Kate Mansi on Abigail... And Austin

Abigail has been having a bit of a tough time lately. She thought she was in love with Chad - she had even worked past the fact that he is a DiMera. Unfortunately, that love was not meant to be. On New Year's Eve (bad timing?), they called it quits. "I think it was sort of a long time coming," Kate told us. "They both were so committed to each other that they weren't sure how to handle it. I think that he was starting to have feelings for Melanie but was sort of pushing them down. And she was starting to have feelings for Austin and was pushing them down. They were so committed to each other then they finally had this epiphany, separately but together. And on New Year's they finally had that honest conversation where they said we shouldn't stay with each other out of obligation. I think a lot of relationships happen that way. Sometimes the most painful way to break up is when it's so mutual and you just realize that you care about each other so deeply but there's no real love there to speak of anymore."

Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as simple as all that. For Abigail, it was mutual and there were no outside influences, at least none that she was truly aware of. For Chad, at least from Abigail's point of view, he was influenced. A lot. "For Abigail, they have this mutual break up, then what she feels like is two seconds later, she sees him with Melanie and questions his intentions with this 'mutual' break up," Kate confirmed. "That's what's so hurtful and feels like a major betrayal which sends her into this complete tizzy."

A tizzy, indeed. Melanie and Chad have both tried, time and time again, to explain the situation but Abigail is having none of it. She and Melanie might have been close (accent on the past tense), but now Abigail feels like her trust has been betrayed, both by her friend and by Chad. She is just not buying their explanations. "I think she's listening," Kate mused, "but she can't hear it yet. I'm so glad the writers wrote it this way, because, in a perfect world and from the audience's perspective, yes, Melanie is standing in front of her saying 'I care more about you. I didn't want to hurt you.' She's doing all the right things to sort of absolve herself in the situation, but it never works that way in real life. You can only see what's in front of you. When you are so incredibly hurt by what you just saw with your own eyes, whatever someone is telling you, it doesn't matter... She just can't possibly get to that place yet. She really has to go through this journey of being angry and being hurt and mourning her and Chad's relationship and the possible betrayal in order to see Melanie's side."

Abigail's reaction is natural, and it also stems from her past, and her difficult relationship with her father. She loves Jack very much, but he hasn't been the most reliable of parents, which has helped her to develop some serious trust issues. When she does allow herself to trust, boy, can she ever feel betrayed when that trust is broken. "I think what she thinks and what she says, if I can quote her, is 'don't think I don't know when this started,'" Kate said. ""It was on Halloween, when you guys kissed.' That is how she really feels. She feels like the laughing stock. She trusted him, which took so much for Abigail because she doesn't trust people easily, especially men. Because of her relationship with her father, always leaving . And she trusted him. Whole-heartedly. When he looked her in the eyes and said 'I thought it was you.' And it meant nothing. She says, 'I have these suspicions, I have all these feelings, I'm going to ruin my relationship if I keep beating a dead horse, I'm just going to believe him.' Then, after the fact, realizing that they have this attraction for each other when she sees them together after she and Chad broke up. It just makes her feel like a complete fool."

And no one likes to feel like a fool, even when you have a jester for a father! Kate told us that, as far as Abigail's relationship with her father goes, she thinks that "it's difficult for them. She wants to have the relationship that every little girl wants. But he still sees her as a little girl and she feels so much like she's an adult. She's trying so hard to assert herself as an adult with Austin so that he can fall in love with her and realize that she's a woman and not just 'little Abby.' So when her dad is still thinking of her as a little girl, it's very frustrating for her because it just reinforces further that he hasn't been there for so many of those huge transitional moments in her life ... I think for their relationship, they're just trying to find sort of this middle ground that they can stand on. They both realize that the important thing is that neither one of them gives up. They have that incredible father-daughter bond that when they drive each other crazy they can laugh and say 'I still love you and we're going to work at this.'"

Abigail wants Austin to think of her as a woman and to fall in love with her, and for Kate, she can see where her character is coming from. "I can't say enough how people think it's this obsession, but for her it really makes sense because Austin is the one guy ... Everyone knows that Jack can be such a jokester and such a little jester and he comes in and out and he makes excuses and it's all forgiven. And Chad let her down. But Austin, because of his relationship with Carrie, is what really makes her have this desire that turns into an envy for have what they have."

"For Abby, love has always meant loss," Kate continued. "She had this great love with her father and he left her time and time again. She saw him do that to her mother, too. Then she falls in love with Chad, lets all of her walls down, time and time again trusts him, and he lets her down and falls for her best friend. She feels like, I'm going to claim my own life back, I'm going to be this crusader of love. I'm not going to be the one who's abandoned again. I won't let it happen. What can I do to make sure that I don't get left? Well, I'll fall in love and find this guy who is the epitome of civility and consistency and loyalty. And that really is Austin. He is a man who is so committed to his marriage with Carrie... Family is so important to him. He's just this good guy. For her, she thinks that this is the key to this love that means a new language for her."

Will Abigail find this new language of love? Only time will tell, and it will also tell whether or not she learns that new language with Austin's help. One thing is for sure, though; Abigail is determined. "I think that the lines of fantasy and reality are so blurred at this point, actually, that in order to not get hurt again, she has to make Austin fall in love with her," Kate confirmed. "That is what she wants and she won't stop until she gets it."