How Hallmark's Autumn Reeser Found Her True Self After Her Divorce

Divorce is a tough time in anyone's life, but it's also a new beginning. For one Hallmark Channel star, though, this new beginning has been a breath of fresh air. Hallmark's Autumn Reeser learned a lot about herself after her divorce, and these days, she's feeling more like herself than ever.

While many of us know her best from her many rom-com roles, Autumn Reeser played plenty of other parts before becoming a Hallmark star. As a result, Reeser feels like spending her young adult life in the spotlight altered how she viewed herself. Reeser appeared on the "Some Kind of Mystic" podcast, and she talked with host, Jessie Herman, about how her early start in show business may have stunted her development in some ways. The 42-year-old took on her first film role way back in 2000 in the sci-fi movie, "Into the Void." "The challenging part about being in the public eye is so many opinions," Reeser explained. "And because I started young, so many opinions from a young age before I was established in myself." 

Reeser split from husband, Jesse Warren, back in 2014 after five years of marriage and welcoming two sons into the world. While the end of the marriage, for which the pair cited "irreconcilable differences," was certainly not something that they'd hoped for, Reeser has flourished since the split, and she said she's learned how to be herself in ways she hadn't before.

Most of us don't consider a breakup to be a good way to learn about love. For Autumn Reeser, though, her divorce taught her a lot about relationships. On the "Some Kind of Mystic" podcast, Reeser said that, in counseling after her divorce, her therapist helped her realize she had a right to voice her needs. The actor said her therapist had to convince her that "You're allowed to speak up about what you want, and you're allowed to change your mind." 

"Looking back, there were so many things that I would have liked to see be different that I was afraid to speak to and I wasn't sure if I had the right to feel what I felt, what I wanted. I didn't trust myself," Reeser added. "And now I look back and I'm like, 'That is just a normal, healthy relationship that you're asking for.'"

Reeser hopes she can pass on what she's learned about love and respect to her two young sons. She told Style Girlfriend that her advice to them is to "Listen to each other, talk to each other and learn to disagree without name-calling or diminishing the other person." She explained, "Nobody gets along all the time, so the way you treat each other in times of anger and stress is incredibly important. I try really hard to model this for my boys, especially when I'm angry or tired myself. I consider the effort it takes to be an investment in our relationship."

Learning about love isn't the only positive change that Autumn Reeser's divorce brought her. It also taught her that difficult patches help us learn and get stronger, according to "The Wedding Veil" actor. She told the "Some Kind of Mystic" podcast that divorce changed her "whole life." "Even when I'm having a challenge in my life, (I'm) understanding that it's all part of the curriculum," she explained. "This is teaching me something — and how can I stay in my center in this moment? How can I approach this as a spiritual teaching? ... it's coming back to that place of gratitude."

The idea of "being present" for what's going on around her is also important to the actor. In an interview with Media Village, Reeser explained, "Much of my journey has been about learning how to be present and learning how to be a 'human being' instead of a 'human doing.'"

Reeser also said that her experiences have taught her to appreciate what hardships can teach you and to strive for growth rather than perfection. "What I am finding is it just feels so much better in my body to be where I am, truthfully, in my imperfection," she said during the "Some King of Mystic" podcast. "Because I think that's the message that so many of us need to hear ... I want to start showing up without all the coats, and without all the armor, because I think that's what is needed right now."

Reeser has become a poster child for overcoming obstacles and being your authentic self, and we can't wait to see what she does next.