Andie MacDowell is navigating life as an empty-nester, encountering both challenges and triumphs.

While promoting the new season of her Hallmark series “The Way Home” on “The Drew Barrymore Show” this past Thursday, the 66-year-old star of “Groundhog Day” acknowledged that she has “worked very hard on gaining my independence,” receiving some tough love from her daughter Margaret Qualley.

“Margaret basically told me I needed to get a life. She was right,” MacDowell shared with Barrymore. “I do have a life now. I’ve built a life. It took me some time to figure it out.”

She explained to her fellow actress that she’d relocated to her home state of South Carolina and now resides in “a community filled with people my age, which makes socializing really easy.”

MacDowell considers herself “very lucky” to enjoy exercising, though she noted that her workouts resulted in some symptoms that made her feel like she was “literally falling apart.”

She mentioned that while she was enthusiastically using her Peloton, she came to the realization that cycling wasn’t suitable for her body.

“I ended up with sore knees and a painful hip, and I thought I was really falling apart, like I might need new parts,” she recounted. “But fortunately, my body is okay. My knees are just aging. They’ve aged, but I’m working hard in physical therapy. I’m not falling apart.”

Andie MacDowell Talks About Living with Piriformis Syndrome

She proceeded to discuss her experience with piriformis syndrome, explaining that it involves “a muscle compressing my sciatic nerve, causing pain down my leg.”

“I was worried I might need a hip replacement. Luckily, my hips are just fine. I need to strengthen my glutes and hips. I work on that every day,” she said. “Now it doesn’t hurt anymore. It’s amazing. Truly.”

According to the National Institutes of Health, this condition “happens when the piriformis muscle in the buttocks exerts pressure on the sciatic nerve” and is “mainly related to sciatica.” Dr. Robert H. Shmerling elaborated in a 2022 article from Harvard Health Publishing, explaining, “The piriformis muscle connects the lowest vertebrae to the upper leg. The close proximity of the muscle and nerve can lead to issues.”

MacDowell has consistently expressed her appreciation for the changes that accompany aging and her desire to keep acting beyond her 60s. At a Television Critics Association panel last year, she discussed her role in representing her age group on screen.

“I believe many people my age thank me because I still represent them, and often, we get overlooked,” MacDowell stated. “Women are grateful to see someone like me still appearing on screen.”

“I enjoy more freedom at this stage in my life,” she continued. “Women face a tough time after they reach 40, as society often tries to diminish their worth. While men seem to gain respect with age, women don’t. Many women in their 50s and 60s find this challenging. The wonderful part of my current situation is that I no longer have to struggle to be (myself).”