Susan Lucci opens up about her heart disease and why she said no to ‘The Golden Bachelorette’

Susan Lucci is tending to her heart.

The “All My Children” star spoke with “Entertainment Tonight” about coping with heart disease and the loss of her husband, Helmut Huber, in 2022.

The couple married in 1969 and while she understands that love after loss is possible, Lucci said she’s not ready to date just yet.

“It is different for everyone and, you know, part of it is a choice to get up off the floor and put one foot in front of the other,” the 77-year-old said. “I mean, it is better to go ahead with your life.”

“The other thing is that I know that this life is a gift, it’s meant to be a gift from God and I’m never gonna thumb my nose at that. I’m grateful,” she added. “And I’m very grateful to have the love and have [had] Helmut in my life.”

For that reason, Lucci said she turned down an offer to be “The Golden Bachelorette.” She does, however, plan to watch contestant Joan Vassos for the debut season.

“I think I’m just a fan… it wasn’t for me but it’s something that I do love to watch,” Lucci said.

She is also focusing on her health after undergoing two procedures related to heart disease in the past four years.

“I had a blockage, a 90 percent blockage in my main artery and a 75 percent blockage in the adjacent artery,” Lucci said. “And fortunately, I listened to my body and there was someone there [her doctor] who could prod me to go to the hospital.”

These days she says she is “in very good shape and I feel very good.”

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com