Tyler Mendosa

Tyler "Ty" Mendoza was a neighbor of the Vasquez family when they lived in East Riverside and is one of the two main male figures (the other being Emmett) in Daphne's life. Regina used to have Ty take Daphne to screenings of Deafenstein at Carlton. Regina said it was in case Daphne got scared but was actually just trying to keep Ty out of trouble.

Series
Season 1= In This Is Not a Pipe, he is confused and suspicious when he sees Bay in the neighborhood, and accuses her of trying to score some pot because in his mind that is the only reason a "rich white girl" would ever be in the neighborhood. Their second encounter occurs when Ty catches Bay putting her street art on one of the local walls; Bay panics and asks him to keep their encounter a secret, and he agrees. They meet for a third time and are formally introduced when Ty helps the Vasquez family move into the Kennish's guest house.

In American Gothic Ty shows up in Mission Hills to deliver Daphne and Regina's mail, which is revealed to be a thinly veiled excuse to see Bay because the mail is junk. Later that night after getting in yet another fight with her mother, Bay asks for Ty's help putting up a new graffiti tag and they end up talking about "What-Might-Have-Been" if Bay had not been switched at birth. Ty says the night is the weirdest first date he's been on, and the two end their night with a kiss.

In Portrait of My Father Ty and Bay go on a date to a restaurant in East Riverside. The night goes well until Ty's car won't start and Bay has to call Toby to avoid another stint of grounding for missing her curfew. After finding out Ty's pay was docked (preventing him from being able to buy parts to fix his truck) because he couldn't get to work on time because of his truck, Bay goes back to East Riverside with enough money to buy Ty's truck part but he rebuffs the offer, maintaining he is not a charity case that needs "Daddy's money" to bail him out. Ty later calls Bay saying that he thought he fixed his truck but broke down again on his way the way to Bay's house to apologize for his behavior when Bay offered him the money for his truck.

In Dance Amongst Daggers Bay tries to convince Ty to attend the Buckner Hall scholarship fundraiser but he rejects the offer saying it's not his scene. Bay calls Ty once again during the fundraiser as a last ditch effort to get him to attend. Once again Ty turns down the invitation. Later, after a tough night for Bay, Ty surprises her by showing up at the fundraiser. The two then leave together and go to Ty's place.

In Dogs Playing Poker, Ty almost sleeps with Bay but doesn't because neither has protection. John then catches Bay making out with Ty in his truck in their driveway. Her parents react to catching them together by saying Ty has to attend family dinner or Bay can't see him anymore. At dinner, Bay's father is questioning Ty about his plans for the future when Ty reveals that he's enlisted in the army and leaves for basic training later that week. In a short conversation with Bay, Ty explains his reason for enlisting is so he can make something of himself and not end up a drunk like so many of the guys from his neighborhood. Later Bay goes to Ty's house and gives him a poster of Hammer Girl wearing a camouflage helmet for Ty to take with him. Bay then tells him to save any big romantic goodbye he may have prepared because if he tells her he loves her she'll be mad at him for leaving her and she'll be mad if he doesn't say he loves her. Ty says he won't say anything then and the two begin to make out. Ty asks Bay if she still wants to sleep together. Bay responds by asking if he has protection now. Ty tells her he had some the other night but didn't want to sleep with Bay without telling her about his enlistment. Bay says she just came to say goodbye and leaves.

In Write a Lonely Soldier Bay, Daphne, and Regina spend much time worrying about Ty's safety when news surfaces that a helicopter carrying his military company went down in Afghanistan. John uses his connections with a military general to ascertain that Ty is safe, which relieves both of his daughters. Ty confirms this by calling Bay himself. The two talk about the Hammer Girl Bay gave him (he put it on his unit's tank), and Bay tells Ty that she is dating Emmett Bledsoe. Ty says Emmett's a good guy and abruptly hangs up.
 * -|Season 2=

