Katherine Heigl ‘Had No Idea’ How Tough Working Motherhood Is
 Cheyenne Ellis/AP |
The decision to depart ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy was a direct result of Katherine Heigl‘s movie career, she says in a new interview with the Telegraph — but the two aren’t connected in the way most might think.
While en route to the Atlanta set of her new film Killers, the actress learned that she would welcome daughter Naleigh, now 18 months, two months earlier than expected.
“I thought, ‘I can do this,’” she recalls. “My mom was going to be there a lot. [Husband] Josh [Kelley] was going to be back and forth from Nashville, where he was just starting his album, which was just a two-hour drive away. I have a wonderful nanny. No problem.”
Heigl, 31, says she soon learned that successfully balancing work and new motherhood is often easier said than done!
“[I] had no idea what I was in for,” she confesses. “I ended up having one full-on anxiety attack and I threw my back out twice from stress. People will tell you how hard it is, but you have no idea until you experience it.”
After completing her obligation to Killers, Heigl resigned from the ABC drama and settled into life as a full-time mom. “It’s been great for us to have all of this time to be at home as a family,” she muses. “But I maybe shouldn’t care so much about what diaper wipes we use!”
While she is “really excited” about someday getting back to the set, Heigl says that “everything is about being a mom to me now.” At no time was that more apparent than during a recent baby-free trip to Napa with Kelley and her former Grey’s costar TR Knight. “The wine, the food, it was all amazing,” Heigl shares.
“But the look of absolute relief on Naleigh’s face when we walked in the door was heart-wrenching,” she continues. “How am I supposed to go away for work now and do this kind of thing? Can I manage it?”
