Andie MacDowell has made a very big move which made her say goodbye to disaster-prone California.

The Hollywood staple shared on The Drew Barrymore Show that she has left Los Angeles, where a microscope is put on women’s looks as they age.

The former fashion model chose to put down roots in a sleepy Southern town. 

‘I moved down to South Carolina and I live with a, in a community that has a lot of people my age, so it makes it really easy to socialize,’ said the movie icon.

After becoming an empty nester – she has three adult children with ex Paul Qualley – she felt she needed to get on with her life, the star told Drew.

Now the pH๏τogenic actress with the famous curly head of hair and winning smile has a new circle of friends she can relate to. 

Andie MacDowell has made a very big move which made her say goodbye to California . The Hollywood staple shared on The Drew Barrymore Show that she has left Los Angeles, where a microscope is put on women’s looks as they age; seen January 2 in NYC

The former fashion model chose to put down roots in a sleepy Southern town. ‘I moved down to South Carolina and I live with a, in a community that has a lot of people my age, so it makes it really easy to socialize,’ said the movie icon

Andie has son Justin Qualley, 38, as well as daughters Rainey Qualley, 35, and Margaret Qualley, 30. 

‘I’ve had to work really hard on my independence, Margaret basically told me I needed to get a life. She was right. 

‘She’s so grown up because, you know, they did used to follow me to the bathroom. Yes, they follow you to the bathroom and then we would take, I would take baths, and they wanted to be right there with me. So they would put their feet in the bathtub and we would sit and talk. 

‘Those days are gone. I am dying for my adult girls to come into the bathroom with me. Let me get in the bathtub and sit there with their feet in the water. I would love that, but they, you know, they don’t want to do that. And she has a husband. She has a husband. What an inconvenience. 

‘Yeah, great husband, really wonderful, you know, and I am happy. I’m happy. I’m really, I mean ecstatic. I mean, my kids are doing really well. My daughter Rainey just had a baby.’

As far as being an empty nester, she doesn’t love it. 

‘Everything changes. It’s a hard shift, I’m telling you. You hear about how a lot of mothers react when they, a lot of times people like they are happy, you know, they’re free or whatever,’ said Andie.

The Hollywood stalwart did not feel more free, however.

After becoming an empty nester – she has three adult children with ex Paul Qualley – she felt she needed to get on with her life, the star told Drew

Read More Andie MacDowell, 66, reveals she suffers from Piriformis Syndrome as she discusses aging in Hollywood

Andie also announced she is going to be a grandmother again as her son is having a child soon.

‘My son’s about to have another one, so I’m gonna have 3 little girls. So I do have a life now. I created a life. I figured it out, you know, it took me a while,’ shared the thespian.

Tune in on Thursday, January 23, to The Drew Barrymore Show. 

She also shared some health news.

When talking to Drew Barrymore on her eponymous talk show on Thursday, the actress revealed that she suffers from Piriformis Syndrome.

Piriformis syndrome is a condition that causes pain, numbness, or tingling in the ʙuттocks and down the back of the leg. It occurs when the piriformis muscle spasms and compresses the sciatic nerve, according to the Mayo Clinic.

‘I have piriformis syndrome,’ said Andie to her longtime friend Drew.

‘It’s a muscle that’s, kind of clamps down on my sciatic nerve and it was shooting down my leg. I thought I was gonna have to have hip replacement. Thank God my hips are fine.’

She exercises the pain away with a personal trainer: ‘I have to work my tiny little bottom and my hips. I have to work the bottom and work my hip. I just do it every day.’

Now the pH๏τogenic actress with the famous curly head of hair and winning smile has a new circle of friends she can relate to. Seen on January 22 in NYC

MacDowell said thanks to the exercises ‘it doesn’t hurt anymore – it’s a miracle, it really is.’

The news came up as she discussed aging in Hollywood with Barrymore.

Andie also said she likes to keep fit.

‘I like to eat. I do. I enjoy eating,’ noted the St Elmo’s Fire star.

‘I like to eat, but I do love to work out. 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. 

‘But most recently, what happened when I was working last season as I did the Peloton like a crazy person and it’s not appropriate for my body, and I ended up with bad knees and a bad hip, and I didn’t realize what was, I thought I was literally falling apart like I was gonna have to get new pieces.

‘But the good news is my pieces are fine. My knees are good except for like aging. They’ve aged. I’m working out really hard now doing PT I’m not falling apart. Well, thank God.’

‘I have piriformis syndrome,’ said Andie to her longtime friend Drew. ‘It’s a muscle that’s, kind of clamps down on my sciatic nerve and it was shooting down my leg. I thought I was gonna have to have hip replacement. Thank God my hips are fine.’ Seen in 2024

One of her three children is Margaret Qualley, seen here on January 5 in Beverly Hills

Margaret is starring in the Oscar-nominated film The Substance

WHAT IS PIRIFORMIS? 

Piriformis syndrome occurs when your piriformis muscle compresses your sciatic nerve and results in inflammation. It can cause pain or numbness in your ʙuттock and down the back of your leg. It can happen on one side of your body or both.

The piriformis is a flat, narrow muscle. It runs from your lower spine through your ʙuтт to the top of your thighs. Your piriformis muscle extends to each side of your body and aids in almost every movement of your lower body.

The sciatic nerve most commonly runs underneath the piriformis. The nerve travels from your spinal cord, through your ʙuттocks, down the back of each leg, to your feet. It’s the longest, largest nerve in your body.

Information courtesy The Cleveland Clinic 

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‘I didn’t have that feeling. I still don’t have that feeling,’ she noted.

Earlier this month MacDowell said she thinks she’s been ‘lucky’ throughout her career.

The movie star has starred in a host of big-budget films during her career, but Andie doesn’t take anything for granted.

She told PEOPLE: ‘It’s a miracle I made it. I’m not going to take anything from me, but I had to overcome some really huge hurdles.’

Andie has also retained her pᴀssion for making movies, in spite of her fame and success.

The star reflected: ‘I get so excited when I’m walking onto set.

‘It’s nice at my age and after all this time to have that feeling of joy. I’m very conscious of it, so I try to share it and tell everybody how lucky we are.’

Despite her success, Andie still suffers self-doubts from time to time.

The Hollywood star explained: ‘I still struggle. Sometimes I’m really hard on myself. I’m my absolute worst critic. But sometimes it feels like I’m flying.’

Meanwhile, Andie recently claimed that she feels ‘too old’ to conform to Hollywood’s beauty standards.

The actress has enjoyed a successful career in the movie business – but Andie feels female stars continue to face some unhealthy pressures.

Speaking to PEOPLE, Andie recalled: ‘I did a fitting and the dress was really тιԍнт around my waist. It looks so good, but I woke up and I just knew it was not the right thing for me to do.

‘I wanted to wear something that was comfortable. And, of course, immediately I shamed myself for not being able to fit into this dress.

‘But that’s Hollywood. It’s this expectation, like you see in [daughter Margaret Qualley’s movie The Substance], to be something that you can no longer be and that was easier at a certain time in your life, but I can’t.’