Living life as Bay Kennish is not easy. Her inquisitive nature uncovered the revelation that she had been switched at birth, which led to a very complicated family and living situation as the Kennishes and Vasquezes tried to find a way to be a part of each other’s lives and to get to know one another. Then things became further complicated when Bay chose to attend her switched sibling Daphne’s school this past season, where the feelings of resentment towards the hearing students had escalated. In a recent exclusive interview, star Vanessa Marano candidly shared what next challenges lie ahead for Bay and how tricky life is going to be as the two families face another upheaval.
Where is Bay’s head at as the series comes back?
VANESSA: It comes back post-Daphne and Bay getting in a fight about the fact that Daphne was making out with Bay’s boyfriend. It also picks up after Regina has left for rehab and it’s in the summer. So a little bit of time has passed. But we pick up with Bay not exactly in the happiest of places. Then Ty (Blair Redford) returns, her boyfriend from the first season. I think that throws her for a complete loop. It takes her out of the unhappy shell that she has been living in.
Ty’s back! What can you tease about that?
VANESSA: She’s excited about it. It’s funny because he’s the first boyfriend that we’ve had return. We’ve had a lot of boyfriends on the show for both Bay and Daphne – and Regina, for that matter. So he’s like our returning one.
Does that mean that Noah’s completely out?
VANESSA: Well, it’s summer right now. The series returns in the summer, so they’re not going to school.
Another big shocker was Bay’s brother Toby got engaged. What’s up with that?
VANESSA: He is engaged. But when you’re 18 years old and you decide to get married to someone you haven’t know for very long, there’s an interesting path that you are deciding to take. I don’t know that Toby is fully ready or has thought that completely through. He has to man-up and take some responsibility. But at the same time, he’s this musician and an artist, and it is so important in your youth when you are an artist, you have to take the time to establish yourself and really work on your craft; rather than be, “I’ve got to buy a house, I’ve got to support my wife, I’ve got to do all of these things.” He is definitely taking a step into adulthood that he may not want to take.
With Toby possibly getting married and Regina in rehab, who is there for Bay?
VANESSA: That’s an excellent point. But Bay’s used to not having anybody there for her. That’s kind of the issue that Bay has overall. Like that’s what makes her a brat sometimes. She usually doesn’t have anybody to lean on. And that’s what is so wonderful about Ty returning – she does have somebody like that in her life. The only downside is he’s coming back from war. He’s coming back from having seen some very difficult things. So in return, he kind of needs somebody to lean on – and that’s different for Bay because she has actually never been the person to be leaned upon.
How does Emmett take having Ty back in the picture?
VANESSA: I can’t imagine him taking it well. At the same time, he cheated on her, so he really can’t have an opinion.
Where are Bay and Daphne at? Last we saw, Daphne didn’t want Bay at her school anymore.
VANESSA: Yes, they’re in a rough spot right now. It’s funny. The fans saw the fight, which was about Daphne and Noah and Bay felt that Daphne was stealing Noah from her. But the fight really wasn’t about that. It really is about the fact that she didn’t want Bay at her school, and she was telling Bay that she didn’t belong in her group. She wasn’t standing up for Bay. That’s really what the fight was about at the end of the day. Bay is always out of place and it has been proven time and time again. She doesn’t get chosen. Nobody sticks up for her. Everybody goes the other way. That’s why Bay usually lashes out and ends up sticking up for herself in completely the wrong way because she doesn’t have support around her. So she’s seeing that “not sticking up for her” thing in Daphne and it’s the same sort of feeling she’s had from Regina throughout this whole thing. Like Regina’s never stood up for her either. Regina has never taken the time to get to know her. And she feels the same way about her parents. Her parents always seem to side with Daphne over her. So I really feel that is what the fight was about. It was not specifically a boy-thing, it is more like a “you are not acting like my family” kind of thing. So that’s something that’s incredibly difficult to get over. Daphne and Bay will get to a place of reconciliation because there is something very drastic that happens to the family that’s pretty huge for everyone.
What’s the relationship between Regina and Bay going to be like since Bay kind of outed Regina with her drinking problem?
VANESSA: Exactly. Regina’s coming back from rehab and she’s sober now, but she’s realizing that she cannot live with the Kennishes anymore. It’s completely different now because she relapsed. It’s a different dynamic. So she goes to move in with Angelo, and Bay confronts her and wants to move in because Daphne is living with the Kennishes. Bay feels that if Daphne gets to know her real mom, then she should get a chance to live with her real mom.
That sounds pretty explosive with Angelo, Regina and Bay living under one roof. How is Angelo going to feel about having this instant family living all together in his apartment?
VANESSA: He’s excited about it. He’s super excited because the whole reason he came back was to have the family that he always wanted and never had the opportunity to have. So he thinks this is going to be this picture-perfect, fantastic thing and they’re all going to get along and get to know each other and become this instant family. And as we have seen on SWITCHED AT BIRTH, usually those high expectations are not exactly what reality is.
How will Angelo feel about Ty reentering Bay’s life? He doesn’t know Ty.
VANESSA: He gets to meet Ty in an episode directed by Ms. Lea Thompson. It’s really cool. I’m so excited. We haven’t started the episode yet, but he gets to meet Ty in that episode. As we know, John Kennish reacted quite negatively to Ty. So this an opportunity to see if Angelo reacts the same way or is on board. That’s what’s so cool about this season, is that it has a lot of intertwining storylines and relationships that we don’t often get to see. Like Toby usually has a lot of scenes with Nikki because she’s his girlfriend, but now that they are engaged, Nikki has a lot more scenes with the family and getting to know the family. And Ty usually just has scenes with Bay, but because he’s back now and he’s never met Angelo, he gets to meet Angelo and that’s a little awkward and all that stuff. It’s a lot of different characters that don’t normally get to interact and they get to interact with each other, which is kind of cool.
At this point in Bay’s life, if given the chance, what would like to say to her?
VANESSA: Bay has gone through a lot and come very far, from the very self-involved, wounded, insecure teenager that she started out as to the more self-sufficient, more giving and overall, just not committing illegal activity for which we are very proud of her. So I would just say to Bay: find that inner strength, which she seems to find and then sometimes loses ‘cause she doesn’t end up getting the support that she desires from Regina or from Kathryn or Daphne. For Bay, it really and truly is like, “Okay, you don’t need support from others to find a way to give yourself strength.” 
To see the emotional reunion between Bay and Ty, be sure to tune in for the return of SWITCHED AT BIRTH on Monday, June 10th at 8PM on ABC Family Channel (ABC Spark in Canada).
Tiffany Vogt is the Senior West Coast Editor, contributing as a columnist and entertainment reporter to TheTVaddict.com. She has a great love for television and firmly believes that entertainment is a world of wondrous adventures that deserves to be shared and explored – she invites you to join her. Please feel free to contact Tiffany at Tiffany_Vogt_2000@yahoo.com or follow her at on Twitter (@TVWatchtower).