Patricia Heaton, 63, opens up and reveals she’s ‘celebrating three years of freedom from alcohol’

According to actress Patricia Heaton, she has ‘a lot to celebrate’.

The Everybody Loves Raymond leading lady took to Instagram over the weekend to share a very personal and meaningful milestone with her 191,000 fans and followers:  three years of sobriety from alcohol.

Heaton, 63, opened up about her personal triumph while taking a walk around the Hollywood Reservoir, better known as Lake Hollywood, which is located in the Hollywood Hills near the famous Hollywood sign.

‘Hello, friends! I’m just finishing up my, what, 3.5-mile walk around the reservoir,’ the Ohio native began in the selfie with just a hint of her labored breath apparent. 

‘And it’s July, when we celebrate our nation’s freedom. Also, [I’m] celebrating three years of freedom from alcohol for me.’

And in keeping with many programs and therapies focused on alcohol and drug recovery, Heaton ended the post by offering to help anyone who’s going down a similar path in life.

‘Message me if you are thinking about doing that, and if you are doing that now, and you need some encouragement or anything at all,’ she concluded.

The Everybody Loves Raymond alum made the personal revelation as she was finishing up a 3.5-mile walk around Lake Hollywood, or otherwise known as Hollywood Reservoir

Being of service: Heaton ended the post by offering to help anyone who’s going down a similar path in life

Heaton captioned the video: ‘A lot to celebrate this month,’ and added the hashtag, ‘#3years’ 

With the sun glaring down and the temperatures hovering in the upper 80s Fahrenheit in the Lake Hollywood area, Heaton dressed sporty in a black tank top, sunglasses and a baseball cap over her long brown hair.

The reservoir is in the Santa Monica Mountains, basically on the other side of the mountain where the famous Hollywood sign is situated.

Role of a lifetime: Heaton is best known for playing Debra Barone in the CBS hit sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005) for nine seasons; she starred alongside Ray Romano

During an interview with People in February 2020, Heaton shared how she considers her life now as her ‘second act’, which is the inspiration behind her book, Your Second Act: Inspiring Stories of Reinvention.       

‘I have lived a life beyond my wildest dreams and I’m so grateful. Life wasn’t handed to me on a silver platter by any stretch. I’ve worked hard, skinned my knees, cried my eyes out, regretted, doubted, and second-guessed myself along the way,’ she explained.

She gave credit to her devotion to God for helping change her life.    

Open book: Heaton considers her life now as her ‘second act’, which is the inspiration behind her book, Your Second Act: Inspiring Stories of Reinvention

Heaton is best known for playing Debra Barone in the CBS hit sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005) for nine seasons. 

Many fans also know her for her role as Frances ‘Frankie’ Heck in the ABC sitcom The Middle (2009-2018).

Most recently she starred as Dr. Carol Kenney in the short-lived CBS sitcom Carol’s Second Act (2019-2020).

Her faith: The actress gave credit to her devotion to God for helping change her life