Brooke Shields Shares Surprising Confession About Being an Empty Nester

Brooke Shields is adjusting to her life as an empty nester.

On Thursday, Jan. 16, the actress, 59, opened up on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon about her experience since her two daughters, Rowen, 21, and Grier, 18, who she shares with husband Chris Henchy, left for college.

"I'm an empty nester. Then, they came home for Christmas," she began. "It was great, and then, I couldn't wait for them to leave."

"I was so sad when they left the first time," Shields continued. "Then, at the end of Christmas, I'm like 'Don't you have to get back to school?'"

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Related: Brooke Shields Explains Why She’s Cautious About Giving Advice — Especially to Her 2 Daughters

When both of Shields' daughters headed off to college she told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview that she was "not ready" for them to leave.

"I thought I would be relieved, but I don't know," she said. "I'll see if when I get there, but I think I'm going to be even...the thought of no longer living 24/7 in the house with these people that I've raised, it's just very foreign. It's like going to a totally foreign territory."

Shields asked her younger daughter to give her a "grace period" when she first left for college. She underwent an adjustment period, as she reconnected with her.

"Because I said to my daughter, I'm like, I have to get introduced to you," Shields said. "Because I only know you as doing what I say you should do. And you're not a baby anymore. And I need a little bit of time to re-acclimate to you as the young woman."

Although she's an empty nester now, Shields still believes they will return home after college.

During an appearance last May on SiriusXM's The Jess Cagle Show, Shields said, "I was like, 'Well, they're still gonna come back,' and by the way, the cost of just living in this city is so prohibitive anyways that it may work in my favor."

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