Marla Adams recounts her emotional journey as Y&R's Dina

Marla Adams says that her return as The Young and the Restless' Dina Mergeron, who passed away from Alzheimer's disease last week, "turned out to be the most important role I have ever done in my entire life, and it blows me away."

Last Friday's episode of The Young and the Restless was one of the most difficult hours in the show's history, as fans had to say goodbye to Marla Adams' Dina Mergeron, who passed away after a three-year battle with Alzheimer's disease. Viewers' eyes are still puffy from all of the crying, and Adams admits that she's still crying, too.

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"It has been a privilege. I've been on Broadway, in movies, and major television shows, but nothing has been more humbling for me than this Alzheimer's story," she tells Soap Opera Digest, adding that she couldn't believe the on-set farewell gathering that Y&R arranged for her. "I wasn't told anything about it, so it was a total surprise. It was really amazing and I've been crying ever since. I don't know how long they planned this salute to me and people said such wonderful things. They waxed poetically about being thrilled with me and my service on the show. After all these years, it's about time they acknowledged me! [Laughs] And I'm not going to read you the lovely messages everybody wrote about me because my head would swell so much that I wouldn't be able to stand myself."

Adams admits that she was caught off guard when Sally Sussman Morina, who at the time was serving as Y&R's co-executive producer and head writer, contacted her in 2017 about a return to the show she originally joined in 1983.

"Sally said, 'Marla, I'm bringing you on to play a woman with Alzheimer's and she'll die,'" Adams recalls. "I was a little upset by that and I said, 'What the hell are you bringing Dina on just to kill her off?!' She said, 'You'll be back for at least a year,' and I said, 'Oh, well, that's nice. I'll do it.' And [Dina's death] didn't happen until three years later! It turned out to be the most important role I have ever done in my entire life and it blows me away."

Adams adds that her Y&R journey was made all the more special by the love and support that she received from her costars and the show's viewers. "I don't know how to say thank you enough about all the graciousness that I've been awarded and afforded by everyone at Y&R and the fans."

For more from Adams on her time at Y&R and what she has planned for the future, and to find out how her Y&R costars feel about Dina's demise, check out SOD's full article here.

How do you feel about Marla Adams' Y&R exit and the way the writers handled Dina's death? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.

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