Andie MacDowell Talks Leaving Hollywood For South Carolina To Fill Empty Nest Void

Hollywood star Andie MacDowell opened up about leaving Hollywood for South Carolina to fill what she called the “huge void” left by becoming an empty nester.

During the 66-year-old actress’ appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show,” she talked about life after her three grown children moved out of her home in Los Angeles. MacDowell became a mom when she and her ex-husband Paul Qualley welcomed a son, Justin (39), and two daughters, Rainey (35) and Margaret (30), during their marriage between 1986 and 1999.

“I’m happier now than I have been in a long time,” MacDowell said. “I moved to South Carolina. I really am taking good care of myself. It took me forever, because once my kids left, I felt this huge void in my life. Because they were so important to me.”

“Margaret really was kind of telling me I was supposed to be having the time of my life, but I wasn’t,” she added. “But now I am. I’m having the time of my life now. It’s really good.”

The “Groundhog Day” star also reassured the host that she would be there to walk her through the challenges of having an empty nest, when Barrymore’s daughters, Olive, 12, and Frankie, 10, leave the home one day.

“I’ll tell you what not to do,” MacDowell told the host who admitted she’s scared for that day to come when they move away from home. “Come to me, because I have all the information on how not to waste your time, how to get on with it and have a good time. I’ll tell you what to do.”

The actress also opened up about being diagnosed with piriformis syndrome, described by the Cleveland Clinic as “muscle spasms compressing the sciatic nerve and causing pain and numbness,” Page Six noted.

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MacDowell said until she found a “miracle,” she feared she would have to have a hip replacement to deal with her health condition, People magazine reported.

“I have to work my tiny little bottom and my hips [with a personal trainer]. I do it every day,” the star said, calling working out the “miracle” that has made her not “hurt anymore.”

“I do love to work out,” she added. “That is my great fortune, because I have had friends that are frustrated because they don’t enjoy it, but I really do enjoy it.”

Related: Eva Mendes, Ryan Gosling Leave Hollywood Because They Don’t Want Their Kids Around ‘Celebrity Kids’: Report