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Katherine Heigl‘s emotional health comes before her hugely successful career. In a new interview with Bevy Smith from Sirius XMShe explained how the pressure and anxiety of starring in the iconic ABC series came about Grey’s anatomy ultimately led to her walking away in 2010 — and whether or not she still watches the show. “I think along with you GrayAt the time, I felt like I had no other choice,” she said in part. “I broke, it broke me, and I was young.” The singer’s mother of three and wife Josh Kelly went on to admit it pushed her to a point of potential illness.
“I didn’t know how to get through it,” he said knocked open Beauty, 44, continued. “I wasn’t, I hadn’t yet gained enough experience and wisdom to go through it with less heightened anxiety. I mean, I vibrated at a level that would make me sick and, you know, I became mentally ill. And I look back on it and sometimes I’m like, God, I wish I’d just calmed down for a moment. Take a breath, think, have a few conversations about this possibility. What about this possibility? How about I only do that many episodes per season? For example, if I could have found a way to work in it, it could have worked for me too. But I just saw it as this one thing. I was up here with an intensity that wasn’t healthy for me. And I kind of fled in a panic.”
Katherine, who played Izzy Stevens, was also known for speaking openly about the show, even criticizing it at times — something she called a “filter issue.” She also addressed how this may have contributed to her leaving the show. “I have a little filter problem,” she said. “It doesn’t feel like that to me until it goes to press and I’m like, ‘Wow, maybe I really shouldn’t have said that out loud.’ I tend to be very trusting in conversations and I don’t like the feeling that I’m being insincere or anything, or I’m fake, or I’m putting on a mask for you. In my private life, this is very difficult for me. I can do it for my job because it’s my job and it’s fun. But pretending to be someone I’m not when I’m supposed to be just me is difficult for me.”
When asked if she’s still watching the show, the actress said she’s decided to “move on.” “Um, no, I probably stopped watching around the time I left because it felt like I was trying to tune in and want to see my buddies and see what happens next, and felt like, you know, I missed the party,” she said. “Like massive FOMO. So I thought, okay, I have to let it go now. I have to get on with my life. I made that choice. So be a big girl, let it go.”
“In any case, Katherine seems to have found a good place in life, between her family – she has been married to Josh since December 2007 – and her further career. And she was gentle with herself, especially when it came to saying goodbye Grays. “I mean, I look back at that girl sometimes and just want to hug her because she was such a wreck,” she said.