Alyssa Milano is opening up about learning to have “resilience’ while celebrating her 51st birthday.
“Today is my birthday! However, instead of just saying my age, from now on I’m going to say that I have reached ‘level 51,’” the actress, 51, wrote via X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, December 19, alongside a makeup-free selfie. “I have discovered a few cheat codes that have helped me navigate the challenges and triumphs along the way. The first cheat code is RESILIENCE. I have faced my fair share of heartache, anxiety, and depression, but I have managed to overcome them with LOVE. Love for myself, which keeps me evolving and searching, love for others, which keeps me gentle and forgiving, and love for the world around me which keeps me in awe at what has been created here.”
Milano noted that love is what has given her the “strength to move forward,” adding that “gratitude” is another cheat code that has kept her optimistic about life.
“I have learned to appreciate the simple joys of life, like the beauty of birds soaring through the sky and the majesty of trees standing tall,” she continued. “I am grateful for the symbiotic relationship between plants and humans, where my breath nourishes them, and their existence provides me with what I need to survive. Gratitude has also allowed me to embrace the gift of curiosity, never ceasing to learn something new. Mostly, I am grateful for the beating of my heart, which carries the blood of my ancestors and connects me to a rich lineage of profound triumph.”
Compassion and empathy were two more points on Milano’s list that have helped her reach “level 51 status.” The Who’s the Boss alum admitted that the emotions can be “uncomfortable to experience” at times but have “shaped [her] into a kind and humble person who strives to was the suffering of humanity.”
Milano concluded her lengthy post by praising the people in her life who have loved her “unconditionally,” recognizing their “support, care and acceptance” as a “driving force” behind her “personal growth.”
“So, as I celebrate my birthday at level 51, I do so with a sense of accomplishment and gratitude,” she said. “I embrace the challenges and joys that lie ahead, knowing that I have the cheat codes of resilience, gratitude, compassion, empathy, and the love of those around me to guide me through this game of life.”
Milano’s comments come one day after her former Charmed costars Shannen Doherty and Holly Marie Combs opened up about the trio’s on-set tension in the ‘90s. During the Monday, December 19, episode of Doherty’s “Let’s Be Clear” podcast, Combs, 50, alleged that a producer told her Milano threatened to sue if Doherty, 52, wasn’t fired from the WB series.
“We didn’t mean to [fire Shannen], but we’ve been backed into this corner,” she recalled producer Jonathan Levin telling her. “‘We’re basically in this position where it’s one or the other. We were told [by Alyssa] it’s her or [Shannen] and Alyssa has threatened to sue us for a hostile workplace environment.”
Milano, Doherty and Combs starred as Phoebe, Prue and Piper Halliwell, respectively, on the first three seasons of Charmed before Doherty’s character was abruptly killed off in the season 3 finale and replaced by Rose McGowen’s Paige Matthews.
At the time, Doherty told Entertainment Tonight that there was “too much drama on the set and not enough passion for the work,” which led to her exit. However, when speaking with Combs on Monday, she confessed that nobody “in their right mind would quit a hit show that is paying them a ton of money [and] that they enjoyed doing.”
Doherty added that she “lived a year” after leaving the show “sort of replaying everything in my brain” and trying to recall what could have led to Milano’s alleged unhappiness, but couldn’t even “remember being mean to [Alyssa] on set.”
Milano, for her part, has not publicly commented on Doherty and Combs’ claims, but said she took “responsibility for a lot” of the problems between her and Doherty while speaking with ET in 2021.
“I think a lot of our struggle came from feeling that I was in competition rather than it being that sisterhood that the show was so much about,” she told the outlet. “And I have some guilt about my part in that.”
