"I wasn't always so great at asking for what I need—I was worried people would think I was demanding."
Lea Michele has just wrapped her Health cover shoot when she tells us this. It’s funny because demanding is the last word our team would use to describe Lea during the planning stages of her shoot. In fact, she was nothing but kind, collaborative, and gracious. The only request she made throughout the entire process: to have healthy, plant-based food on set.
“When I moved to L.A. from New York, I quickly found out that when women are firm, they get called a bitch or diva,” she says. “So I retreated. As women, it’s unfortunate that we are labeled when we are direct. I always lead with kindness, but at the same time can be my own best advocate.”
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What is your definition of wellness?
For me, it’s about being aligned in mind, body, and spirit, and striving to find that ultimate connection between all of those factors.
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In what ways did it snowball?
I became obsessed with learning what was best for me, whether it was a workout or a type of cleanse. It continued to grow, and I realized I have this opportunity to share what I was learning with my fans on social media. I started Wellness Wednesdays sharing the things I was learning. Now, I feel like I am at the healthiest place in my entire life. It’s not that I’m the thinnest, because I’m not the thinnest I’ve been. But when I was the thinnest, I was not being the healthiest. I’m definitely the most mentally, physically, and spiritually sound that I’ve ever been.
RELATED: Lea Michele Opens Up About How PCOS Has Affected Her Skin
Have you ever had any of the signs of PCOS?
Growing up, I had terrible skin. I went on Accutane three times. I was put on every medication that you could imagine to help my skin. Luckily, birth control was a savior for me when I was in my teens. And then when I was in my late 20s, I realized I wanted to detox my body of all medications. That’s when everything happened—the return to bad skin and, this time, weight gain. I didn’t know what was going on. All people wanted to do was give me more medication. I don’t shun people for needing or wanting to take medication, but for me, I knew something wasn’t right. I just felt medication wasn’t going to be the final cure.
So you kept seeing other people to get to the bottom of it?
Yes. I went to a great doctor, and the minute she looked at me, she was like, “Oh, you have PCOS.” It explained everything. Through diet, I have been able to manage it. But I am very fortunate. There are way more extreme versions of PCOS that women have a lot of difficulty with—mine is not as intense. Which is why I haven’t really talked about it, because there are women who have it so much more intense.
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Speaking of your husband, does marriage feel different to you?
I always had relationships where I needed to be the one holding down the fort, and it’s wonderful to have someone who’s in their own lane and has a foundation for who they are and where they are in their own life. We met at the same level personally and professionally. And to go on that journey now together is unbelievable.
From books to albums to TV projects, you’re always working. Is that ambition part of your identity?
I work really hard; I pride myself on that. I’ve had a career since I was 8 years old. Glee was such a massive success, keeping that up is not the easiest thing. Having people see me as someone other than Rachel Berry—although I love and I miss her and the show—is a challenge. So I work hard to keep my career as strong as I want it to be.
Do you ever take breaks?
If I find there’s a moment where I’m not working my best and I can’t think clearly, I need to reset. Sometimes that’s going away or going to my therapist—which I f—ing love. Other times, it’s calling my mom or sitting outside and lighting a fire with my husband, pouring a glass of red wine under the stars, and playing music. But more than waiting until I feel I need a break, self care for me is a daily practice—it’s a bath with magnesium salt, it’s doing a meditation, it’s going to yoga. I think it’s important to get something in every day to take care of yourself.
Looking back, what are you most proud of?
That I got through a lot of tough moments in my life, and that I came out a lot stronger than I ever imagined. Glee, just as it was, would’ve been tough in and of itself. But then everything that I experienced in my mid- to late 20s was very intense. I have great people in my life, and I really fought hard to get through that and come out stronger. That is my greatest personal accomplishment.
Where do you hope to be in five years?
Oh my gosh, I hope to be a mom of, like, 10 kids—if it’s physically possible to pop that many out! Ha! I’m so excited about the thought of being a mom. I also want to continue making records, and I hope to return to Broadway. I also just really want to continue being my own boss—in the sense of creating content for myself on television and writing roles and finding projects that really serve me.
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