Passions viewers may have done a double take recently when Liza Huber first popped up onscreen – not just because she's back as Gwen, the role she originated, but because she seems … different. In a very good way. Is it the hair? The wardrobe? The makeup? Even off-camera colleagues were pulling her aside to comment on her new "glow." "It's been a combination of my life experience and personal growth," explains Huber. "In that year-and-a-half, a ton of life experience just changed me," she elaborates. "We all went through September 11th, in which I lost a lot of people I knew, one being a very good childhood friend. Then, two weeks later I called off my wedding. I realized that I had completely sacrificed everything of myself for someone else, and acting was one of those things."

Huber recalls the day she had that epiphany. "I was sitting in my room, and I realized I didn't have my job that I had worked so hard for. I wasn't acting, and that had been my love my whole life. I hadn't traveled in years, which is an immense passion of mine. I had let so many things go by the wayside for the sake of trying to give myself to someone. I realized that I needed to pick myself up by the bootstraps and take charge of my life – and never do that again."

Huber credits a pivotal conversation with her mother, Susan Lucci (Erica, All My Children), for giving her the confidence to perform emergency surgery on her life. "I was very confused for a while. My mom was the one who sat me down and told me I had to get back to myself, back to the things that I love. She told me to get back into acting classes, and to start traveling again. Fortunately for me, both my mother and my father are very headstrong and determined people, and once we have something in our head it's going to happen. So, I, too, was determined, and I took flight from that moment on."

Huber admits that Passions had been one of the biggest casualties. "The first time around, my heart wasn't in it. I had to be bi-coastal, because my ex-fiancée lived in New York. I was very young, and I followed my heart. When it came down to it, I said I need to get back to who I am. So I went back into acting classes, and I immediately fell back in love with it. I studied for a year with Alan Savage, who's one of the top acting coaches in the country. Alan transformed my work, so I came in being stronger."

Reclaiming her old job and finding new love were among the treasures she accumulated as her life reached a new cruising altitude. Her "new" boyfriend, Alex, is actually someone she's known her whole life. "We grew up together in New York, and went to elementary school together. I still have a class picture with the two of us from the first grade. It's funny. Here we are, we've known each other our whole lives, and yet we hadn't ever considered each other romantically. The last time I saw him was my Sweet 16 party, and still, we were just friends. But this past May we ran into each other in Manhattan and hit it off. We've been inseparable ever since. To think I've gone from almost going all the way to the altar with someone who was so totally wrong for me, to now having the eyes to see the real and immediate connection I had with someone this time."

"We both knew it was going to be a very special thing right off the bat," she asserts. "I went into this relationship knowing that we would maybe have to make compromises, but I would certainly not sacrifice my career or myself ever again. And he loves the fact that I have a career and am independent; I'm strong and he supports me. I'm happy I learned my lesson now in my 20s than down the road."

It's no coincidence that Gwen also has tapped into a newfound sense of determination and strength. "I did not want to pick up where anyone had left off – not where Natalie (Zea) had left off, and not even where I left off. I wanted to start fresh. So I spoke to the producers about it, and we all agreed on the direction we wanted to take Gwen, because she was never a fully fleshed-out character." But now, like Huber herself, "she's finally coming into her own."

Huber is especially proud of Gwen's choice to not attempt to use her unexpected pregnancy by Ethan to force him into marriage. "I was so happy to get those scripts. A lot of the girls who post on my Web site write how they admire Gwen and her choices. It's refreshing to see a woman taking charge of her own life."

Huber only hopes for more meaty material for her character in the year to come. "I would love to see Gwen keep her strength and fight back. And I would love more than anything to have some of those fun scenes with Lindsay (Korman, Theresa) like we had when Gwen tried to clobber her with a baseball bat. That was hysterical, and we had the best time."

Is it time for Gwen to find a new beau, too? "I would love to see another love interest come into Gwen's life, she's become such a strong, desirable woman. But I'm also have the best time with Eric (Martsolf, Ethan), so either way it will be fun. I've been so lucky, so thankful to Passions for calling me back, because it's such a rarity in life to get a second chance. I'm even thankful for the tough times that I had, because they ultimately put me in the spot I'm in today. We all need a good kick in the pants every now and then to learn who we are."