INTERVIEW
The outspoken Loose Women presenter and husband Mark are saying ‘I do’ again on their 20th anniversary. Here she talks menopause, love and her BFF on Strictly…
She’s one of Loose Women’s most-loved panellists, and her ability to share the good, bad and ugly have made her a huge hit with viewers over the past two decades. So it’s no surprise that the menopause is one topic Nadia Sawalha, 57, hasn’t shied away from.
The mum-of-two previously revealed how the change made her irrational and would cause her to fly into rages at home.
Luckily however, she tells Closer in an exclusive interview, that HRT [hormonal replacement therapy] has been “life-changing” for her mental health, and she hasn’t looked back since starting it.
Nadia says, “At times I’ve been really annoyed at myself for being ignorant about what’s going on in my body. I had very dark feelings and terrible brain fog. I used to stand in for [TV presenter] Lorraine Kelly all the time, but I remember this one occasion where I just fumbled the words.
“I literally couldn’t make my mind work, and I would just stop dead. I was convinced I had Alzheimer’s or cancer.
“Another symptom I experienced was bleeding heavily, but it never occurred to me that it was my menopause,” she says.
Like Nadia, many other celebrities – including actress, Tamzin Outhwaite, The Apprentice’s Karren Brady and ex-model Penny Lancaster – have all been instrumental in helping remove the stigma surrounding menopause.
LIFE-CHANGING
It has now become a massive talking point, and Nadia urges other women not to suffer in silence like she did.
“The thing is you are always in menopause. You’ve gone through a door, and you are in it for the rest of your life.
“Basically what it means is your menstruation is paused. I had been in the menopause for eight years, and I only started using HRT 18 months ago. Yet it’s totally changed my life,” she exclaims.
“I’m so passionate about it, because so many women suffered not knowing what it was, and I don’t want others going through the same thing.
“Plus, I’m a mad phone user so that’s tough on the eyes, and the menopause really dried mine out. I now use eye drops, which work wonders,” she says.
What’s more, the MasterChef runner-up, celebrated 20 years of marriage to television producer, husband, Mark Adderley in June.
The pair met on the BBC1 daytime dating show Perfect Partners in 2002 and share daughters Maddie, 18, and Kiki, 15.
Despite the couple only knowing each other five months before tying the knot, thei
