Reese Williams and Bianca Montgomery are fictional characters and a lesbian couple from the ABC daytime drama All My Children. Reese was portrayed by Tamara Braun, and Bianca was portrayed by Eden Riegel. On Internet message boards, the pairing is commonly referred to by the portmanteaus "Rianca" (for Reese and Bianca) and "Breese" (for Bianca and Reese). The couple debuted in October 2008 and is groundbreaking for featuring the first same-sex marriage proposal, as well as the first legal same-sex wedding and marriage, on an American soap opera. In addition, the pairing's family is the first onscreen family made up of same-sex parents in the history of American daytime television.
The couple's wedding took place on February 13, 2009. Though the wedding received praise for being the first on an American soap opera, it also received criticism. The couple's romance was the subject of controversy, from writing and development to fan dissatisfaction and creator commentary.
Background Writing and portrayals Eden Riegel was cast in 2000 as Bianca Montgomery, the lesbian daughter of Erica Kane. Riegel left the role and returned several times, before permanently retiring from the role in 2010. She attributed her 2008 return to the wishes of her fans. Through the web presence she created for herself during her web series Imaginary Bitches, fans let her know how much they wanted her back on the show. "I definitely wanted to fulfill that desire if I could," she said. Riegel then let the show know she was willing to come back. "[The] next thing I knew I got a call and they said, 'Okay, we've got something for you,'" she said. The story the All My Children writers came up with involved a new love interest for Bianca, Reese Williams, who would be portrayed by daytime alumni Tamara Braun. Riegel addressed specific reasons she made the return. "It was the storyline that got me excited," she said. "I always want to come back. I love All My Children, and they're my family. I barely need an excuse—it's usually just about timing." Riegel added that "this time it was the fact that they were going to have Bianca in a committed relationship". She stated, "It was very, very important to me, and I was so glad to hear that. In the context of that, there's some pretty exciting story line plot points that I'm aware of that are dramatic and fun to play and enticing as an actress." In addition, Riegel was enthused about playing opposite Braun. "It means so much [that Braun was cast] because it shows how committed AMC is to this pairing," Riegel said in an interview with Soap Opera Weekly. "We're going to have some serious stuff to play- they aren't going to waste her talents."
After portraying Ava Vitali on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, Tamara Braun did not expect to appear on another daytime drama so soon. "I didn't want to do another soap, I was ready to do other things," Braun said in an interview with TV Guide. "But this was an opportunity I couldn't pass up." All My Children head writer Charles Pratt, Jr. was creating the role of Reese with Braun in mind when he offered her the role. The story he presented her convinced Braun to take the part. "[T]his is a story that's groundbreaking and over due," Braun said. "Two female soap characters having a baby together is unprecedented. I wanted to be part of something that could have a strong and positive impact and help give same-sex couples their rightful place in the world of daytime drama."
Since coming out as a lesbian, Bianca's romantic entanglements have consisted of sexual confusion, unrequited love, bad timing, and betrayal, including a short-lived romance with Lena Kundera (Olga Sosnovska) and an on-but-mostly-off-screen romantic relationship with Maggie Stone (Elizabeth Hendrickson). The pairing of Reese and Bianca finally allowed the character to be scripted into an on-screen committed relationship. The show had been criticized in the past for not giving Bianca a full-fledged on-screen romance. When asked by The Advocate if she felt Bianca's pairing with Reese, especially by bringing on a recognized name (Braun), would make a difference, Riegel replied, "I think there has to be a difference." She responded to the criticism about Bianca's lack of onscreen intimacy with past romantic partners. "I don't know if the criticism is entirely warranted," she asserted. "I know I was glad that the show's priority was in giving me good stories, and I thought that they did go further than anyone else had ever gone, so I always thought that they should be commended." Riegel added, however, that she knows the lack of onscreen intimacy between Bianca and the character's past romantic love interests left fans and herself unsatisfied. "She never really got to have the kind of relationship that she deserved," stated Riegel. Riegel said of Bianca's return this time, "you’ll see a couple of things you haven’t seen in a while".
The writers characterized Reese as "very warm and real and very expressive with her feelings". Her relationship with Bianca is also "very" affectionate. In the past whenever a kiss was written in for Bianca, significant soap opera press usually focused in on the moment as an event and another kiss usually took a year or longer to happen following the immediate shift of making her romance more physically reserved than heterosexual relationships on the show. The atmosphere was different for Reese and Bianca's relationship. Braun said in an interview with Shewired.com that she would not have been able to portray the character as well back then because Reese is so affectionate. "This character is warm and open and for me to play a woman who's in love, it's important for me to be able to express that," she said. "Perhaps that's one of the reasons they wanted me to play this." Braun and Riegel have portrayed their characters as in love and committed to each other. Reese was also scripted early on as the love of Bianca's life,Stated on-air on All My Children on October 27, 2008. negating Bianca's previous true love Maggie.