In Mother and Child Divided Bay's car breaks down right outside a theme park, Maui Kansas. Bay goes inside and begins to play a shooting game at a booth while she waits for AAA. Ty walks up behind her and gives her instructions and together they get a great score. Surprised, Bay turns and, seeing Ty, hugs him. Ty tells Bay he finished his tour and is finishing his enlistment on the base. He's also been home for a few months but hasn't told many people, claiming to be settling in. The two play more games together and Ty even helps Bay get a job at Maui Kansas because he's gotten to know the manager. Bay later gets a text from Ty asking to see her again at Maui Kansas. She sees Ty with some of his friends. Bay walks over and Ty, acting surprised, asks what she's doing there. One of Ty's friends texted Bay from Ty's phone and begins teasing Bay and Ty about Bay's affection for Ty. This upsets Ty very much and he even gets physical with his friend, telling him to apologize for disrespecting a girl like that. Bay is distraught by what she saw.

In Distorted House Ty apologizes to Bay about his overreaction the day before and the two make plans to hang out. After Ty leaves Mary Beth approaches Bay and reveals that Ty and her brother Justin were stationed in Kabul together. Unfortunately, Justin killed himself after he got back home. Ty is close to Mary Beth even after the loss of his friend. When Mary Beth finds out Bay and Ty have plans she replies with, “That’s a good sign,” which worries Bay. She tries to talk to Ty about his time on the base and overseas, but he ends the conversation quickly, not wanting to talk about it. The two then go to a movie together and, on the way home, Ty stops at a stop sign and gets a far off look on his face. Bay rouses him from his thoughts and he tells her he doesn’t feel like talking. Noticing that Bay is cold he offers her his coat. As Ty takes off his coat, Bay notices a tattoo of her Hammer Girl poster on his arm. Before either can say much about the tattoo, a car pulls up behind them and they drive away. Later, Regina goes to visit Ty on the base (where he’s on motor pool, repairing humvees). Regina tells him he shouldn’t shut Bay out. Ty says, “Not everybody comes back damaged,” implying he doesn't need to talk about it. Regina replies with, “Maybe, but I bet you all come back changed.” Later, Ty visits Bay after she gets off work. He tells her she doesn’t have to worry about him going off again. She asks him if he ever feels like his friend Justin did. He tells her he doesn’t. Ty tells her about a time when they were going back to the base with the tank with the Hammer Girl poster on it. They were giving kids little trinkets like bubbles and gum. Ty had a soccer ball he was looking for a kid to give; many of the little boys asking for it. Ty then sees a girl that does the Hammer Girl pose; he gives her the ball. The next day the boys are playing with the soccer ball outside the base. Ty and his army buddies get the boys to include the little girl in their game. A man, her uncle, sees her playing and drags her away. Ty never saw the little girl again. He asked around to find out what happened to her; he was told he didn't want to know. Ty then tells Bay that bad things happen to girls over there and he thought maybe the tattoo would "...keep her spirit alive or something".

In He Did What He Wanted Ty and Bay go out together and at the end of the night when Bay offers Ty a ride back to the base, Ty declines, saying it will give him a chance to clear his head. The next day Mary Beth is distraught at work and tells Bay Ty helped her and her mom clean out all of her brother's things the previous day. Ty later comes to the theme park looking for Mary Beth. Bay tells him Mac sent her home and suggests the four of them (Bay, Ty, Mac, and Mary Beth) go mini golfing together in an attempt to set up Mac and Mary Beth. Ty agrees as John walks up. Their encounter is a bit awkward due to the fact that John forgot who Ty was. Soon after John asks to speak with Bay in private and Ty leaves. Later everyone is shown mini golfing together; Bay is trying a little too hard to get Mary Beth and Mac together and Ty suggests she tone it down a little. Mary Beth isn't having a very good time, due to Mac's disinterest and Mary Beth missing her brother, and begins crying. Ty comforts her telling her that any guy who isn't interested in her is an idiot. He tells her how much Justin used to brag about her and some videos she made for him when he was overseas. Mary Beth then realizes she lost her brother's dog tags, one of the few things that belonged to Justin that her mother kept. Everyone quickly begins searching; Ty is the most adamant in their searching, wanting to continue even after Mary Beth has given up hope of ever finding them. Ty reluctantly gives up his search and takes Mary Beth home. Later Bay goes to visit Ty at the base. She is somewhat frustrated with Ty's lack of openness with her and asks if he is even still into her. Ty assures her he is very much into her, telling Bay seeing her is the best part of his day and that it reminds him of life before he joined the army. Ty tells her that he knows he's moody and doesn't want to jerk her around. He begins to suggest they don't see each other until Ty can sort everything with himself; Bay objects to this. Ty tells her that he wants to be close to her and she tells him to let himself get close to her and they can figure the rest out as they go. The two then kiss.

