Former Loose Women star Andrea McLean has shared details of a very challenging six months as she opened up about her health struggles in a new interview.
Talking about her experience of long Covid, the presenter and entrepreneur revealed that the illness had been "debilitating".
The mum-of-two spoke to Bella magazine about her experience, saying: "I was doing everything that you're supposed to do, which was particularly unfair.
"But what I am really appreciative of is my leisure, because until you have something that is so debilitating you cannot walk the length of yourself."
Andrea went on: "People say 'Oh I'm exhausted', but what I've experienced defies the definition of tired. I'd no energy - it's really hard to feel energised.
"The simple things like going for a walk - I'd be getting further and further behind [my husband] Nick, to the point where I'd have to say, 'Can you stop for a minute,' it's things like that."
The 53-year-old said that she had been ill for around six months, which she described as a "rough" time after she caught Covid and then was "absolutely throttled" by flu in December, with doctors testing her for lupus before diagnosing her with long Covid.
The star shared, however, that she's asked friends who are health experts for advice and is starting to feel some improvement now. Andrea, who shocked fans when she left Loose Women in 2020 to pursue other opportunities, has long won praise for her candour about health and her body.
She's been an advocate for better information about the menopause to help women who are struggling, following her own experience at 46.
Last year, for example, she appeared on Vogue Williams' podcast Taboo Talk, where she spoke openly about going through the menopause following a hysterectomy after suffering with endometriosis for her whole life.
"I thought I'd lose at least a stone and have a flatter tummy, but it made no difference," she joked, before going on to explain that her sex drive dropped during menopause.
Talking about experiencing vaginal dryness as a result of a drop in oestrogen, which made sex painful, Andrea said: "If something hurts, why on earth would you want to keep doing it?"
READ: Loose Women's Andrea McLean opens up about having to sell family home
Explaining how she broached the subject with her partner, she said: "It's not that I don't fancy you, it's that it really hurts." Andrea also spoke openly about how menopause impacted her at work, sharing that hot flushes left her worried to be on live TV.
"You'd be in the middle of [the show] and you could just feel the heat build and build and build. The sweat would be all around my hairline, I couldn't raise my arms, it was just terrible," she said.
SEE: Andrea McLean's garden resembles a holiday paradise
The broadcaster went on to admit that she picked up a top tip from the wardrobe team. "Top tip: pantyliners under the armpits – gamechanger, I used to do that every day," she said, sharing that the wardrobe team said that they used the trick on male presenters all the time to stop them from sweating!