Jennifer Love Hewitt revealed she struggled and was battling a lot in private during 2023.
“This year I went thru a lot no one knew about,” Hewitt, 44, wrote on Instagram Sunday. “And was grateful for that privacy.”
The “Heartbreakers” star revealed she spent the year continuing to cope with the death of her mother, who lost her battle with cancer in 2012.
“Sat deeper in grief and was able to let more go. Felt my mom around us and saw signs that she was,” Hewitt, who also posted a sweet tribute to her mother over the summer, wrote.
“Said goodbye to things that don’t serve positivity in my life and made room for lots of good things in 2024,” she added.
Despite the lows, the actress leaned on her family to get her through the tough times.
“I had the greatest time being a mommy at home with my kids,” Hewitt, who shares three children with husband Brian Hallisay, continued.
She also “learned to be a better baker” and that “it’s okay to take time for myself mentally, physically and emotionally.”
Although the “Can’t Hardly Wait” actress “did a lot of praying and manifesting” and “was forced to have more faith than normal,” she also “belly laughed more than ever,” worked on her mental health and “took chances on [herself] and [her] bigger dreams.”
“Celebrated 10 years with my guy. Got some tattoos. And truly let whatever I needed to learn teach me,” she continued. “And so here I am. Happy, blessed, grateful and filled with hope.”
“I will be praying our world gets better this year and everyone sees less pain, fear and heartbreak. Love to all and Happy New Year!” she concluded.
While Hewitt stayed out of the public eye for most of the year, she made headlines over the summer after posting an “unrecognizable” selfie.
Yet the since-deleted photo, which showed her new bob haircut, sparked a larger conversation about the difficulties of “aging in Hollywood.”
During an appearance on the “Inside You” podcast last month, Hewitt told host Michael Rosenbaum that she “gave it no thought” when she put a filter on the makeup-free selfie.
However, the picture quickly went viral online and the mother of three explained that “a bunch of people” accused her of using filters because she didn’t want fans “to know how bad she actually looks now in her 40s.”
In response to the “crazy” backlash, the “Ghost Whisperer” star started jokingly using even more “over-the-top” filters — yet people didn’t catch on to the joke.
“I was like, ‘all natural, no filter,’ like trying to make fun of it, and then they came after me for that and they were like, well now she’s just defending herself … and I realized I can do no right,” she said.
The experience led Hewitt to realize that fans “have this moment when they fall in love with you” and “that’s who they want you to always be.”
“And there’s something really beautiful about that, but there’s also something really not OK about that,” Hewitt said, adding, “Aging in Hollywood is really hard because you can’t do anything right.”
