Jason Canela and Melissa Ordway talk onscreen pairing
Credit: Image: Howard Wise/JPI

The Young and the Restless actors want more Arturo and Abby.

Arturo Rosales and Abby Newman are heading into 2019 as a solid, fun couple, despite the arrival of Arturo’s brother’s wife Mia Rosales, who he once had an affair with. While Soaps.com waits to see if Arturo’s ex will impact the couple’s relationship in the New Year, their portrayers Jason Canela and Melissa Ordway sat down with Soap Opera Digest to dish on their relationship onscreen and off.

When she realized they would be paired together. Melissa Ordway recalled, “I had just gotten back from my maternity leave and there was a scene where Abby bumps into Arturo in the coffeehouse. I was like, ‘Oh, okay, we’re gonna date!'” The actress further deduced the coupling because Canela was new to Y&R and his character wasn’t related to hers. Canela couldn’t believe they were pairing his character with Abby because his character was just with Abby’s stepmother Nikki. “And then I realized it is a soap opera and it makes sense in that world. But I was excited. Right off the bat, the energy was so good between us,” he said.

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As for their working relationship, Ordway shared Canela is always prepared and wonderful to work with, while challenging her to do the best she can. “And he’s already one of the most popular people on the set. Everybody loves him,” she added. For Canela’s part, he called Ordway incredible and marveled at her ability to react to anything he throws at her.

When talk turned to Abby and Arturo’s romance, Ordway said she likes that they come from different backgrounds and that they had a slow build. Meanwhile, Canela enjoys their playfulness and the “real connection” the actors share that comes across onscreen.

That playful connection includes Canela going out of his way to try and scare her by jumping out from the corner when she least expects it. “I’m extremely dedicated to scaring her. Even if I have to stay put under the staircase for a few minutes, I’ll wait.” They also laugh a lot on set like when they had to shoot their first sex scene together and Canela had trouble taking off his pants. As Ordway recounted, “They wanted me to ‘seductively’ watch him take his pants off, but I couldn’t look him in the eye. I just wanted to start laughing because his pants kept getting caught.”

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Looking towards 2019, Canela mused that he’d like to see the couple work through whatever bumps are sure to come their way and to “build on what they’ve already started building.” Likewise, Ordway wants Abby and Arturo to continue growing as a couple and become more serious, not only because she likes where the couple is headed, but, “I love working with Jason, so I want our characters to stay together. I hope that ‘Abturo’ stays strong in 2019.”