When asked how she felt Bianca and Maggie (BAM) fans would respond to the Reese and Bianca pairing, Riegel stated, "I'm pretty sure BAM fans will never be entirely satisfied until they have their two favorite girls together forever. But Lizzie's [Elizabeth Hendrickson] been so successful on Y&R [as Chloe Mitchell ], and is so obviously happy there, I am hoping they are able to embrace this pairing for the time being."
Wardrobe All My Children's wardrobe director, David R. Zyla, collaborated with Braun in creating the wardrobe for the Reese Williams character. The two had worked together before when Braun portrayed Carly Corinthos on General Hospital. While bringing their ideas together, they tried to make sure they did not make Reese into too much of a cliché. "I like that she goes from really strong pants with a buttoned shirt and tie, which is so on trend but is also just great style, to wearing dresses," Braun said. Reese's wardrobe goes back and forth between the two different types of style which allows Braun and Zyla to play with her fashion. "She's an architect, so to me, I would think she has a real eye for lines," said Braun. "She appreciates form and beauty, and the look we came up with I would describe as 'streamlined with a flair'."
For Reese and Bianca's wedding, the dresses of the brides were chosen to complement each other by featuring "a long, lean, Grecian flowy feeling". As Bianca, Riegel was dressed in a Monique Lhuillier one shoulder sari-inspired dress with gold beading. Her shoes were gold Aldos. Reese's dress was designed to fit her style as an architect. Her dress was designed by Andrew Gn. It was "a fit to flair" which featured center beading applique and the shoes she wore were off white.
The characters' family, including their daughter Gabrielle, were "dressed in the wedding's color palette: deep red." Haley Evans, who portrays the flower girl and Bianca's daughter Miranda Montgomery, wore a red velvet Lucy Sykes dress. Bianca's mother, Erica's red dress was designed by Gustavo Cadile.
Storylines Most of Bianca and Reese's relationship takes place offscreen in Paris, where they live with Bianca's daughter Miranda Montgomery. They decide they want to expand their family with another baby. Zach Slater comes to Paris and meets Reese. He agrees to be their sperm donor, and none of them tell Bianca's sister and Zach's wife, Kendall Hart Slater, for fear that she will say no. When Bianca is close to delivering her and Reese's baby, she returns to Pine Valley to tell Kendall. Before she can, a tornado hits and Kendall is injured. After an ambulance takes Kendall to the hospital, Bianca goes into labor and Zach helps her deliver their baby, a girl. Bianca and Zach later find out that Kendall is comatose. Bianca worries for Kendall but also fears how she would react to the news of Zach fathering her second child.
Reese comes to Pine Valley not long after the tornado with Miranda. She proposes marriage to Bianca, and Bianca accepts. Reese and Bianca decide to have a commitment ceremony in Pine Valley and to get married later in Paris, since gay marriage is not yet legal in Pennsylvania where Pine Valley is located. Those plans change as they plan to legally marry in Connecticut. They set their wedding date on Valentine's Day. Bianca's cousin, Greenlee Smythe, also plans to marry her former husband, Ryan Lavery, on that same day. The two couples arrange for a double wedding.
Bianca finds out that Reese was once engaged to a man and that she is Reese's first lesbian partner. She is hurt Reese did not tell her this. She also becomes increasingly insecure in their relationship as she sees her fiance getting closer with Zach. Bianca decides to test Reese's love for her. She tells Zach and Reese that she will be leaving town, but she secretly stays to spy on them. When Bianca witnesses Zach and Reese in an embrace as Zach gives Reese a kiss to the forehead, she believes Reese is cheating on her and flees. She ends up in a car accident soon afterward, but suffers no serious injuries. Zach and Reese rush to the hospital to see Bianca, and Bianca explains that she saw them embracing. She asks if they are in love. Zach and Reese say no. Despite this, Bianca is furious with Reese and does not want to talk with her. Reese frustratedly leaves the hospital and sends Bianca a note saying she plans to leave. After reading the note, Bianca hurries home to convince Reese to stay; she says that she loves her and knows that she is not romantically interested in Zach. Reese says that she would not have left, regardless.
Zach and Reese continue to bond, and Reese and Bianca continue planning their wedding. However, tragedy strikes when Kendall and Bianca's brother, Josh Madden, is killed by Zach after Josh has taken Reese and his family members hostage. Zach is determined to have Josh's heart be donated to Kendall, who needs a heart transplant to save her life. Erica, the siblings' mother, makes the painful decision to take Josh off life support and donate his heart to Kendall.
Kendall awakes from her coma days after her transplant. She is told of having been recently comatose, about her heart transplant, that Josh is dead and she has his heart, and of Bianca's engagement to Reese. Kendall is naturally overwhelmed by all the news, but handles it well. When she is told of Zach having fathered Bianca's second child, she seems numb to this news also. Her family had thought she would take this particular news badly, but Kendall seems okay with it. Greenlee (Kendall's best friend) and Erica, however, are the only ones to believe that Kendall is not okay with Zach being the father.