Patricia Heaton Talks About Her '3 Years of Freedom'

A post over the weekend from Patricia Heaton gave a shoutout to both America and to an achievement by Heaton herself. "It's July, [when] we celebrate our nation's freedom," the 63-year-old Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle actor noted in a Saturday video on social media as she wrapped up a 3.5-mile hike. Then she added: "Also celebrating three years of freedom from alcohol for me." After sharing that, Heaton told fans to "message me if any of you are thinking about doing that, any of you are doing that now and need some encouragement or anything at all." As reinforcement, she noted in the caption accompanying her video: "A lot to celebrate this month."

Heaton mentioned her alcohol abstention in an interview with Parade last year. "I miss it terribly, but at the end of the day, I feel better," she said, adding that she started "looking forward every night to cocktails. And if I happened to go to lunch, I might have a glass of wine or prosecco." She noted that women in their 50s and 60s might be "a little bit at sea" as their kids grow up and leave the family home, "and so you reach for the bottle to dull the uncertainty." She said she halted her booze intake when she noticed that happening with herself, and that since then, "my life has improved significantly." (More Patricia Heaton stories.)