Elle Macpherson will celebrate her 60th birthday this coming March, but she recently marked another big milestone: two decades of sobriety. In September, the Australian supermodel shared a photo of a 20-year Alcoholics Anonymous chip on her Instagram account, accompanied by a Maya Angelou quote in the caption: “This is a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.”

In a new interview with Body and Soul, Macpherson opened up about her sobriety journey, a choice she said she’s “never regretted.”

“I stopped drinking in 2003 because I felt I couldn’t be fully present in my life, and it was a wonderful springboard of getting to know myself on a deeper level,” she said.

Macpherson said that once she decided to stop drinking alcohol, she never went back.

“Although it required discipline and persistence, the bottom line is you can’t be well and present in your life if you’re not present and well, and alcohol doesn’t really support that,” she said. “It’s very difficult to get to know yourself if you’re numbing yourself.”

Many have touted the physical benefits of abstaining from drinking, but Macpherson is most interested in how it’s changed her inner life, rather than her outer appearance.

“I feel incredible,” she said. “I think that’s the most important thing. You say I look incredible, but I feel that way. I just love that sense of vitality and I’m grateful for my life, I’m grateful for my journey, and I am loving turning 60.”

Since being dubbed “the body” at the height of ‘90s supermodel mania, Macpherson has also founded a wellness brand, WelleCo.

However, she’s not here to preach sobriety to others.

“Everybody has their own journey and I’m not interested in telling other people what to do but I know that this was a decision that I’ve never regretted,” she said.

As she approaches a new decade of her life, Macpherson is embracing her age, and what wellness means to her personally.

“I don’t focus on aging,” she said. “I think it’s more important to focus on the quality of the life that you’re living and how you’re living life to the fullest. They always say it’s not the years in your life, it’s the life in your years. That’s what I like to help people with, which is how they can live their life to their fullest.”