Renee Zellweger set the Internet ablaze yesterday (Oct. 21) when photos emerged of the actress looking drastically different. There has been much speculation about the change in her appearance, but now, Zellweger is setting the record straight -- kind of.

In a statement to PEOPLE, the 'Bridget Jones' Diary' star explained the dramatic change in her face, saying she's now "happy" and "fulfilled."

"I'm glad folks think I look different! I'm living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I'm thrilled that perhaps it shows," Zellweger explained. While she thought the attention surrounding her appearance at the ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards was "silly," she said she is choosing to address the situation because "it seems the folks who come digging around for some nefarious truth which doesn't exist won't get off my porch until I answer the door."

While everyone has speculated that the 'Chicago' actress has undergone some serious plastic surgery and Botox injections, Zellweger doesn't mention it in her statement, instead attributing her new look to finally taking control of her health.

"My friends say that I look peaceful. I am healthy," she revealed. "For a long time I wasn't doing such a good job with that. I took on a schedule that is not realistically sustainable and didn't allow for taking care of myself. Rather than stopping to recalibrate, I kept running until I was depleted and made bad choices about how to conceal the exhaustion. I was aware of the chaos and finally chose different things."

"I did work that allows for being still, making a home, loving someone, learning new things, growing as a creative person and finally growing into myself," she continued. "People don't know me in my 40s. People don't know me [as] healthy for a while. Perhaps I look different. Who doesn't as they get older?! Ha. But I am different. I'm happy."

PopCrushers, what do you think of Renee Zellweger's explanation?

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