vivacious side to her and she has been married to her husband for a couple of years. Vendy told an Inside Soap columnist that she was glad her character had more depth than a bimbo and she said Tess is nothing like the person she thought she would be playing. When asked if it felt strange to be playing a married school teacher, Vendy said "Yeah! It is weird because in real life, I have no desire to get married whatsoever! Tess has many more responsibilities than Krista, so it has been interesting to play someone like her." A writer from the official Neighbours website called Tess "headstrong and intelligent." Marriage to Brendan Bell Shortly after her arrival, Tess makes the decision to leave her violent husband, Brendan (Blair Venn). Vendy said Brendan had been physically and mentally abusing Tess and she was desperate to get away from him. The Kennedy family suspect Brendan has been hitting his wife when they notice a scratch on Tess' face. They ask her to move in with them and Tess opens up about Brendan and his behaviour. Of her character's marriage to Brendan, Vendy explained "Tess is a very strong woman, but she has lost a lot of her confidence during the abusive marriage. She is only 24 years old and she looks up to Brendan because he is 11 years her senior and is a successful lawyer. Sadly, he only sees her as a trophy." A writer for Inside Soap said Neighbours rarely strayed from its formula of light-hearted story lines, so when the producers decided to tackle the issue of domestic violence they made sure it would be handled realistically and sensitively. Vendy said to get her head around what Tess was going through, she researched domestic violence and made sure the story line was dealt with carefully. Brendan comes to Ramsay Street to see Tess and he tries talking his way back into her affections. Vendy said despite Brendan's past behaviour, Tess wants her marriage to work and her stubbornness keeps her going back for more. The actress explained "She doesn't want to be seen as a failure, or to think she has failed herself. She believes Brendan when he says that he has changed, because she wants to believe him. She doesn't see any of the warning signs." Tess' friends, Stephanie Scully (Carla Bonner) and Susan Kennedy (Jackie Woodburne),