Soap Hub Wellness Wednesday: Y&R’s Kelsey Wang ‘Workout Buddy’

As Allie Nguyen on The Young and the Restless, Kelsey Wang shares screen-time with Rory Gibson’s Noah Newman in yet another chapter of the long-running Abbott/Newman story. However, the two began working on their chemistry long before they ever did a screentest together for the top-rated soap. Wang explained their pre-Y&R connection to Soap Hub as part of this week’s Wellness Wednesday feature.

Kelsey Wang Talks Mental and Physical Wellness

Soap Hub: So, you and Rory [Gibson, Noah Newman] actually first met in a spinning class?
Kelsey Wang: Yes. He was my instructor at Barry’s Bootcamp. Rory used to teach there. I used to go and take classes there. After I screen-tested with him, I told Rory that his name was so familiar to me, and I couldn’t figure out why. [Laughs] Then, I realized he was the instructor who yelled at me to do pushups and move faster! When I told him that, he doubled over [with laughter]. He couldn’t believe it.

Soap Hub: Have you always been active?
Kelsey Wang: I will say I am active in cycles — no pun intended. I’m like a lot of people in that way, I think. There was a period during the pandemic where I didn’t want to work out, but then I got a bike and started walking; I’m very holistic with my wellness. I take HITT [High-Intensity Interval Training] classes every once in a while, but I also focus on hiking, yoga, and Pilates.

It’s always a goal of mine to be more active. I look up to people like Rory, who are so disciplined. Courtney [Hope, Sally Spectra], too. For me, it’s a struggle, but I feel better when I get active. It’s also about not pushing your body to extremes.

Soap Hub: What do you do to take care of mental health?
Kelsey Wang: I attend therapy. I call my therapist my second mom. I think most everyone should go through some kind of therapy at one point in their lives. I go to therapy because I struggle with anxiety. My therapist helps me examine patterns in my life so that I can break out of them. Having her perspective is helpful.

Soap Hub: What else do you do for mental help?
Kelsey Wang: Meditating is helpful for me. That’s something big you can do. I listen to a man named John Davisi on an app called Unplug. John’s wonderful, and he has these 10-minute meditation albums. Listening to these gives me so much. They help restore your worth and self-esteem. They can help you feel more at peace and be more present, which I need to feel as an actor.

Soap Hub: Is there anything you’d like to focus on more for your wellness?
Kelsey Wang: I do eat a lot of carbs. They’re a part of my diet. I ate noodles and rice growing up, but I do feel tired sometimes. I crave carbs like many people do. I love pasta! I’m actually lactose intolerant, but I love cheese. What I try to do is to be balanced and not force myself to ‘diet’ in any way. If I do, then I’ll just end up binging. So, what I try to do is drink a lot of water, eat healthy, and watch my salt intake.

Soap Hub: How much advance notice will you get from the show if you’re doing, say for example, a bathing suit scene?
Kelsey Wang: Wardrobe is really good about that. If we have any pool scenes, we sometimes have a month to get ready for them. I think the first few weeks of being on a new regime are the hardest. But if you can cut yourself off from sugar for a few weeks, I find that you might crave it less. It’s still challenging because you have to maintain [a proper diet], but you feel so much better, and you may have less mental fog if you cut out junk food.

Soap Hub: Do you have any advice for anyone looking to focus more on wellness and health?
Kelsey Wang: I know, for me, the best advice I gave myself was to not deprive myself of too many things at once. I try to eat balanced meals, portion things out, and not deprive myself. If you go cold turkey on everything, you may find it hard to maintain.

It’s a good idea to consult your physician before embarking on any new physical fitness and/or diet plan. The Young and the Restless (YR) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Genoa City, check out all the latest that’s been posted on Y&R spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.

For more about what’s happening on your favorite soaps, join the conversation over on our Facebook Page, check out our Twitter feed, or look for an update on our Instagram stories. See you over there!