Young and Restless’s Melissa Claire Egan on Chelsea and Adam: ‘Eighth Time’s the Charm’ (Exclusive)
When Chelsea agreed to work with Adam at Newman Media on Young and Restless, she was a little wary of how their personal relationship might affect their professional dynamic. But as time has gone on, it actually seems to be working out surprisingly well. “I think they’re in a really good space,” Melissa Claire Egan tells Soap Opera Digest of the connection between her alter ego and her on-again beau. “They’ve been through a lot together over the past 14 years that I’ve been on the show, and I feel like through the ups and downs, at least, as of right now, they’re in a really good headspace where they understand each other’s flaws, understand each other’s attributes, have a lot of patience towards one another, and they bump heads a bit.”
The Other Man
One of the things that causes the pair to butt heads occasionally is Billy Abbott, who Adam simply cannot stand. “Obviously, Chelsea defends Billy a lot, which does not make Adam too thrilled,” Egan notes. “But as I always remind myself about those scenes, Billy saved Chelsea’s life. If Billy hadn’t stayed around that rooftop [when she was contemplating suicide], she wouldn’t be here.”
Chelsea’s feelings for Billy are complicated to say the least, given that her gratitude to him for saving her life is mixed with her regret over breaking his heart by sleeping with Adam while they were a couple. “She has a lot of love for him and defends him a lot,” the actress says. “And she also knows she betrayed him and cheated on him, so I think she has a lot of guilt. So she definitely sticks up for him a lot, and that frustrates Adam. Understandably — I see both sides.”
Adam’s Gonna Adam
Another issue the couple encounters is how Adam is often willing to do his father’s dirty work, and Chelsea finds herself acting as kind of the angel on one shoulder, competing with Victor on the other. Impressively, though, she does seem able to keep Adam in line and prevent him from giving in to his worst impulses. “I know!” Egan says with a laugh. “Talk about eighth time’s the charm! I mean, they’ve been together like, eight times, on and off, in the show since I’ve been here.”
Adam and Chelsea have definitely had a roller coaster of a romance on Y&R, but the actress believes that has only made them stronger. Egan muses, “I think through their highs and lows and falling away from each other, then finding their way back to each other, and what they’ve each been through independently, what they’ve been through together as a couple, what they’ve been through with [their son] Connor, I think it’s just strengthened their bond. He’s still always gonna be Adam; [there’s] a little bit of a devil inside him, too, but he’s listening to [Chelsea], which everyone knows is a smart move.”
Of course, whether this newfound bond leads Chelsea and Adam to tie the knot again or if the pair will suddenly split up remains to be seen. “We don’t know what’s coming,” Egan teases. “That’s the brilliance of The Young and The Restless.”
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