Mandy Moore Shares the Emotional Reason Behind Her New Haircut
Mandy Moore surprised fans on Instagram Thursday (March 7) when she debuted her new bob haircut. The look, done by Garnier consulting hair stylist Ashley Streicher, is beyond chic: slightly darker than Moore’s normal hair color and styled in loose, beachy waves.
“Surprise! I got a chop,” Moore posted to Instagram yesterday alongside photos of her new hair, taken by Jenna Jones. “I stayed true to my brunette roots, so I wanted to make a big change with my cut.” (The color, in case you’re curious, is Garnier Nutrisse Shade 53 and it’s less than $10.)
See Moore’s post for yourself, below:
The This Is Us actress decided to switch up her hair for two reasons. Her first one is pretty standard. “I just got done with work,” Moore told Access Hollywood in a new interview. “I have to look a certain way for eight months out of the year, so I’m like, ‘Celebrate! Do something different.'”
Her second reason, though, is more emotionally charged, and one anyone who’s been through a particularly fraught experience might relate. A few weeks ago, Moore was one of several women featured in a New York Times article detailing misconduct allegations against musician Ryan Adams. Moore and Adams were married for seven years, and during their relationship she says he was psychologically abusive toward her. Changing her hair, Moore says, helped her close that dark chapter of her life—which she had to revisit for the article—for good.
“The last couple weeks have been sort of—I’m not going to get emotional—have been emotionally turbulent in a way,” she said. “I think there is something significant about shedding dead weight and moving forward.”
Watch Mandy Moore explain this for yourself, below:
Moore says the support she’s received since coming forward about Adams has been overwhelming in the most positive way. “I’m happy that people—women, specifically—who have been in abusive situations of any form feel seen and heard and recognized,” she says. “That’s what I was most surprised about by speaking out: feeling like other women were like, ‘Thank you. I’m encouraged to come forward now.'”