Kaley Cuoco is getting candid about her divorce and how it impacted her mental health.
The actor opened up about her struggles while discussing her character Cassie Bowden in HBO Max's "The Flight Attendant" during an interview with Variety. In the show, Bowden hits rock bottom — a mental space that Cuoco said she could identify with because she had been there after splitting with her husband of three years, Karl Cook, last year.
"It was one of the hardest years of my life. Not only personally, but doing this character that was so tormented," she told Variety. "It was the first time that I started therapy — I’ve been very open about that.
"I started at the beginning of season 2, just because I was going through so much right before we started shooting. It was horrible. And I developed a stress rash that ran all the way down my body for three straight months that wouldn’t go away. I literally, like, had fire on my leg for three months. I could barely walk."
Cuoco described the time as "super dark," adding that she battled to know how to deal with the situation.
"I was throwing myself into work to deny my depression, and how upset I was. Unfortunately, the character was so depressed that it wasn’t helping me! I was really, really, really struggling. A lot of tears," she said.
Cuoco shared that she "couldn't even run the lines" for certain scenes because of the build-up of emotions. Her turning point came through the help of co-star Zosia Mamet, who moved in with Cuoco when she really needed someone to be by her side.
"I was really losing my mind. And then so many of these scenes were so hard to do because they were so hateful, so sad, and so dark, and there wasn’t a lot of levity," Cuoco said. "Like, it was the loneliest I’ve ever felt, and I am not really someone to share that."
Although initially reluctant for support, Cuoco was forced to have an honest conversation with herself and others about what she was dealing with.
"I’ve been very open about it, because I think for the first time, I wanted people to know that things just aren’t always what they seem. And things aren’t always so perfect," she said. "One month in, I had an intervention on myself in my trailer — all my producers were in there. And I said, 'I need help.' It was interesting to say that out loud. And to have everyone be like, 'Yes, we want to help!' I’m a working woman, and so independent, and I really take pride in being able to do everything. Well, this time, I literally couldn’t."
Cuoco said she is "so much better now" and feeling hopeful about her future.
"I came out of it a couple months ago, and life totally flipped upside down," she said of her depression. "Everyone kept saying there’s going to be a light at the end of this tunnel, and I didn’t believe it until it happened. And now I can tell other people that have the worst years of their life: It’s gonna get better."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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