Halle Berry is using her platform to educate people on the reality of perimenopause.
For those who don’t know, perimenopause refers to the time that the body naturally transitions into menopause.
Board-certified OB/GYN Dr. Mary Claire Haver explained to BuzzFeed last year, “Perimenopause is when you begin to notice some of the symptoms when your body is starting to register that something's changing in your hormonal life. It can take 7 to 10 years until your period stops.”
“The average age of menopause in the US is 51. But the normal curve is still around 45 to 55, so if perimenopause can begin 7 to 10 years before that, it is not unreasonable for a woman in her late 30s, definitely early 40s, to start experiencing some changes,” she added.
This week, Halle, who is 57, sat down with First Lady Jill Biden at the A Day of Unreasonable Conversation event in Los Angeles, where she opened up about being mistakenly told she had herpes when she first experienced symptoms of perimenopause.
Halle began by admitting that she believed she was going to “skip” menopause due to her “ego.” She said, “I’m in great shape. I'm healthy. ... So that makes one think, Oh, I can handle menopause. I'm going to eat right, exercise, and I'm gonna skip that whole thing.”
“You don't skip it,” she clarified, before adding, “But I was so [uneducated] at that time. I wish I knew then what I know now.”
Then, speaking of her boyfriend Van Hunt, Halle recalled, “I finally meet the man of my dreams… At 54, I find my guy. Perimenopause is not even a thought on my mind 'cause I'm skipping it, remember? So we're having our thing, we're having sex and everything is great.”
“So one day, we're having sex like normal,” she went on. “I wake up in the morning, I go to the bathroom, and guess what? I feel like I have razor blades in my vagina.”
Describing the feeling as “terrible,” Halle noted that she went straight to her gynecologist. However, this only resulted in further confusion.
“He says, ‘Halle, you have a new guy right?’ I said ‘I do, I'm really excited.’ He said, 'You messed up again... You have the worst case of herpes I have ever seen.”
Halle explained that while her doctor ran more tests, he remained convinced that she had herpes. So, naturally, she went straight to speak with her boyfriend — who was super confused.
“Neither one of us has herpes,” Halle said, noting that they’d both previously been tested. “I realized, after the fact, that [the sensation] is a symptom of perimenopause,” she added.
“My doctor had no knowledge and didn't prepare me, that's when I knew, ‘Oh my gosh, I've gotta use my platform. I have to use all of who I am and I have to start making a change and a difference,’” she said.
