You’d think that because “The Young and the Restless’” Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea Newman; ex-Annie Chandler, “All My Children”) has been an onscreen bride more times than she can count on one hand, her motto would be “matrimony, schmatrimony.” But when Soap Opera Network caught up with the blushing bride-to-be, that wasn’t the case at all! She was more than thrilled to open up about her upcoming big day and why her fiancé, Matt Katrosar, was able to so easily steal her heart.
First things first: It’s true that because Egan has donned several wedding gowns and filmed many wedding scenes, she isn’t as much of a bridezilla as she may have otherwise been. “I keep joking to everyone that I’ve worn what, like nine wedding dresses in the past seven years?” she says with a laugh. “It’s been a lot, so I feel like I’ve already been a bride… and I’m like, ‘Oh, it’ll be fine.’”
But that doesn’t mean she’s not ecstatic about planning her own wedding, which she reveals will take place in Santa Barbara next summer. “I’m so excited,” she raves. “We found the most beautiful ranch and [booked] the band, and the rest will just fall into place. We wanted to take our time and not feel too crazed.”
But that can be tough to do, considering even the smallest decisions can sometimes feel overwhelming. “Our wedding planner showed us this magazine of all kinds of different silverware, and I was like, ‘Oh, ummmmmm… Just a fork? I don’t need anything fancy!’” she says. “But it’s cool that we can make it very specific to us and pick everything. It’ll be really fun, and we’re really excited.”
As for her dress — the first of which she’ll be wearing for herself rather than as a soap character — Egan says she’ll definitely take her time deciding. “I have an idea of what I want; I really love lace,” she notes. “But I have so much time, and I don’t want to fall in love with a dress now and then in six months or 12 months find something else I love!”
Speaking of love, the actress beams especially bright with even the slightest mention of Katrosar, whom she met through a mutual friend two years ago. “He’s just a special man,” she says of how he was able to steal her heart. “He’s very thoughtful and kind and caring and makes fun of me like no other to the point where I laugh so hard, I almost pee my pants — and you can quote me on that! You need someone who’s going to know your quirks and love you for them, but also make fun of you and make you laugh at yourself, and he definitely does that.”
What’s more, Egan says he provides a nice balance for her hectic life. “He actually is a businessman [at CBS], and I’m an actor, so I’m creative,” she says of their differences. “But he’s not super serious. We’re both kind of goofballs. He’s good with contracts and stuff like that, but with us, he’s silly and a total goofball.”
When the couple isn’t wedding planning, the actress says they’re either out and about biking, playing tennis and the like, or they’re hosting dinners and soirees at their Santa Monica home. “We both are just really active and love just hanging out and having people over,” she says, adding that Katrosar makes everything a blast. “He’s just a fun cat, what can I say?”