Renee Zellweger Talks About 'Humiliating' Tabloid Stories & How They Affected Her

Renee Zellweger is on the cover of InStyle magazine’s December 2019 issue, on newsstands November 22.

Here’s what the Judy star had to share with the mag…

On laughing about life in the tabloids early on: “I was devastated about a breakup, and it was plastered all over the tabloids. None of it true, all of it humiliating. Never mind that living the experience [of the relationship] was plenty. My brother taught me that this is what it is. This is not a proper representation of you and how you live your life. The choices you make, this is not. It is entertainment, and it’s funny if you look at it in the right way.”

On feeling rebooted during her deliberate break from the screen: “Well, I mean, it was nice to have authentic exchanges with people for a while. When you’re not on the radar, people don’t clock who you are; you’re just a person at the coffee shop ordering a coffee. I just knew that there were certain things I needed to prioritize and if I kept going, there would be just no way I could do it.”

On the grueling yet rewarding process of making Judy: “The schedule is pretty punishing, but it’s finite. You know that after this series of months, you can catch up a little. But, yeah, this one was big. It was big because I was greedy. I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to keep digging.”

For more from Renee, visit InStyle.com.