Every day is like magic here for me. You see any rabbits? No. We have baby rabbits all in here. Right. You look in your rabbit hunting, aren't you?

You have manifested right.

I'm killing this thing called midlife.

Actress and tv talk show host Ricky Lake says life is only getting better with age.

I took my man to burning man this year. I have so much I want to say about my journey to get to this place of true contentment and self acceptance. I've been famous since I'm 18 years old from hairspray, and yet these are the sweetest of days. And it took a lot to get to where I am sitting in this house right now and talking to you and crossing my legs comfortably.

Lake is now opening up about finding true love in her fifties with husband Ross Burningham.

I just adore him. He's such a good man and he's so much fun.

Yeah. She never ceases to entertain me. Ever.

I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

And her recent dramatic weight loss accomplished through a strict wellness regimen and without the use of prescription medication.

She's tenacious. When she decides that she's gonna do something, she's all in and just goes after it. And it's inspiring.

Lake recently donning this famous red swimsuit she wore on the COVID of Us Weekly back in May of 2007, Lake's weight loss struggles, playing center stage throughout her career.

I can't do that dance.

Best known to many as Tracy Turnblad, the pleasantly plumped teen with a big heart in the 1988 classic Hairspray.

Oh, corny. Do you really think I'm good enough?

She starred in several films and tv shows, landing a recurring role on CB's hit sitcom, the King of Queens.

Can I get you something, too? You look like a snow cap girl to me.

Do I?

Actually, I'm very allergic, but thank you.

But it's her no holds barred and wildly successful talk show that debuted in 1993 that cemented her as a household name. Lake becoming the youngest on air host at the time. She was just 24 years old.

Our guests today are women who say if you don't have money and lots of it, you're simply not worth dating.

What do you want to say to desiree?

Stand up. Get over it.

I am on with my life.

I know.

That's great because I wanted to show him exactly what he's missing out on.

He's not missing out on nothing, babe. Cause he's got me.

Thank you.

Oh, my God. Yo, yo.

In 2011, Lake joining the cast of Dancing with the Stars, season 13, in part to help lose the pounds.

You're gonna get rid of all of this, okay? Cause Kirsty Alley is the one that inspired me to do this this season. And I'm telling you, that's the first to go.

Throughout the years, she says she's tried all the diet fads.

I've been on every diet, just, you know, like, you've followed me my whole life. I've been 260 pounds. I've been 120 pounds, like, without surgery, without, you know, but I was on fen phen back in the day.

After entering her fifties, Lake deciding to put her decades long roller coaster ride behind her for good, her husband also needing to make a change.

We're in our fifties, and we want to. As happy as we are, we want to live as long as we can as vitally and, like, with the vitality and youthfulness and feeling good in our bones.

A doctor suggested the pair use medication to lose weight.

He was pushing it hard on both of us. Oh, the doctor was pushing. The doctor was pushing it. We both were overweight, and. Yeah.

Originally meant to treat patients with type two diabetes. The latest game changing weight loss drug, ozempic, wigovi, and manjaro are drugs experiencing a big surge in use for weight loss. Ozempic and drugs like it have taken the nation by storm. A growing list of celebs slimming down. Even Oprah opening up about using a prescription weight loss medication. In a recent primetime special, I took.

On the shame that the world gave to me for 25 years. Making fun of my weight was national sport.

Lake, who says she's perimenopausal, says the doctor claimed the drug was the only way she could lose the weight. But she thought differently.

I like a challenge, and I like proving people wrong. And so it pissed me off, and I wanted to give it a go on my own. And so I said to my husband, you want to go on this ride with me? And he's like, sure.

For the past seven months, the couple diving into a completely new, healthy lifestyle.

You know, I understand, like, I am privileged. I have the resources and money. And so I hired a personal chef who was cooking for us. So that was, like, because I didn't want to feel deprived.

And it sounds to me like you weren't looking for a crash diet or a quick fix. You were looking really for lifestyle changes.

Yes. Yes. This is a lifestyle change. And so I live in the beautiful hills of Malibu. I hike, rain or shine, every single morning. In fact, this morning, I was out the door at 630 with my dog and doing my three mile hike, the.

Two also starting intermittent fasting, cutting out bread and sugar as part of their keto diet, exercise, including pilates and sleep tracking. All of it paying off with lake shedding 35 pounds.

Since October, I've made this small my job and it's become my joy. Like, I just, I love it. I think it's safe to say I'm in the best shape of my life. It's been a commitment. You know, it's been a financial commitment. It's been like a time commitment. But it's awesome. Like, I'm just, I'm so, I'm so happy. I'm proud of us.

I mean, you are glowing.

I say, this is what happy looks like. This is really, I could cry. I'm so happy. I'm so happy.

Lake also pouring herself into helping others in honor of her late husband, Christian Evans, who died by suicide. She works with community access, an organization providing job training and housing assistance to those struggling with mental illness.

On top of that, they have these community programs, so it's not like they just give you this place to stay. They have a group of people that help you to thrive.

When you look back at your younger self and some of the challenges that you had then, what would you say to young Ricky?

I really wish I didn't waste as much time as I did, not liking what I saw when I looked in the mirror. I really wish I was not so hard on myself.

And so you're just right over there now. At this current stage of life, Ricky Lake says her best days are ahead of her.

I love being my age because it is not the end of the road. It's just the beginning. It feels like the beginning for me.