The Tragic Way ‘This Is Us’ Star Mandy Moore Makes Herself Cry For TV

“This is Us” star Mandy Moore uses personal experiences when it comes to acting. So when viewers see her cry on the hit series, the tears are real. Moore, who previously had a career as a pop star, opened up to People Magazine about her unhappy marriage to singer Ryan Adams.

When it’s time for the waterworks to flow, Moore, 33, remembers being with Adams, 42.

“I found myself at a point in my life where I had this sort of uncanny ability to make myself as small as possible, like I was a supporting character in my own life,” Moore told People Magazine, according to Radar Online. “From a career perspective I was barely treading water. I was dismayed at the sort of opportunities that weren’t presenting themselves any longer. And that coincided with my own life not being in a great place.” She added: “It was a few years of just unhappiness.”

Moore and Adams tied the knot in 2009. But the honeymoon phase didn’t last long. “I get emotional when I think about it,” said Moore. “I was so confused and spread thin and stressed.”

The star filed for divorce in January 2015.

But she doesn’t regret the marriage.

“The stuff that’s sort of broken my heart and broke me down at different points in my life are the exact things I draw upon for work,” Moore said. “Those tears are very real! It’s the perfect catharsis for me.”

At the time Moore split from Adams, it wasn’t a surprise to her family and friends. “They split forever ago,” a source told People Magazine at the time. “Their friends all knew.”

The source added: “She got married so young, and even though the age difference wasn’t huge, it was still tough on the relationship.”

The People Magazine interview isn’t the first time she talked about her failed marriage. She said she felt “fantastic” during the August 2016 Television Critics Association tour in Beverly Hills.

“It's tough. Life is not easy,” she admitted to E! Online. “I think it's been great to be able to take all of the chapters in my life and be able to pour it into a job like this because it all helps. It's all fuel.”

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