Andie MacDowell reveals suffering from painful health condition: ‘I was literally falling apart’

Andie MacDowell disclosed that the pain was so intense that she thought she would need a hip replacement
UPDATED JAN 24, 2025
Andie MacDowell feared she might need a hip replacement because of her medical condition (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)
Andie MacDowell feared she might need a hip replacement because of her medical condition (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Andie MacDowell recently revealed that she is suffering from a painful health condition called Piriformis Syndrome, during an interview on Drew Barrymore’s talk show on Thursday, January 23.

Piriformis Syndrome is a condition that causes pain, numbness, or tingling in the buttocks, hip, or upper leg. It occurs when the piriformis muscle spasms and compresses the sciatic nerve, as per the Mayo Clinic.

Andie MacDowell reveals she suffers from Piriformis Syndrome

'Four Weddings and a Funeral' actress Andie MacDowell shared the details of her medical condition and revealed that the pain was so intense that she thought she would need a hip replacement.

She said on 'The Drew Barrymore Show', per a video obtained by Daily Mail, "I have piriformis syndrome. 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 a hip replacement. Thank God my hips are fine."

MacDowell added that she worked with a personal trainer to tame the pain, stating that her earlier exercise of choice might not have been helping her issue, according to the New York Post.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 15:Andie MacDowell  attends the 6th Annual InStyle Awards on Nove
Andie MacDowell attends the 6th Annual InStyle Awards on November 15, 2021, in Los Angeles, California (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

She added, "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."

MacDowell further added that she loves to work out, but her Peloton habit wasn’t doing her any favors.

She said, "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."

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 22: Andie MacDowell attends as PEOPLE and Hallmark Media present a conversation with the stars of Hallmark Channel's
Andie MacDowell attends as PEOPLE and Hallmark Media present a conversation with the stars of Hallmark Channel's 'The Way Home' at Dotdash Meredith offices on January 22, 2025, in New York City (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Hallmark Media)

However, she joked, "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."

Andie MacDowell confirms her 'pieces are fine'

Andie MacDowell told Drew Barrymore that she was doing fine now.

She said, "Luckily, 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."

The actress, 66, also shared that she has left Los Angeles and now lives a quiet life over 2,000 miles from Tinseltown.

She revealed, "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."

CANNES, FRANCE - JULY 06: Andie MacDowell attends the
Andie MacDowell attends the 'Annette' screening and opening ceremony during the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 6, 2021, in Cannes, France (Kate Green/Getty Images)

MacDowell also announced that she will be a grandmother again as her son, Justin Qualley, 38, is expecting a child soon. 

Notably, MacDowell has three children from her first marriage to Paul J Qualley, including Justin and daughters, Rainey Qualley, 35, and actress Margaret Qualley, 30. He second  Rhett Hartzog, in 2001.

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

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 22: Andie MacDowell attends as PEOPLE and Hallmark Media present a conversation with the stars of Hallmark Channel's
Andie MacDowell attends as PEOPLE and Hallmark Media present a conversation with the stars of Hallmark Channel's 'The Way Home' at Dotdash Meredith offices on January 22, 2025, in New York City (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Hallmark Media)

Talking about Margaret and her other children, MacDowell said, "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."

The actress then joked, "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."

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 08: Rainey Qualley, honoree Andie MacDowell and Margaret Qualley att
Rainey Qualley, honoree Andie MacDowell and Margaret Qualley attend the National Women's History Museum's 8th Annual Women Making History Awardsat Skirball Cultural Center on March 8, 2020, in Los Angeles, California (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for National Women's History Museum)

Margaret won critical acclaim recently for portraying Sue in 'The Substance', a younger version of the character played by Demi Moore.

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