Linsey Godfrey on ‘Days,’ Fitness Secrets and Mental Health: ‘I’ve Got to Keep Trucking’ (EXCLUSIVE)
‘Days of Our Lives’ star dishes Sarah & Xander, Paul Telfer and how she’s survived life’s challenges
As Days of Our Lives’ Dr. Sarah Horton hustles to make sure Xander never learns that she knew all about Philip’s forged letter, portrayer Linsey Godfrey talks to Woman’s World about life in Salem and what might surprise fans about her hunky leading man, Paul Telfer.
The soap opera beauty who spent years on The Bold and the Beautiful and broke into the business on One Tree Hill also reveals the secret behind some of daytime TV’s fittest leading ladies. (Hint: It’s NOT working out 7 days a week!)
Plus, having survived cancer, being hit by a car and mental health issues, Godfrey gets candid about what keeps her going in the face of life’s challenges.
‘Days’ star Linsey Godfrey considers why Sarah wants Xander to move past Philip’s lie
When Sarah agreed to hide Philip’s machinations on Days of Our Lives, she did it because she feared Xander would go ballistic and take out his half-brother. Now that Xander is in on Philip’s inheritance letter being a forgery, she’s desperate for her husband to put this in the past.
“She feels like this is the first time they’ve had a real shot at happiness, but now, the dynamic has changed,” Godfrey says. “Sarah’s honesty is a core principle of their relationship and Xander’s the one who lies, so she’s been on her high horse for the past seven years. Now she’s no better than him. She’s not afraid for her safety. She’s genuinely scared he’ll leave her.”
Through all the close calls and near confessions—including today’s!—those fears have been palpable.
“Sarah’s garbage at lying,” Godfrey admits with a laugh. “It was just so much fun to play! But in her mind, she is also trying to do this for Xander’s benefit. Historically, he makes terrible choices and hurts people. He’s not someone who deserves unchecked power and unlimited finances—nobody does. Philip is at least a speed bump for Xander and if he takes a breath before making decisions, maybe he won’t make all these horrible ones.
‘Days’ star Linsey Godfrey reveals the secret behind hunky Paul Telfer: ‘He’s a little nerd!’
Xander may be volatile, but Godfrey calls leading man Paul Telfer one of her “bestest best buds” and the ultimate team player.
“He’s a wonderful friend who’s always shown up for me and he’s an amazing costar,” she raves. “He’s always happy to run your lines with you—even if he’s not in the scene! He’s such a gem, and it’s funny to watch him fall in love with actors he hasn’t worked with before. Like, he got to work with Mary Beth Evans (who plays Kayla) a whole bunch, and then he basically kicked in my door to tell me how great she was. I was like, ‘I know!’”
Godfrey adds that fans shouldn’t underestimate the hunky Scotsman who’s also appeared on NCIS and The Vampire Diaries.
“Paul is very handsome, big and in such good shape… and he is also the biggest, sweetest little nerd,” she explains. “We’re both nerds. The other day, I told him a series of stories about the Romanov Dynasty, one of my favorite periods of history, and then he told me all about the Battle of Hastings. It was an hour and a half conversation, and at one point I just started laughing. If anybody could hear what we actually talk about!”
Survivor and soap star Linsey Godfrey shares the secret to her resilience
While Godfrey and Telfer have a blast geeking out and creating big drama together, this 36-year-old actress has faced plenty of her own challenges in the real world. In fact, a decade before playing Sarah’s recent paralysis caused by a hit-and-run, Godfrey was struck by a car in Los Angeles.
Before that, at only 17, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and had to step back from her acting career for treatment.
“There was a time where my mom had to make the, ‘You may need to come say goodbye to Linsey’ phone calls,” shares the cancer survivor, who gets choked up when asked how she got through treatment. “My mom and my big sisters are just the tops. They were with me every second of every day and we laughed through everything. It just made it tolerable. And same thing when I had the car accident—my mom was here the next day.”
With that accident sidelining her during her run as Caroline Spencer in 2015, she also had the support of her The Bold and the Beautiful family.
“I had my soul mate Kimberly Matula, former Hope, banging down the door to get to me, and then the show really helped take care of me,” she recounts. “(Showrunner) Brad Bell had given me the opportunity to enter the soap world in 2012, and they did such great things for me. I’ve been so fortunate in this genre to work with the most amazing people.”
‘Days’ star Linsey Godfrey reveals how she and other soap beauties are staying fit
Today, Godfrey is seriously strong—and the certified Pilates instructor says it’s all because her bestie Matula started going to The Bold & The Beautiful star Scott Clifton’s weightlifting trainer, Thomas Jankas.
“Tom’s a gigantic bear of a man and he asked if I wanted to join, but like most women, I was like, ‘No, I don’t want any bulk,’” she recounts. “Well, within six months of Kim working with him, I called him. When we were kids, I used to drag her kicking and screaming to workout classes—because she wanted the results, but didn’t want to do the work. Now, it’s so funny to see her so dedicated, and we only have to go twice a week. We’re not even doing cardio.
“First it changed my body and then it changed my relationship with my body,” she adds. “I quit looking at my body, and it just became about being strong. I want to be able to move more weight—and if Kim can do five and I can only do three, that’s BS! Also, not for nothing, walking around the world as a not very big woman, knowing that I’m that strong is very comforting.”
After insisting every woman should lift weights, Godfrey drops a list of just which Days of Our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful stars are benefiting from Jankas’ training.
“There is me and Kim, Stacy Haiduk and her daughter (pictured above), Abigail Klein and Elia Cantu train together, Katherine Kelly Lang, Heather Tom, Ashley Jones, and all these amazing soap women,” she shares, referring to the actress who play Kristen, Stephanie, Jada, Brooke, Katie, and Bridget on their respective soaps.
‘Days of Our Lives’ Linsey Godfrey reveals who keeps her fighting
With a killer support system, a posse of weightlifting soap beauties and deliciously nerdy Paul Telfer behind her, Days of Our Lives star Linsey Godfrey tells Woman’s World two things keep her fighting through life’s toughest challenges.
“When I had the accident and my struggles with mental health, I did everything for my daughter,” she says, referring to Aleda, the 10-year-old she shares with The Young and the Restless alum and General Hospital pop-in, Robert Adamson. “She and I are thick as thieves. It’s nothing but laughter, love, and support in my house. There’s no yelling, no pettiness.
“I just keep reminding myself that I’ve got to keep trucking and keep my brain working the right way for her,” continues the mental health advocate and ambassador for the nonprofits Inara & Miry’s List. “Now that I’m on medicine and doing all these things to make sure I’m as healthy as possible, it’s a lot easier than when my brain was telling me lies and telling me not to be here!
“There’s also a part of me that realizes that not everybody gets to get older, so I have to honor that and honor those people who didn’t have the opportunity to beat their cancer,” Godfrey concludes. “I’m just very very lucky.”
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