‘Young & the Restless’ Star Michael Mealor on the Pros & Cons of Kyle Marrying Summer
Q&A
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On soaps, people do all kinds of crazy things for love — and, in the case of Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) — for livers, too.
Young and the Restless‘ charismatic cosmetics heir is willing to marry volatile Summer Newman (Hunter King) so that she’ll act as a liver donor to Lola (Sasha Calle), Kyle’s true love, who’s in desperate need of a transplant. Whether or not Kyle takes the plunge remains to be seen, but he believes his plan to get Summer to help Lola is certainly a viable option.
Read on to get Mealor’s thoughts on what Kyle’s mindset is and how Lola might feel about this whole deal. Also, Mealor shares his thoughts on which super-hero he’d like to play. Hint: he wants to put on Batman’s mask, but it’s not the one worn by Bruce Wayne!
Kyle’s looking to do the right things for the right reasons, but he could end up breaking Lola’s heart if he marries Summer.
Michael Mealor: Going into it, Kyle is solely thinking with his heart. He’s going to do what he thinks will save the love of his life. He’s in love with Lola. The hardest thing he’s ever been through is seeing his love in a coma. She needs a transplant. We can’t find one and then Summer comes in. She’s pining after Kyle and she decides to use it to her advantage. Kyle’s thinking this is what I have to do. Every good deed has a bit of sacrifice. Kyle’s thinking, ‘If this is what I have to do to save Lola’s life, so be it.’ As Michael, I’d do the same thing. That being said this Summer. Everyone knows their history. He wanted her for so long; he fought to get over her. There is that level of attraction between them.
Summer defends her relationship today on #YR. pic.twitter.com/ZpdDgyfmNi
— Young and Restless (@YandR_CBS) March 14, 2019
This might be easier if Kyle had no feelings for Summer; is he thinking beyond Lola’s life being saved? Will he make a go of it with Summer? Or is he only in this moment?
This is one of the first times we’ve seen Kyle go moment to moment. Kyle always knows what’s going on in every room he walks into. He’s one of the smartest people in the room. He’s always planning, assessing the satiation. This is one of the first times we’ve seen Kyle where he’s at his wit’s end. He doesn’t know how to make this right so, he’s going for it.
Kyle and Summer have always loved each other. Some people would say ‘Ah, they don’t love each other;’ they were teenagers, but love is always an evolving thing. So, Kyle and Summer have always loved each other, but it may not be by everyone’s definition of the word. This isn’t the worst-case scenario. They’ll find a way to make this work. He’s thinking I need to do this now [marry Summer] and I’ll figure out figure out whatever comes next, but right now this is what I need to do.
(Johnny Vy/CBS)
On paper, Summer’s a good choice. They have the same background. On paper is Summer a better choice for Kyle.
Yes, but, and I’m talking life not Y&R, what are the chances your soulmate grows up in the house three doors down from you and goes to your high school? There are seven billion people on this earth. What are the chances your soul mate is among those 500 people who went to your school? So, yes, Summer is the better option on paper, but does that mean that they’re soulmates? That’s a tease for the audience.
Summer and Kyle come from the same background, upbringing, their families are tied together to the nth degree. Lola’s the opposite. Summer doesn’t try to force Kyle to be anything that he’s not or question the way he lives. But is that always the best thing? That is where the constant push and pull [happens]. This tug of war is always playing out in Kyle’s mind. I’d have to say that on paper is the better option.
Is Kyle thinking Lola will understand why he has to do – if he goes ahead and marries Summer? She might see this as a betrayal.
Kyle doesn’t know how Lola will respond. He hopes that she can see this as the biggest act of love you can possibly partake in. At the same time, he is confirming every one of Lola’s fears with Summer. That’s what makes it a great twist. Now, Kyle has to hope that Lola will believe the words that are coming out of his mouth. He hopes that she’ll believe him when he tells her I don’t love Summer. I did this for you.
Kyle (Michael Mealor) and Summer (Hunter King) (Sonja Flemming/CBS)
Best case scenario: Lola lives and Kyle, if he does marry Summer, extricates himself from her, and then, reunite with Lola. How’s Summer going to feel about that?
Ha! I don’t think Summer will be too happy. She’ll view that as being a pawn, being used. She’s not going to be happy. For my point of view, I can’t speak for what Hunter or Summer thinks about Summer, but in her own way Summer does love Kyle. This is the way she knows how to love him. She’ll be devastated [if Kyle leaves her]. Once Lola finds out Kyle has [betrayed that trust], the question will be can they ever have a relationship?
Kyle and Summer each come from money. If they do get married there could be boardroom repercussions. Is anyone advising a pre-marital financial agreement?
No. Maybe it should be? Hunter and I joke about this. We were on set the other week and Christian LeBlanc (Michael) was watching our scenes and he joked, ‘You know, the wife is always going to get half if something happens.’ I said, ‘She’s a Newman! She has money. She can give me half.’ But remember when Summer came back to town last year, she had blown through her trust fund. If the characters do end up getting married, I don’t think we need a pre-nuptial agreement.
I saw you tweeted about Batman Beyond. Are you a fan?
I loved Batman Beyond growing up. That tweet came about [after I was talking to] the girl I’m dating, it was her birthday [last] weekend and we were about to go meet her family for dinner, she was doing her hair and I was sitting on the bed, talking. We were talking about Captain Marvel and she asked me if I could be a super-hero which one would I be? I rattled off Captain America and Batman, all that kind of stuff.
Then, I said you know what I’ve always wanted to do? I’ve always wanted to do a live action Batman Beyond and play Terry McGinnis. I just think it’s the coolest. I loved that animated series. I think it could be a very cool evolution of Batman. I don’t think anyone can do Batman better than Christian Bale (The Dark Knight). That was the gold standard. Moving on to Batman Beyond could be so interesting. I would love to play Terry McGinnis. So, I thought, you know what? I’m just going to put it out in the universe and into the Twitter-sphere and just say something about it because I’d love to play that part.
You actually do kind of look like him.
That’s the thing! She said what does he look like? She didn’t know anything about him. I called up some clips from YouTube and she said that actually looks like you — dark hair, blue eyes. It’s a cool series because the show evolved all the classic Batman villains, as well.
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