Andie MacDowell Relates to Del’s Reaction to Kat Moving in with Elliot on “The Way Home”: ‘It’s Hard’ (Exclusive)

Del Landry may be struggling with Kat's plan to move in with Elliot on The Way Home — and Andie MacDowell can certainly relate.

During the Jan. 17 episode of the Hallmark Channel hit, Del (MacDowell) finally revealed that she and Sam Bishop (Rob Stewart) have been dating for a while. Kat (Chyler Leigh) followed that up with her own "good news" and revealed to her mom that she would be moving in with Elliot (Evan Williams) — and they had the approval of her daughter Alice (Sadie Laflamme-Snow). This news wasn't exactly met with Del's approval though.

"I know from experience, it's hard to lose your kids like that," MacDowell, 66, told PEOPLE during an exclusive set visit. "You are really attached to them. It's hard to let your kids fly sometimes, you want them there."

Related: Andie MacDowell Doesn't Take Her Hit Series The Way Home for Granted: 'It's Nice at My Age' (Exclusive)

MacDowell is mom to three children with her ex-husband Paul Qualley: son Justin, 38, who chose a life out of the spotlight, and daughters Rainey Qualley, 35, and Margaret Qualley, 30, who are both actresses.

"I am sad," MacDowell says of Kat's plans to leave. "I do love her. I want her there."

On the plus side, she'll only be across the street, and Alice will remain at the farm.

"[Del is] very accusatory about her making the choice to desert her daughter, even though she's going across the street," MacDowell adds. "It's interesting, because she could secretly go, 'Go on. I get her all to myself.' There is that component. She could have reacted that way. She could have said, ‘Okay, I get my granddaughter all to myself.’ ”

Related: Andie MacDowell Says 'Being Present' Is a 'Superpower as You Get Older'

The star paused reflectively before sharing a recent conversation with the show's co-creator Marly Reed about why Kat and Del fight.

"First I went back to the original idea, the original concept of what happened to them after Jacob disappeared and my inability to take care of her and all of that. But I think it's deeper than that,” she explains. “I think they fight because it's two alpha women under the same roof. And I know what that feels like because I have daughters. There is a shift that you have to make when you let them be alpha. And that's really hard. That is not an easy thing to do when you've been the alpha woman for a long time.”

"It's really painful to let your daughter be the boss. I think it's an interesting concept about these women living under the same roof,” she continues. “It goes back to, why do I even have a voice about her leaving?"

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Later, MacDowell says of Del, "She was so lonely for so long — and that's why she's so afraid Kat and Alice are going to disappear."

But as an actress, MacDowell has been reveling in the community spirit of making The Way Home.

"We're like a bunch of kids. We just are. It's so childlike, our job, and fun and creative. It's a really good job," she says. "There's something unique about the comfort zone that we have. I get so excited when I'm walking onto set. And it's nice at my age and after all the time I've been doing this to have that feeling of joy. I'm very conscious of it, so I recognize it. I try to share it with everybody, and tell everybody how lucky we are."

The Way Home airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel and streams the next day on Hallmark+.

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