Kristin Chenoweth Shares How Her Husband Is the Best Travel Partner, Her NYC Recommendations, and More

Kristin Chenoweth’s husband may just win the award for best travel partner.

“He’s the best travel mate — I think that’s why I married him,” she told Travel + Leisure recently of her husband Josh Bryant. “I’m a scared flier to be honest, and he’ll get me all set up. Then as we’re taking off, he holds my hand, and again as we land.”

Her other flight essentials — besides an amazing husband — include sanitizing wipes, a face mask, and her mouth guard and neck brace.

“It’s real sexy!” she joked.

The couple who got married last September, took their first trip to Las Ventanas al Paraíso, a Rosewood Resort, in Cabo San Lucas. It was Bryant’s first time in Mexico, and Chenoweth decided to make it a group trip.

“We had just met and we fell in love quickly,” she said. “I did the thing you’re not supposed to, and I took him and some of his friends.” He immediately was on board with the destination and the couple went back the following year and again for their honeymoon. 

Though the Tony Award-winner has come a long way from her hometown of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, it hasn’t been without its challenges, especially as a sufferer of chronic migraines throughout most of her adult life. Years ago, while she was on stage performing with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, she started getting “kaleidoscope eyes,” where she saw flashing lights, followed by nausea, and then “what felt like a sledgehammer going to town on my head.”

After being told to try to reduce stress levels by not flying too often and watching her diet — things that are difficult to do while traveling as much as she does — she was then introduced to Botox for Chronic Migraine, which she admits she was initially nervous about, but has become a saving grace.

“Without this treatment, I would be retired,” she said, citing the variety of lights she faces in her profession as major triggers, from stage spotlights to paparazzi camera flashes and even laptops.

While she also keeps a low-sodium diet and doesn’t drink alcohol to keep symptoms at bay, the treatment helps her better stay in control. It’s been so life-changing that she’s now partnered with the brand because of how it’s helped her manage the condition, and even recently guest edited a special edition of Center Stage with Chronic Migraine to share her experience. 

Managing pain with treatment, Chenoweth has continued to warm the hearts of every theater-goer and pop culture purveyor since she originated the role of Glinda in Wicked in 2003. Carving out her own spot in musical theater history along with Idina Menzel as Elphaba, the duo “went through a lot of growth and change together to create those roles,” she said. “Only she and I can say, ‘Look what we did there.’ We’re really proud of the stamp we made.”

And now, seeing the show has become more than just a hit on Broadway, but one of the most quintessential New York City experiences for visitors — and a perfect show for first time theater-goers, Chenoweth said.

She suggests complementing the experience with visits to one of her two favorite Theater District spots, Joe Allen restaurant, which is ironically decorated with posters up of Broadway flops, and Bar Centrale.

“You have to know about it,” she said, calling the latter a speakeasy of sorts, frequently visited by actors. “We all know the drill there because we’re all doing eight shows a week — I love going there!” 

Her other NYC recommendations are visits to museums like the Whitney Museum of American Art, as well as catching performances of Metropolitan Opera, New York Pops, New York City Ballet, and of course plenty of Broadway.

Above all, she has one rule for visitors: “Wear flats, or at least a kitten heel,” she said of all the walking involved. “I mean, you’re crazy if you go above that!