Every time I read about Lucy Hale she comes across as curious, independent, and chill. I loved her preaching the merits of solo travel last summer, something I indulge in and thoroughly recommend myself. I hope she finds her way to a project that will give her career a jolt. Not that she hasn’t been working steadily since Pretty Little Liars ended in 2017, but nothing has been as visible for her since that show. Going by her own comments lately, it sounds like she’s in a settled, open mindset after putting in some dedicated self-work. Lucy rang in the New Year in a fabulous set of pajamas and by marking two years of sobriety. Bravo, Lucy!

“This continues to be the greatest gift I’ve given myself,” she captioned her Instagram post Tuesday.

“I remain so grateful for another year of growth, growing pains, lessons, joys, and self-realizations.”

Hale said the “interactions, conversations, and moments of vulnerability” she’s shared with people since quitting drinking has given her “so much meaning.”

“Those experiences have been my favorite takeaway from this last year,” she continued. “To every person I have connected with…thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Hale, who has been open about her past “self-destructive” battle with alcoholism, addressed fans who may be having battles of their own.

“Lastly, if you are struggling please know you are not alone and that you do not have to trek this path alone,” she wrote.

“There is no right or wrong way to heal and it is deeply personal and unique to each of us. My only advice is to remain open hearted, curious, and to find the people who see and support you. It does get better. Take it moment by moment.”

“I’ve been working on getting sober since I was 20,” Hale said in Feb. 2023 during an appearance on “The Diary of a CEO” podcast with Steven Barlett. “I’m 33, it takes time. It took patience with myself.”

“I can show up exactly who I am and share my story, and to actually be able to talk about this is so freeing because it’s not chaining me down anymore,” she went on.

“It takes the power away from it. I can be Lucy, which is not always cute at times. It’s dark and disgusting and scary and that’s what makes us all complex, beautiful human beings, is we all have got this shadow self.”

[From Page Six]

Oof, her comments on it taking time and patience really resonated with me. I’m not a drinker, but I am an eater. It’s overwhelming whenever I think of the total amount of weight I want to lose, and that just makes it harder for me to get started and to stick with it. And I say that as someone who did lose a lot of weight when I was younger at a very steady pace over a period of a couple years. I just, well, managed to find the weight I’d lost! So I salute Lucy in her victory of two years of sobriety — she should absolutely celebrate it and be proud of herself. Sobriety, like all aspects of health and wellness, isn’t something that’s achieved, it has to be perpetually maintained. Lucy seems to have found peace with the work being ever-present. I’d say that deserves splurging $137 on feather-cuffed silk pajamas (and that’s the sale price!).

photos credit: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon and via Instagram