TV personality Nadia Sawalha has long been promoting body acceptance, but she recently revealed to HELLO! that coming to terms with reaching the menopause was challenging.
In our exclusive interview, the star lifted the lid on her symptoms and her 'terribly dark' experience with the menopause.
Candidly Nadia, 57, also admitted the menopause put a strain on her marriage to Mark Adderley; the couple have been married since 2002 and have two daughters together.
"My husband [Mark Adderley] says there was a point where he did wonder if we were going to make it because I was just so irrational," Nadia, 57, tells HELLO! as she stars as our Menopause Digital Cover in partnership with Clarins.
"It was like premenstrual tension, but ten times worse. I'd fly into rage. It was a bit out of control."
Nadia Sawalha stars on our Menopause Digital Cover, in partnership with Clarins
Nadia, when did you start to experience menopause symptoms?
"About ten years ago now, I got a lot of symptoms quite rapidly after each other but I had no idea it was the menopause, nothing at all.
"It was the darkness that came over me initially, and I've always been very lucky to be somebody who wakes up happy, I just got this terrible darkness, that's when I started to doubt everything about myself."
Nadia spoke frankly about her menopause experience
What physical symptoms did you experience?
"Bleeding – it’s quite graphic really. I think we still don't talk about enough because this isn't just like having a period. It felt like you were haemorrhaging."
MORE: Visit our menopause hub for expert advice, tips, and real-life stories
WATCH: Nadia Sawalha speak about how the menopause affected her marriage
How were you coping at the time?
"I wasn't really managing. I just got used to the symptoms. My husband says there was a point where he did wonder if we were going to make it because I was just so irrational.
"It was like premenstrual tension, but ten times worse. I'd fly into rage. It was a bit out of control.
"Then I thought I need to look after myself. I need to stop thinking of menopause as this is the end. I have to think of this as a new beginning."
Nadia revealed that she noticed a massive difference once starting HRT
What treatments did you try?
"My producer said to me the other day, 'You know, I can't believe the difference since you have been on HRT.'
"I used homeopathy for my sweats and that was good. But then what happens is you just become used to everything. You think that's you."
The star is on a mission to change the way the menopause is perceived in society
MORE: Clarins launches super innovative line for menopausal skin - and the reviews are amazing
What about your skin, did you notice any changes during the menopause?
"Absolutely. I was going to bed at night and just tearing my skin apart, just itching. That was at the point I thought I had skin cancer because I also got these weird markings, all the way up my back.
"When you go into menopause, you lose I think, thirty percent of your collagen. So obviously, you start to age quicker.
"I certainly started to think more about what products I was using and allowed myself to take a little bit more care."
Nadia poses with HELLO! Editor-In-Chief Rosie Nixon at our Menopause Digital Cover shoot
Why do you think it’s important to speak out and break the menopause taboo?
"I had never heard a word about the menopause from my mother. It was difficult for me because I have two daughters that will go through premenstrual tension.
"And then I'm going through the menopause and my husbands in the middle of that.
"I want it to be taught in detail at schools because women leave the jobs they love. They leave the marriages they love. They fall out with their children.
"So, it's a conversation for everyone, not just women, but anybody that's living in the house with a woman going through menopause."
MORE: 36 symptoms of menopause and how to treat them
Shop Clarins Super Restorative skincare for perimenopausal and menopausal skin
Formulated especially for skin that has become unbalanced due to hormonal changes, Clarins has launched two new hero day and night creams perfect for women going through the menopause.
Super Restorative Day Cream for All Skin Types, £77, Clarins
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Super Restorative Night Cream for All Skin Types, £81, Clarins
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Join HELLO! over the coming months as we explore the physical and emotional journey of the menopause with some special celebrity friends, offering expert skincare, makeup, and beauty tips along the way by Clarins.
Discover the new Super Restorative range now in Clarins stores as well as online at clarins.co.uk.
Photography by Shane Taylor
