Shailene Woodley Opens Up About the ‘Debilitating’ Illness That Left Her ‘Spun Out’
Shailene Woodley is opening up about the invisible pain that impacted her career and mental health for years. In a new cover story for The Hollywood Reporter, the Fault in Our Stars actor reveals that her condition, which she declined to specify, “was pretty debilitating.”
“I said no to a lot of projects, not because I wanted to but because I physically couldn’t participate in them,” she says of the illness’s impact on her career, adding, “And I definitely suffered a lot more than I had to because I didn’t take care of myself. The self-inflicted pressure of not wanting to be helped or taken care of created more physical unrest throughout those years.”
Though she’s now “on the tail end of it,” the experience left her shaken, yet wiser. “It’s an interesting thing, going through something so physically dominating while also having so many people pay attention to the choices you make, the things you say, what you do, what you look like,” she revealed. “It spun me out for a while. You feel so incredibly isolated and alone. Unless someone can see that you have a broken arm or a broken leg, it’s really difficult for people to relate to the pain that you’re experiencing when it’s a silent, quiet, and invisible pain.”
Shailene Woodley has spoken about her health issues before, revealing she was “very, very sick” in her early 20s, specifically while filming the Divergent film series. These days, thankfully, things are looking up. Woodley’s got a new fiancé, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and a new movie hitting Netflix later this month: Last Letter From Your Lover, opposite Joe Alwyn.
And yes, there’s been talk of Big Little Lies season three. “We all constantly say, ‘When are we doing season three? How do we make that happen?’” she told THR, referring to herself and her A-list costars. “I’d like to say, knock on wood, that it is happening. The biggest thing is everyone’s schedules and getting the scripts written and just making a commitment.”
