2 Soap Opera Veterans Reveal Their Spouses Encouraged Them To Start Their New Podcast

Soap opera icons, The Young and the Restless‘ Greg Rikaart and The Bold and the Beautiful‘s Rebecca Budig reveal their spouses’ importance in their new project. Budig currently stars in The Bold and the Beautiful, but has also appeared in General Hospital, while Rikaart joined the cast of The Young and the Restless in 2003 and Days of Our Lives in 2018.

The daytime TV stalwarts have been friends for 20 years, and have close to three decades of work in soap operas between them, as well as a Soap Opera Digest Award, and a Daytime Emmy. The duo launched their new CBS podcast Soapy on July 8, and both revealed their spouses were instrumental in convincing them to start it.

In an interview with People, Rikaart and Budig revealed their close friendship and credited their spouses with encouraging them to start the pod. Rikaart revealed that his husband Rob Sudduth, and Budig’s husband, Michael Benson, have been urging the duo to do a project together for a long time. Check out his comments below:

“I don’t necessarily perceive myself as being interesting enough to be the subject of a podcast. But to host something where we get to talk to other people who I do find to be particularly interesting felt like a really good way to do something like this.”

He continued, discussing how his bond with Budig made them the perfect hosts for a soap podcast.

“To get to do it with Rebecca, where we have this shared history as friends, as neighbors, but also, between the two of us, we’ve got over 50 years of experience in soap operas. We know how that particular brand of sausage is made.”

Budig also weighed in, admitting that the time was right to celebrate soap operas by way of a podcast.

“It felt like the right time to sort of celebrate soaps. I think that, at least in the industry, when you are on a soap, you’re at the bottom of the barrel. I just disagree with that. I think we work really hard and there’s lots to celebrate, and I think it’s fun to talk to my coworkers.”

What This Means For The Podcast’s Future

The Dynamic Of The Hosts Should See This Become A Long-Term Success

The fact that Budig and Rikaart have such a close relationship can only be a good thing for Soapy, and the fact their husbands were urging them to work together suggests they have great chemistry. On a podcast, wit and camaraderie are essential components, and their long-term friendship will ensure plenty of that on Soapy.

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One of the things that sets Soapy apart from other podcasts is that it’s a soap podcast hosted by soap stars. Unlike a lot of pods where fans are the hosts and discuss their views, Soapy benefits from the first-hand experience of its hosts, which provides listeners with an interesting perspective that shines a light on some industry secrets.

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The fact that Soapy also features appearances from current soap stars, such as Eric Braeden, ensures a fresh and interesting dynamic, and gives the hosts another industry legend to share stories with. This is no doubt what Budig and Rikaart’s husbands were imagining when they suggested that the two work together.

Our Take On Soapy’s Prospects

This Could Be The Shot In The Arm The Soap Industry Needs

Soapy could be just the podcast launch the soap opera industry needs for a shot in the arm. As Budig comments, soaps do not often get the recognition or respect they deserve, perhaps due to many of the wild soap opera tropes, and the podcast could be a fun way of raising the profile of soap operas in general.

There are interesting times ahead for soaps, with Soapy having the capacity to be a big hit, and the recent reveal that soap star Melody Thomas Scott received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star. These could point toward the idea that soap operas are becoming more respected as a whole, and could achieve more success in the future.

Source: People

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