‘The Young And The Restless’ Star Melissa Claire Egan Shares ‘Honest’ & Inspiring Post Supporting Women

The Young and the Restless star Melissa Claire Egan, who portrays Chelsea on the CBS Daytime drama, took to Instagram with her response to a viral challenge, sharing a picture that showed her infertility journey. Her bravery with the vulnerable post inspired many of her fans to share their own stories.

Egan responded to the Women Supporting Women trend on social media. Instead of choosing to upload a unique posed picture, she shared a black-and-white photo of herself wearing a mask and a hospital gown and lying on a pillow. In her caption, the actress offered a bit of information about her infertility. In the fall of 2018, she also revealed that she’d lost a pregnancy through miscarriage, so this is not the first time she’s opened up about the heartbreaking topic on social media.

The actress received a lot of support from her fanbase, and many people chimed in to share stories of their own struggles to have a family. Her Y&R co-star Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) replied that she’d also been through the situation, and she offered her guidance.

Several other soap stars including Chrishell Stause (ex-Bethany on Y&R), Lauralee Bell (Christine), Tracey Bregman (Lauren), Hunter King (Summer), Kelly Kruger (MacKenzie), Melissa Ordway (Abby), Kate Linder (Esther), Jason Thompson (Billy), and Greg Rikaart (Kevin) replied to acknowledge that they loved and cared for their co-star and friend.

Fans also chimed in on the photo. Overall, at least 15,700 Instagrammers hit the “like” button on the update, and nearly 1,250 left an uplifting comment for the actress. Several of those replies included other women’s stories of infertility.

“Your post has uplifted me as I was just about to make a follow-up call with my fertility acupuncturist, and then I saw your post. It is never easy going through fertility treatments, but we got this! I am hoping for success in transferring a frozen embryo in a couple of months,” wrote one follower.

“Thank you for sharing. God works in mysterious ways. I truly wish you the best. I went through fertility treatment before having my first child after a miscarriage also. You’re beautiful, funny, and a child would be blessed to have you as a mother,” a second Instagrammer encouraged.

For many of those who shared their pain of trying to have children, Egan replied with different heart emoji, expressing her solidarity with them while thanking them for their support and openness about the situation.