was exciting. She had always been such an outcast, and he accepted her. And in turn, that made her accept him for who he was. She kenw he wasn't perfect, and he liked that."

What is the continuing attraction between them?
"That they're both outsiders, and they understand each other. They're better together than they are separate."

Was Blair jealous of Tea?
"She didn't like her. Blair felt that she stole her life and her daughter away. She loved Todd, and she loves her daughter, and Tea came in and tried to be a Blair wannabe."

Why do they have such a hard time getting together for any length of time?
"Because both of them are so afraid of being hurt and being left alone. And the trust factor is a big deal."

Have you disagreed with the story path over the years?
"Yeah. The start of Blair not telling him she was pregnant with his child, and his taking Starr away and kicking her out of the house -- that was mean stuff that Todd and Blair wouldn't really do to each other."

Are Blair and Todd soulmates?
"Yes. Their connection is so deeply rooted. Less is more with them. They don't even need dialouge to speak. What they don't say speaks volumes."

Blair's now had two kids with Todd. Is he the man she always envisioned being a father to her children?
"If you're part of the Addams family, yes. They're not the all-American, loving, white-picket-fence kind of family, but what they feel is real and they don't hold anything back."