The menopause freaked me out at first, says Lancaster
PENNY LANCASTER, the television presenter, has said she thought she would lose her sex appeal due to the menopause.
The Loose Women star, 50, married to Sir Rod Stewart, spoke about her experiences alongside other celebrities including presenter Nadia Sawalha, Olympian Michelle Griffith Robinson, actress Julie Graham and makeup artist Ruby Hammer.
She told Hello! magazine: “The menopause freaked me out at first.
“I thought, ‘This is the end of the road. I’m not going to have any more sex appeal … I’ve got to say goodbye to the old Penny and say hello to the new one’.
“But as you get older you embrace each stage of your life with more maturity, and give yourself a bit of a break.”
Graham, 56, also feels menopause should be an “empowering time” if women are “getting the proper attention and treatment”.
She added: “If you have children, they’re older so you have more time on your hands.
“There’s also a theory that if you have less oestrogen, you end up not giving a s--- as much as you used to!”
Sawalha, 56, admitted she knew “absolutely nothing” about the menopause and was convinced she had earlyonset Alzheimer’s when she started experiencing symptoms at 48 of memory loss and brain fog, as well as heavy bleeding and night sweats.
“Over time the symptoms became part of me. My anxiety had become who I was”, she said.
Griffith Robinson, 50, said she is perimenopausal, and is “taking it like an Olympian”. She added: “I want to own the journey and I also want to show that you need support.”
Hammer, 59, said: “I’ve never hidden my age, and I talk about the menopause because I think every woman should be aware.”
The five women spoke about their experiences as part of Hello! magazine’s campaign for the Menopause Work Pledge, in partnership with health charity Wellbeing of Women, which encourages companies to support their staff going through the menopause.