In The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living Bay and Ty are seen kissing in Ty's room when they keep getting interrupted by Bay's phone. Bay finally answers and promptly leaves to go to John in the hospital. About a week later Ty visits Bay at work and invites her to a cookout at the base and, if her curfew isn't too early, to hang out in his room afterwards. Bay comes to the cookout and Ty introduces him to his army buddies, some with various limbs missing. Then a confident, good looking, army medic named Aida joins their group. Later it's shown Ty and Aida have a rapport with each other; Ty begins telling a story about Aida, talking her up and maybe exaggerating a little. He tells about a time when Aida dragged a 250lbs man back to base with insurgents firing on them. He says that she came back covered in bruises, to which one of his friends says he thought those bruises were from Ty and Aida hooking up. Later Bay is seen leaving the cookout with Ty following after her. The two fight about Ty and Aida's relationship and Bay's relationship with Emmett. Bay somewhat angrily tells Ty that her and Emmett were different than Ty and Aida because she never slept with him; she never slept with anyone to which Ty responds shockingly "Wait, What? ".Later to which Bay walks out feeling embarrassed whilst Ty trying to stop her. Bay then rebuffs Ty's offer to take her home and gets a ride from Regina. Later Ty waits for Bay to get off work and asks her for a do-over. Bay agrees and the two go back to the base where Ty has lit his room with candles and has music playing softly in the background. Ty tells Bay that they still don't have to do anything if she doesn't want to. The two then start kissing. They have a few mishaps; Ty tricks walking over to the bed and Bay almost throws their shirts onto a candle. Ty then begins blowing out the candles around the bed while Bay rambles on about what would happen if they started a fire. Ty then tells her to stop talking and Bay responds with "Okay".

In Prudence, Avarice, Lust, Justice, Anger Bay and Ty are shown in bed together after they've had sex. Both talk about getting back to work, but neither wants to leave. They decide to both get up on the count of three, but neither does. Ty asks Bay if she has plans that Sunday; when she says she doesn't, Ty tells her he got tickets to see a band she likes. Ty then tells her that if he doesn't get back to work he could get his weekend leave revoked which prompts Bay to get out of bed first and Ty to be the "winner". Later, Ty is seen picking Bay up for the concert. He asks if Angelo is home because Bay's biological father probably wants to meet him by now. Bay tells him about Angelo going to see his daughter and his invitation to Bay to come along to see her half-sister. Ty asks why she didn't want to go since this could be Bay's only chance to see her sister. Bay seems to want to go but was unsure. Ty then convinces her to take a road trip to St. Louis, where Angelo's daughter now lives. Later, Bay and Ty are on the road headed for St. Louis. They make some small talk about Ty's taste in music (which is eclectic, ranging from Johnny Cash to Ke$ha but omitting the band they were going to see). The conversation then turns to more serious topics. Ty reveals that he never really knew his father. He left Ty and now lives in Tulsa with a whole new family. Ty says his father didn't want anything to do with Ty so neither did his father's new family, explaining why he wanted Bay to see her sister. The two then pull over to have sex. When Bay and Ty arrive at the hotel in St. Louis, Angelo gets a room key for Bay (although Bay and Ty think he's gotten a room for the two to share). Angelo acts like the stereotypical father meeting his daughter's boyfriend; he tells them he and Ty will share a room. He continues saying he's a very light sleeper waking up to the slightest sound like a door opening or someone walking across the room. Later, after returning from St. Louis, Bay and Ty are sharing a picnic dinner together. Ty puts on some music; he bought the album from the band they were going to go see. Bay asks him if he wants to go back to Ty's room, implying having sex. Ty says they can go in a little bit; he wants to just hang out a bit more.

