Kaley Cuoco's Divorce Caused A "Stress Rash" For 3 Months That Left Her Unable To Walk
Star of HBO's "The Flight Attendant" Kaley Cuoco recently went through some difficult times in her personal life that left her feeling extremely stressed and overwhelmed. She opened up about a severe stress rash she experienced after her divorce.
Kaley's character in The Flight Attendant is a total mess; she's a recovering alcoholic who continuously finds herself in some sort of trouble. But it was this very chaotic nature of the character Cassie that drew Kaley to her. She told Variety about why she feels so connected to Cassie and how she used the pain from her personal life to bring the character alive.
Kaley Cuoco's Divorce Caused a "Stress Rash" for 3 Months That Left Her Unable to Walk
Kaley is an executive producer for The Flight Attendant and she says that playing this "tormented" character was difficult for her even though she found meaning in it. When she started filming season 2 was right around the time she started therapy for the first time.
"Going through my divorce, it was really a super dark time," she shared. "I just didn’t know how to deal with it. I was throwing myself into work to deny my depression, and how upset I was. Unfortunately, the character was so depressed that it wasn’t helping me! I was really, really, really struggling. A lot of tears."
She was able to channel a lot of her pain into Cassie's character. But it was still "one of the hardest years" of her life.
"I developed a stress rash that ran all the way down my body for three straight months that wouldn’t go away," she revealed. "I literally, like, had fire on my leg for three months. I could barely walk."
Her costar and friend Zosia Mamet (who also starred in Girls) even moved in with Kaley to give her some extra support. Kaley said she was "really losing my mind" and needed someone there with her. While they were filming season 2, there were many scenes that were difficult to do because "they were so hateful, so sad, and so dark, and there wasn’t a lot of levity."
As a "working woman" who is very independent, it was difficult for Kaley to open up and ask for help. "I really take pride in being able to do everything," she said. "Well, this time, I literally couldn’t." Reaching out for help was the best decision she could have made for herself.