Claire Donovan

**Claire Moira Donovan** is the second child and first daughter of Killian Donovan and Arabella Russo, which makes her the middle child in between Joshua and Claudia. She inherited her mother's undying adoration for music and dance, and made it a priority in any dimension to earn her rent with what she loves.

Her road in the real world was rather rocky. At age 15, she came into contact with an artifact, which gave her uncontrollable telekinetic powers. She accidentally killed her parents under its influence, and was then put into a coma by Artie Nielsen to avoid endangering anyone else. Her little sister woke her up again fifteen years later and, with the help of Pete Lattimer, finally managed to remove the energy trapped within Claire.

She had a lot to come to terms with then. Not only did she have to deal with the fact that her parents died and she was essentially the cause, but she also had to accept that she was suddenly an adult. She was no longer 15, but 30, and people expected her to act like it. On top of it all, she felt guilty about everything her siblings went through during her absence.

In the alternate world, where the Warehouse never played a role in her life, things were much easier. Her parents were alive, she was living her dream and didn't have a clue what her baby sister went through before she came to this dimension. Claire spent most of her twenties and thirties on stage, often starring in musicals. She eventually became the Co-Vice President, head choreographer, songwriter and talent scout for her mother's record label.

## Romantic Relationships (AU)

While Claire takes her art very seriously and was never the kind of celebrity to shower in the limelight and end up in the boulevard press, she sure had a tendency to date men who did just that.

At age 19, when her career was just starting out, she had a brief relationship with actor and guitarist Wyatt Ainsworth. They went their separate ways after only two months, deciding that they both wanted to focus on their career. She did, in fact, have her big breakthrough at 21, and put her love life on ice until she turned 23. That's when she met her second boyfriend, Rick Kinney. The relationship was rather casual, by-the-side, and ultimately cut short. Claire was at a party in Manhattan with Rick when she met Wyatt again, and three weeks after her breakup with the former she rekindled her connection with the latter.

Wyatt and Claire got married the following year, when she was 24 and he was 26. They spoke their vows with high hopes, but in the end they realized they'd rushed things. They were happily married for about seven months before the doubts and arguments started. They divorced a little less than 15 months after the wedding.

After that, Claire became a lot more cautious in matters of the heart. She stayed single for almost four years, until she met fellow musician Marco Romero. She cursed herself for falling in love with him so quickly, but she held her breath to test their relationship. He asked her to marry him after two years, but she told him she wasn't ready. Another year later, she convinced herself that she was, and he finally got his desired answer.

Marco and Claire got married in summer 2016, and later the same year Claire became pregnant. Panic came in waves, reminding her of her first marriage and how quickly it had ended. She couldn't do that to a kid, so she swore she'd do whatever it takes to make things work out for real this time. Marco was semi-present during her pregnancy, since he went on tour in the midst of the second trimester and Claire stayed with her family for support. Killian, AJ and Claudia questioned his decision to leave in a time like this, but Claire decided to accept it in order to keep their marriage on safe ground.

Marco came home four days after their twin daughters were born, and initially, he was over the moon. He kept on talking about how pretty the girls were and what they'd achieve in the future, and made sure to mention that in every conversation and every interview for the following months. It took about half a year for the excitement to start wearing off, and shortly after the spike in interest surrounding the twins' first birthday, it had vanished almost completely.

He was working on a new album, and barely even looked at his wife and kids anymore. Claire, who had been ignoring the fact that he really just talked a lot and never helped with anything in the first place as good as she possibly could, finally had to face reality: She'd have to handle things on her own. Their marriage had become a formality above anything else, but she hoped it would help the girls somewhat to know their mom and dad were at least still together. She did everything she could alone, spending as much time as possible with her babies, and called her family and rarely a trusted nanny for help when necessary.

Claire kept on playing and improving that game plan for the next two years, until she met Derek Rhodes in 2019. Within a few months, Derek became a dear and reliable friend to her. He helped her however he could, and she trusted him with her problems and, most importantly, her daughters. He treated them like a father should, and like their father never did. He cared, he supported them, and he was always there when she needed someone to lean on.

In other words, Derek showed her exactly what was going wrong in her marriage with Marco. He never pressured her into any kind of choice, but it was clear what he was thinking. He believed she and the girls deserved better than what they got. Somebody who was present and reliable and sincere.

Claire eventually realized he might be right, particularly about her kids. What good would it do if they had a father who was only legally a part of the family anymore? She caught Marco off guard when she called for a divorce in 2020, and wouldn't budge when he tried to convince her to stay. She took their daughters and moved into Derek's house, intending to stay "maybe a few months, until we've got this sorted out".

They ended up staying with him for nine months, until Claire and Derek started dating. She didn't want to put pressure on things by living in his house when they'd only just gotten together, and he accepted that. However, in early 2022, she knew what she wanted. She asked him if he was absolutely sure he loved her, and was actually serious about their relationship. He said yes without a second's hesitation, and she replied by asking how he felt about a winter wedding.

Claire has been Mrs. Rhodes since November 2022, 13 years and counting. He's become the twins' primary father, and they were blessed with a third daughter in 2024.