In As the Shadows Deepen Ty is seen fixing Bay's car outside of Maui Kansas when Mary Beth walks up. She tells them that the park will be closed two days a week because they've lost business since a new water park opened. Ty assures Mary Beth and tells her, as he looks at Bay, that "some things are just permanent". In an attempt to boost attendance at Maui Kansas, Bay plans a Deaf/Hard of Hearing day; with the help of Emmett, she also plans a special screening of Deafenstein. As Bay and Emmett are setting up for the movie, Bay finds a copy of Dawn of the Deaf. Having never seen it before, Bay and Emmett watch it together. In the middle of an ending scene in their movie featuring a passionate kiss between Bay and Emmett, Ty walks in looking for Bay. Seeing Bay and Emmett making out on the projection, Ty leaves. Bay runs after him and the two fight. Ty accuses Bay of using one of them (Ty or Emmett) to make the other jealous. Bay assures him nothing is going on between her and Emmett but Ty just leaves. Later, Bay goes to the base; while looking for Ty she runs into Aida. Bay tells her she's looking for Ty, who hasn't been picking up his phone. Thinking Bay already knows, Aida tells her Ty and his unit are being sent back to Afganistan at the end of the month to train the new police force. Bay finds Ty working in the motor pool and asks him if he's okay. When it becomes apparent that Ty isn't going to tell her about his redeployment, Bay tells him she already knows about it. Ty asks who told her, and Bay tells him it doesn't matter because he didn't tell her. Ty tells her he was in bad place when he first saw her at Maui and being with her has brought him out a hole he's been in. He thought if he didn't tell her he could pretend he didn't have to go back in that hole for a little longer. Bay says that's great for him but what was he planning on doing about her? She asks if he had any idea how devastated she was when he left last time. Ty tells her she wasn't too hurt to go straight to Emmett and that it will happen again. He tells her that she dropped him as soon as she could last time so why not save her the trouble this time. Bay says that's perfect and walks away. Later, after the Deafenstein screening, Ty shows up at Maui Kansas. He tells Bay he'll always come back. She tells him he can't know that. He apologizes and says he should have told her about his redeployment. Bay says they can just go back to the way they were; they can hang out, have a good time, and pretend like nothing's changed. Ty tells her he can't do that because he loves her. They then kiss and Bay sadly asks what they're going to do.

