Whatever you have to say about Renee Zellweger and her face, you should know this: She’s happy with herself.

Zellweger responded to the waves of Internet snark that crescendoed when photographs of her walking the red carpet at the Elle Women in Hollywood awards began to circulate, choosing to release an exclusive statement to People magazine published Wednesday morning.

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Renee Zellweger says she’s glad folks think she looks different today, above, than she did in 2010, below. The Associated Press

“I’m glad folks think I look different,” Zellweger said. “I’m living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I’m thrilled that perhaps it shows.”

She did not directly address whether she’s had plastic surgery, as many have conjectured.

“My friends say that I look peaceful,” Zellweger continued. “I am healthy. 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.”

Zellweger said she decided to address the rampant criticism 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.”