Why Katherine Heigl Doesn’t Regret Leaving Hollywood for Utah

And while she feels grateful for her years more immersed in Hollywood, she emphasized she wouldn't have it any other way, especially for the sake of her children—Naleigh, 15, Adalaide, 13, and Joshua, 8.

"I'm really happy and content and I'm so grateful for the years I had in the industry, in the hustle," she said. "My children were younger, and though I will always regret so much of the time I missed with them while I was hustling, while I was working, I am grateful to be here now."

Heigl explained that while she missed out on some time with her children during their younger years, it’s important for her to be there for them during this chapter of their lives.

"When they're little, that's the most delicious and exciting time for you as a parent, but when they're teenagers is when they need you the most, and that's where I'm at," she said. "I just don't see how I could go off and make a movie for three months or a television series for nine months."

The 27 Dresses actress continued, "Nothing shoots in Utah, so I have to go on location, and it's just it's not something right now that I can fathom doing successfully. I think I would be so torn and divided. I don't know how much of my attention I could give a project when I'm worried about my kids at home."

As Heigl put it, trying to balance it all makes her feel like her brain is “gonna explode." So, for now, she's soaking up the years of having her kids at home.

"It's fleeting, even though, right now it feels like forever. And when I look around the house and I'm like, there's so much mess, I have to say to myself, ‘There will come a day when none of this is here anymore,’" she said. "All these little shoes will be gone, all of the kids' stuff will be gone, and all these hair ties and scrunchies and hoodies and backpacks and skincare and everything will be gone. It will be a perfect, lovely, Good Housekeeping home, and I will miss it.

In addition to focusing on her family, the Firefly Lane actress has also been working on her animal advocacy efforts, including developing the pet food brand Badlands Ranch to create healthier dog food.

"I've been an animal advocate and have had an animal advocacy foundation for the last two and a half decades, so I'm a big animal person," she said. "I was really excited to be able to create something this unique, something that people can really trust is really good for their pets."

She and her mother founded the Jason Heigl Foundation in 2008 in honor of Heigl's brother, with the mission of ending animal cruelty and abuse, and Badlands Ranch has committed $250,000 a year toward the foundation.

"It's been pretty incredible, and that has probably been the biggest blessing of the of the food for us," she said. "It has afforded us the opportunity to keep so many of our programs going and further them and make the reach even bigger, which has been a dream."