Andie Macdowell's Kids Made 'Silver Fox' Mom Fall 'In Love' with Her Look after 'Craziest' Age Criticism

• Andie MacDowell and her 1st husband were models who welcomed three kids and fled the spotlight for country life.

• Andie struggled to get work as an actress when she reached her 40s and faced the craziest criticism about her appearance.

• Andie established herself as a "silver fox" and refused to dye her hair after kids made her love her natural appearance.

Andie MacDowell has had a Hollywood career spanning decades. While she has been successful in many acting roles throughout her life, she has also had some success as a wife and a mother.

MacDowell's first marriage was not one that she saw coming, but it did bring her three children. She thought that she would marry a man that was a doctor or lawyer; instead, she married a model.

MacDowell and her first husband, Paul Qualley, met while modeling an ad for Gap. However, MacDowell had previously seen Qualley in an airport, and he had seen her on the cover of English Vogue.

When they found out they would be working on the Gap ad together, Qualley was reportedly highly excited about the prospect of finally getting to meet MacDowell. MacDowell admitted that she was hesitant to date him, though.

She mentioned that a friend tried to set them up after they met, but MacDowell was convinced that she couldn't date someone on the job as she had never dated a male model. She said she wanted to marry a doctor or lawyer, "someone who had a real life."

However, when she went out with Qualley in 1986, she knew he was the one for her. Three months later, the couple got married. MacDowell said that she had become maternal at that stage and wanted to have babies.

Their son Justin was born the same year they got married and was later joined by two siblings, Rainey and Margaret. After getting married and starting their family, MacDowell and Qualley moved to a country ranch.

While MacDowell was accepted as an actress after years of being a model, Qualley never expressed an interest in acting. Instead, he preferred to spend all his time on the ranch after quitting his career as a rock star in Italy.

The couple was happy for a few years, living a frugal farm life away from the hustle and bustle of the big city with their three children. However, their happy union was not meant to last, and their marriage began crumbling.

MacDowell's Failed Marriages and Career Woes

Thirteen years after Qualley and MacDowell married, they began divorce proceedings. In 1999, their marriage was over, and MacDowell had to raise her children primarily on her own while trying to maintain a career.

MacDowell tried to focus on her career and her children simultaneously. While she successfully raised her children, her career took a little more strain. She mentioned that her 40s were more complicated than her 30s, regarding her job.

The actress said that in her 30s, she would audition for roles she thought she would enjoy and be good in. However, in her 40s, people began viewing her as washed-up or a has-been.

Talking about what the transition from her 30s to her 40s was like in her acting career, MacDowell shared:

"My 40s, everybody started asking me, how does it feel to turn 40 and know that you're never going to work again? I mean, literally, that's what they said to me. I had the craziest things said to me when I turned 40."

However, the negative reviews on her work had started long before MacDowell turned 40. "Rolling Stone" reviewed her film "Town and Country," in which the publication said that the movie ruined MacDowell's reputation.

During her time as a single mom, MacDowell found love in the arms of businessman Rhett Hartzog. The couple married in 2001 but met in high school when Hartzog had a secret crush on MacDowell.

The couple was reintroduced to one another by MacDowell's sister after her divorce from Qualley. All three of MacDowell's children attended her wedding to Hartzog, along with 450 other guests.

Yet the lavish wedding ceremony ended in divorce three years after the couple tied the knot. At the time, there were no details given about their split, and a source

:

"It's a painful and very private time."

MacDowell's Daughters Helped Her Embrace Being a "Silver Fox"

After getting negative comments about turning 40 and coloring her hair to hide her grays, MacDowell felt the pang of not being able to dye her hair during the lockdown period in 2020.

Like everyone else, MacDowell was at home for most of 2020 as she was quarantining along with the rest of the world. During that time, she did not color her hair and found that her roots were beginning to show.

MacDowell, who was living next door to her daughters at the time, said that they encouraged her to keep her hair its natural color because she looked "badass." They told her that silver hair suited her.

Talking to Drew Barrymore about the experience and keeping her hair to its natural color, MacDowell said:

"The idea that I could look badass really appealed to me, so I went for it!"

MacDowell also mentioned that by not dyeing her hair anymore, she didn't feel like she was letting herself go, but rather that she was empowering herself and other women. The actress also acknowledged that it was not for everyone, as her older sisters would continue to dye their hair until the day they died.

She then said that she had never felt more beautiful, but she did receive some backlash from her managers. MacDowell said that her managers believed it was not yet time for her to embrace her silver hair, but she disagreed.

MacDowell told her managers that she felt beautiful and powerful, embracing where she was in her life. She also admitted that she thinks young people admire her for doing it as it was her daughters' suggestion. She said,

"I fell in love with it… I have to say, I've never felt more beautiful."