Menopause feels as bad as my drug addict days, says Davina
SHE’S been a familiar face on our TV screens for almost three decades, has conquered her addictions and regularly wows her social media followers with pictures of her honed body.
But Davina McCall has compared going through the menopause to how she felt when she was struggling with drug abuse.
the former Big Brother presenter, 52 – who has been open about her addiction to heroin in her early 20s and once suffered an overdose – revealed that the night sweats and mood swings were a reminder of that difficult period in her life.
Miss McCall said: ‘obviously i’m a reformed addict and i was waking up soaked in sweat, having to put towels on the bed, thinking, “there’s
‘This is where the good bit happens’
something wrong with me, i’ve got the flu or a virus or something”,’ she said on ITV’s Loose Women.
‘it really reminded me of when i was using and i really hated it… and mood swings, shouting at the kids.
‘i’m not a shouty mother at all and then i’d end up crying in the car, apologising to the children, going, “i’m really sorry, i don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
My keys were in the fridge, my phone was in the bin, my libido was through the floor. it was just a nightmare.’
Miss McCall is mother to daughters Holly, 19, tilly, 17, and son Chester, 14, from her marriage to fellow TV host Matthew robertson. the pair separated in 2017.
She said that she had never been taught about how to cope with the menopause from school or family as there was ‘so much shame about it’. She added: ‘it was the thing nobody talked about.
‘it was a sign you were past your sell-by date, you were at the end of your life – which in Victorian days, i suppose you were.
‘But now we live until we’re 80, we’re right in the middle of our lives. this is where the good bit happens where we know we’re not going to have kids anymore and we can go off and be a bit selfish after being selfless for so long.’
Miss McCall became premenopausal eight years ago and is using hormone replacement therapy which has helped reduce her symptoms. ‘the health benefits for me way outweighed the negatives,’ she said.