In What Goes Up Must Come Down Bay visits Ty at work on the base. Bay tells him she's been looking up ways that he can get out of his redeployment, e.g. injury, PTSD, conscientious objection. Ty tells her he doesn't want to do that because he made a commitment. Bay then tells him about a guy who got an honorable discharge by getting some politicians to sign some things; she suggests talking to her dad. Ty is adamant and refuses. He then suggests they just enjoy the time they have left together. Bay agrees; Ty invites Bay to go camping. Bay says yes, and her family goes camping at their lake house. Ty tells her it'll be a little more rustic (tents and sleeping bags on the ground) and asks if her parents would be okay with it. Bay says she just needs to ask the right parent. Later, Ty and Bay are hiking when they get to an observation deck. Ty tells her they're there and begins unpacking ropes and harnesses for climbing the tower. He tells Bay they did a lot of things like that in basic training. Bay tells him she doesn't want to; Ty replies with telling Bay she needs to learn to leave her comfort zone. Bay asks why she needs to do that. Ty tells her she sounds like a princess when she says that; Bay tells him he can't use the 'because I live in Mission Hills I'm a princess' defense and that she doesn't have the Kennish gene for athletics. Ty says to her, "Tell yourself that and you keep making it true your whole life or you can redefine yourself," which makes Bay agree to climb the tower. Then, Ty gets Bay in her harness and encourages her as she climbs the tower. Bay gets to the top and asks how she's going to get down. Ty tells her she jumps and he takes her weight and belays her down. Bay steps off the platform and moves around in a panic, causing Ty to bring her down too quickly; Bay lands with too much force and hurts her ankle. Bay gets up and angrily asks if this was all some kind of test. Ty tells her it was just something you do when you want to see what someone's made of. Bay asks if it was to see how tough she is; Ty tells her it'll be really hard when he's gone. Bay says she knows that and asks if this was to see how well she'll handle it; she asks if he thinks she will cheat on him. Ty doesn't say anything and Bay asks if this was about Emmett. Ty says maybe; Bay tells him to leave her alone and storms off. Later Ty is shown calling Bay only to get her voicemail. He yells his apologies and for her to come back before it's dark. Then, Ty is sitting by the tent after dark when Bay walks up. Still mad, she tells him she's not talking to him. Ty asks if that's why she just disappeared for two hours. Bay tells him she wanted to be by herself; Ty tells her he thought she was dead. Bay tells him he knows how she felt when his helicopter went down and how she will feel every day that he's gone. Bay then apologizes and says she shouldn't have done that. She sits down and tells Ty she thinks she hurt her ankle badly. Ty looks at her ankle and carries Bay back to his truck. Later, they are seen coming out of the emergency room with Bay on crutches. Ty apologizes again and Bay tells him it's not too bad. Ty tells her he thinks they should talk to Bay's dad, saying John could help get him stationed closer or stay where he is. Bay asks if he's serious. Ty says he is and the two embrace.

In The Merrymakers John agrees to try to help Ty get out of his redeployment. John goes to visit Ty at the base. John asks Ty if he knows what a big deal it is for him to pull strings for Ty and tells Ty he thinks if you make a commitment you should follow through with it; Ty agrees with John. John points out that Ty isn't exactly making a compelling case for himself. Ty tells him that he wants to be with Bay but doesn't know what he would tell the guys in his platoon if he got stationed closer, saying, "This is a lot more complicated for me". John says that Ty doesn't want to disappoint Bay; Ty affirms. John says that when you're a father it gets about 100 times worse. John then leaves.

