Maria Bello Says a Midlife Crisis Is ‘Actually a Gift to Us’: ‘Step Back and Reevaluate’ (Exclusive)

Maria Bello is experiencing a midlife crisis.

The actress, producer and writer is gearing up for a busy 2024, starting with a trip to the Emmy Awards on January 15 thanks to her first nomination for her role in the Netflix series Beefand her wedding to her longtime partner Dominique Crenn will follow in the spring.

At the age of 56, she’s hit a hot streak — though she admits she had to rethink her life to make it happen.

“I never intended to take a break, but the break took me first,” she tells PEOPLE. “I went into menopause at the start of COVID, and for two years after that I felt like I was going to die.”

She continues, “I had the opportunity to move to Paris with Dominique and I said, ‘Stop. Just stop.’ I stopped my social media, travel, some work… I realized that the crisis is actually a gift for us in middle age, to take a step back, to reassess. So I returned to social media to talk about my discoveries. feel more more peace than I’ve ever had.”

Maria Bello tried Ozempic, Botox and more to combat menopause before learning to ‘accept herself’

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

In December, Bello made a great return to Instagram after a two-year hiatus. She opened up about trying everything from “bioidentical hormones” to “Ozempica for a week” in her attempts to cope with menopause and the subsequent changes that wreaked havoc on her body (and mind).

She even delved into Carl Jung’s teachings on the seven tasks of midlife.

“I wanted to explore those questions,” she says. “The only thing I heard about middle age was ‘midlife crisis,’ ‘menopause’ — those phrases meant this horrible time in your life. I wanted to know: How could I take that construct using Jungian principles and turn it into something I could enjoy and grow and grow with?”

Celebrities who have talked about menopause

Amanda Demme

To aid her evolution, Bello relied on people she called “medieval midwives.” Ironically, some of her biggest supporters weren’t women at all, but “three old friends of mine who are over 80 years old.”

She says, “They really helped me. They all have such a sense of humor and such grace. And every time I would call mine and say, ‘Oh my God, I feel like shit. What else is there?’ He would say, ‘Go for a walk. If you’re feeling down, just look up.’ They told me about their own transition and what it looked like for them. We all go through it.”

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That “it” is aging, which Bello has learned to see again as a gift.

“The anti-aging kind of running, trying this and machines and anti-cellulite creams and diets and this and that? You suddenly realize that wherever you go, you are there. You carry yourself with you wherever you go,” she says. “Just because my skin looks a little tighter at that point in midlife — when I was really down and disappointed and depressed inside — it didn’t help.”

Now, having successfully “passed the other half” of her life, Bella’s mindset is one that celebrates “whatever makes you feel better about yourself,” and she remains armed with an inherently excellent sense of humor.

Maria Bello in beef.

Andrew Cooper/Netflix/Courtesy of Everett

In Bell’s bathroom, she keeps photos of women who exude freedom and strength, including Georgia O’Keeffe, Beatrice Wood and Simone de Beauvoir.

There’s also something that each of the women has in common: “They’re all over 60 with their lines and waddles and confidence and strength. And I find that incredibly sexy. My goal is to continue to grow into that.”

With such an empowering mind, Bello says she now feels more at peace than ever before. He also feels more “confidence, more humility and more gratitude.”

“There aren’t many ideals, male or female, that you can look at and say, ‘Wow, it’s amazing to grow old, to grow old. It’s great. The second part of life could be extraordinary,’ says Bello, noting that she now considers herself a “middle-aged midwife” and is here to turn the whole idea upside down.

The advice she would share with young women who have miles to go confirms just that: “It gets infinitely better.”

For more on Maria Bello, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE magazine, on newsstands now.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education