Kathy Bates Is Putting ‘Energy Into Finding Mr. Right’ Now That She’s ‘Slim and Feeling Sexier’

Kathy Bates is bowing out of showbiz so that she can concentrate on landing a man, a source exclusively tells Closer.

The actress, 76, announced that she had shed 100 pounds off her 5-foot-3 frame, and an insider reveals that she’s ready to step away from acting so she can dance off with a real-life romantic partner.

“Everything I’ve prayed for, worked for, clawed my way up for, I am suddenly able to be asked to use all of it, and it’s exhausting,” she says of her role in CBS’ Matlock reboot, which she claims is the last acting gig she’ll take. “This is my last dance.”

The Misery star, who previously weighed 237 pounds, now weighs in at 137 pounds. “Kathy is healthier and happier and looking to start a new chapter of her life,” the insider says.

While the star’s rep later clarified Kathy isn’t retiring and is focused on Matlock, “she believes she’s accomplished all she can in her career, and now it’s time to start focusing on her,” the source adds. “She would like to meet someone nice — and now that she’s slim and feeling sexier, she wants to put some energy into finding Mr. Right. She doesn’t want to spend her retirement years alone.”

Kathy has been single since her marriage to Tony Campisi ended in divorce in 1997, and insiders say she’s even reached out to some of her Hollywood pals to set her up on dates. “She’s very excited about the prospect,” a source shares.