In Departure of Summer Bay and Ty are getting dressed as they talk lightheartedly about missing each other once Ty is deployed. Bay says she would like to have one more pineapple freezie before Ty leaves; Ty mentions he'll be leaving in three days. Ty reassures Bay that he'll be okay; Bay somewhat jokingly says she doesn't know what she's more worried about: Ty being in a war zone or being in a tank with a hot medic for months. Ty jokes back that he and Aida won't be in a tank, but a Humvee. He tells Bay not to worry, he'll only be in Afganistan for three months and then on a base in Germany. Bay sadly says that he'll only be one continent away. Ty tells her that at least it won't be a war zone; Bay wishes he could just go straight to Germany and skip the war zone. Later, Ty talks to one of his army buddies about their upcoming deployment. His friend tells him that they won't just be on the base to repair vehicles but in convoys, so they can quickly make repairs. His friend seems excited to be on the front lines where the action is; he even asks Ty if he has his affairs (e.g. his will) in order. Later, at Toby and Nikki's wedding rehearsal dinner Bay tells Ty about her plan to graduate early and go to art school in Berlin so they can still be together. Ty is less than excited about Bay's plan and tells her no one knows what will happen. He goes on to say that their summer together has been great and maybe they should just keep it simple. Their conversation comes to an abrupt end when Daphne comes to get Bay to help with Toby and Nikki and their parents. After the rehearsal dinner, Bay goes back to the base to talk with Ty. As she arrives she sees Ty putting freshly cleaned sheet on his bed. As he lays out the fitted sheet on his mattress a pair of underwear, that doesn't belong to Bay, falls on his bed; Bay then sees a condom wrapper on his floor. Bay asks if Ty slept with Aida, to which Ty says it just happened, maybe because they were shipping out.Bay break up with Ty then Bay angrily walks out  and Ty defeatedly says he's sorry. Later, Mary Beth visits Ty on the base to confront him about sleeping with Aida. Ty tells her he and Bay were just a summer thing. MB tells him that the Ty she knows would never do that, to which Ty replies that she doesn't know him very well. This prompts MB to realize Ty wouldn't and didn't cheat on Bay. Ty tells her not to worry about it, but MB says she's going to tell Bay. Ty begins talking about something happening to him in Afganistan, but Mary Beth interrupts asking if he's would rather break her heart now. Ty told Mary Beth that he and Bay were just a summer fling and nothing more then Ty says that MB of all people should understand given what she went through with her brother. Ty says he would rather have Bay hate him now and get on with her life. and move on then he said he want her to hate him now.Ty goes on to ask Mary Beth to not tell Bay; MB asks that he not make her keep something like this from Bay. Ty tells her that he promised her brother he would look out for MB and now she has to promise this to him. Mary Beth reluctantly agrees. Later, Ty is seen gathering his things for his redeployment when he finds pictures of he and Bay from a photo booth. Ty picks up the photos and turn off the lights walks out with his things and never look back. In Drowning Girl Regina asks Bay how Ty's been doing. Bay, not wanting anyone to know she and Ty broke up, vaguely tells her Ty's doing well. Regina doesn't seem to believe her. Later, while talking to Bay, Regina tells Bay she knows Bay and Ty broke up. Bay tells Regina that they just decided to end things because of the distance. Bay tries to minimize her feelings about the breakup, even after Regina tells her it is a big deal. Regina, knowing Bay doesn't want to talk about it, drops the subject. Later, at a frat party, Bay runs into Mary Beth. Bay asks if MB has talked to Ty; MB tells her they've emailed a few times. Bay asks if Ty has asked about her. Mary Beth doesn't say anything, implying he hasn't. Bay is hurt by this; MB tries to console her by saying Ty is really busy and probably wouldn't be comfortable talking to her about Bay, anyway. MB begins to tell Bay there's something she needs to tell Bay about, (presumably MB wants to tell Bay that Ty never cheated on her) but Bay interrupts her saying she needs to find a cute guy to kiss.
 * -|Season 3=

In It Hurts to Wait With Love if Love is Somewhere Else Bay gets an email, the first since he left, from Ty with the subject line "Hey." Throughout the episode, Bay wrestles with the decision to open the email or not. Ultimately, Bay deletes the email without reading it.

In The Past (Forgotten-Swallowed) Bay mentions Ty and Mary Beth tells the truth of what happen with Ty and Aida.

​Physical Appearance and Personality
Ty has black, straight wavy hair. He is 5'11" tall and has an athletic/muscular body. He also has a tattoo of a hammer girl, one of Bay's pieces, on his right arm.

History
Regina Vasquez reveals in Dogs Playing Poker that Ty is part Cherokee, was raised by his great-aunt, and is a champion Spades player.

Relationships
Bay Kennish (ex-girlfriend)

First Relationship: Second Relationship:
 * Start Up: American Gothic (1x02)
 * Break Up: Dogs Playing Poker (1x05)
 * Reason: Ty left because he enlisted in the military. The two remained friends, but on the phone in Write a Lonely Soldier Bay told him she was dating Emmett.
 * Start Up: He Did What He Wanted (2x14).
 * Break Up: Departure of Summer (2x21)
 * Reason: Ty was being deployed to an area worse than he thought. He made Bay think he slept with Aida so that she would break up with him to spare her in case he got killed overseas.

Aida (fake hook-up/one-night stand) Hook-up:
 * Start Up: Before The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (2x16)
 * End: Before The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (2x16)
 * Reason: It happened sometime after Bay told him she was with Emmett. Both Ty and Bay were broken up when he left for the army. It was a one-night stand that happened while he was in the military, where they met.

Trivia

 * His full name is revealed by Bay in Pandora's Box.
 * He got a tattoo of Bay's art while he was away, as revealed in Distorted House.