During a recent appearance, Lucy Hale spoke about how her actions affected others during difficult periods in her life. In an interview on On Purpose With Jay Shetty, she linked those experiences to her ongoing struggle with self-forgiveness, calling it one of her greatest challenges.
Hale reflected on her past mistakes, efforts to make amends, and the personal growth that has supported her progress. She acknowledged that taking responsibility for her past has been challenging, especially when she extends herself the same compassion she offers others.
When Shetty asked her about the hardest apology she had ever had to make, Hale replied: 'To myself. Sorry, I don't know what that makes me emotional.'
'Forgiving myself has been hard, and it's still something where I have to actively choose to have compassion for myself and to know that I haven't done anything wrong. I'm not made up of all my mistakes or my bad decisions or how I've treated people or how I've treated myself.'
The actress also reflected on how she had spent much of her life working against her own well-being. 'It's really about how I, for a lot of my life, was sabotaging my life. I was self-sabotaging in such a big way. And it's truly a miracle that I was able to get out of it,' she said. Hale stated that she believes an unseen force protected her and acknowledged that self-forgiveness is a daily decision.
Making Amends With Others
Hale also emphasised the importance of accepting responsibility for her actions toward others. Reflecting on her time filming Pretty Little Liars, she shared that she faced personal challenges while seeking support and communicating her experiences.
She recalled feeling frustrated that others did not understand her pain. She said people involved in the show showed her grace, even though some were upset or angry with her at the time.
Looking back, Hale said she made a point of apologising to those she felt she had hurt. 'I've had to apologise to a lot of people. I hurt a lot of people in my life,' she told Shetty. She then explained that she kept a list of people she wanted to apologise to, and that unexpectedly meeting some of them gave her opportunities to make amends.
Separately, she described receiving someone's acceptance of an apology as 'the best feeling in the world'. For Hale, learning to forgive herself has also changed how she relates to the people around her. 'But I think when I've been able to forgive myself more, I'm only able to forgive the people in my life. The more I love myself, the more I can love my family and friends,' she said.
Sobriety and Recovery
During the podcast, Hale discussed sobriety and its impact on her personal growth and the emotional work involved in her recovery. She described using alcohol to escape anxiety and boost her confidence, presenting what she called an 'edgier version' of herself.
By age 23, Hale's drinking had led to dangerous blackouts. On the morning of her scheduled Grand Ole Opry debut, she awoke from a blackout in a Nashville hotel and chose to enter rehab instead of performing.
However, despite multiple attempts and periods of sobriety, Hale experienced relapses. She ultimately realised that lasting recovery depended on addressing the emotional issues contributing to her alcohol use, rather than focusing solely on abstinence.
Following a challenging period, she committed to sobriety on 2 January 2022. At the time of the interview, with over four and a half years in recovery, Hale reflected on how her approach had changed.
She described her first year of sobriety as relatively easy, while later stages required her to confront repressed emotions, memories, and patterns that had gone unaddressed. 'It was like easy breezy. I was living on a pink cloud,' she said. 'And then things started coming up because everything I'd been repressing was coming up.'
Hale now views sobriety as a broader process that includes self-understanding, changing relationship patterns, and developing self-acceptance. She emphasises that recovery requires ongoing personal effort and that self-forgiveness is often one of the most difficult challenges.
