An emotional Michelle Heaton appeared on Lorraine today to talk about her struggle going through an early menopause.
The former Liberty X singer said she doesn’t feel like herself thanks to the change in hormones she’s experiencing at the age of just 38.
She told Lorraine Kelly: “I have had some really dark times and I am not over it.”
She added: “I’m struggling, it’s not easy.”
The mother-of-two said her she’s often overcome with “a rage… like a massive dark cloud” she “doesn’t see coming”, which can lead to her snapping at her family and feeling ashamed of her behaviour.
“There are moments I am ashamed of. I have been such a horrible person to my husband, my kids or my mum, and then I don’t like me,” she admitted.
A sympathetic Lorraine, 58, told her she shouldn’t feel that way as it’s not her fault.
She reassured the singer that her husband, Hugh, and their two children, Faith, six, and Aaron, four, are giving her their full support.
She surprised her with a clip of her family where they tell her: “Mummy, we’re really proud of you!”
Michelle’s early menopause comes after she had to have an elective mastectomy and hysterectomy in her early thirties after discovering she has BRCA2 gene, which makes her much more likely to develop breast or ovarian cancer.
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She said she is now terrified of her children having to grow up and go through the same thing.
She added that she couldn’t have got through the last few years without her family and her husband, who has been “her rock”.
She’s now penned a book, Hot Flush: Motherhood, the menopause and me, which she hopes other women going through the menopause can relate to.
She admitted writing it as been her “therapy,” while reading it has helped Hugh understand what she’s going through.
Michelle, who recently bared all to raise awareness of breast cancer for The Real Full Monty: Ladies Night, said she wanted to be completely honest in the book.
She said because she tries to “get on” with each day and be positive, she’s worried her social media accounts may make it seem like she’s finding the menopause easy, when that is far from the case.
She said she didn’t want her experience to appear “air-brushed” because she is finding it “tough”, and will continue to do so for a number of years.
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“It’s a long, hard road ahead, it’s not as easy as taking a headache tablet and it goes away,” she said.
However, she added treatment, exercise and healthy eating has helped alleviate some of her symptoms.
Have you struggled with the menopause like Michelle? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.