When life gives you lemons and pep talks: How theatre stars Elise McCann and Lucy Durack amassed 10,000 users for their wellness app Hey Lemonade

A stress management and wellness app created by two stars of Australian theatre has revealed plans are underway to introduce the program into Aussie schools. 

Hey Lemonade provides quick-three-minute evidence-based pep talks delivered by a range of well-known Australians to help people deal with modern-day problems. 

Founded by theatrical stars Elise McCann and Lucy Durack, the wellness app was only launched to the public in November 2022 and has already been downloaded close to 10,000 times. 

Both McCann and Durack spent the first year on their mission to activate people’s optimism while dealing with life’s lemons by developing the content for the app, working with a team of psychologists, writers, and voices, and testing the app to make sure it works — something they say has really paid off as users are seeing amazing health benefits.

The founders then kicked things up a notch by applying to be part of a Kick-Start collaborative research project with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).