Sarah Michelle Gellar stepped away from acting because she felt "directionless" after Robin Williams' death

During an appearance on the Shut Up Evan podcast, the mother-of two explained: "I had children back to back. I started The Crazy Ones when my son was three months old. I was breastfeeding the entire time.

"And then, Robin passed away, and everything just sort of hit me. The postpartum hit me, and that loss was so huge and I just felt - I felt a little directionless for the first time in my life.

"And I thought: 'Maybe that's my sign that, like, I'm not living the moments enough. Because they can go away so quickly'. And at that point I just said I needed to take a break."

The actress is mother to teenagers Charlotte and Rocky with her husband Freddie Prinze Jr. and she doesn't regret putting her career on the backburner so she could spend more time with her family.

She added: "I'll never get that time back with my kids. I didn't miss a show, a performance, a first step, a lost tooth.

"There was every moment I was able to be there for. And that's not something you can do as a working actor. Our days are long, we travel a lot. I couldn't have done that."

Gellar went on to explain she now appreciates her career in "a different way" and she puts more thought into the way she picks her work projects.

She said: "I also pick my projects differently now ... work defined how I thought of myself. Now, work is just a part of how I think of myself."

It comes after the actress admitted she sometimes struggles with confidence now she's in her 40s.

She told NewBeauty: "Yes, I'm not going to lie, I do struggle with it sometimes. I see girls who are so much younger than me and I start thinking to myself, should I be doing that? Is that what I need to do to be relevant?

"But no, that's not what I need to do. I don't want a completely different face. I want to be the best me I can be."

While Gellar does find some aspects of being younger again compelling, the actress has found peace with ageing.

She said: "All everyone ever wants to do is show me a picture of myself from 20 years ago. I'm really with having to look at what I looked like then and what I look like now. And let me tell you right now, I don't want to be 20.

"Would I love the skin of a 20-year-old? Oh hell yeah - I did not appreciate it in my 20s. But that's not realistic. I want to keep learning and getting better and make what was original about me even better now."