Halle Berry was diagnosed with herpes. After all, they were symptoms of perimenopause | Well-being

Doctors diagnosed Halle Berry with herpes, a sexually transmitted disease, but it turned out “it was a symptom of perimenopause.” The actress told Jill Biden about her experience at the meeting A Day of Unreasonable Conversation (A day of irrational conversations, in free translation), in Los Angeles, earlier this week, where Jane Fonda and Paris Hilton also participated, to talk about women’s health.

First Lady Jill Biden, who is an active voice for women’s rights in healthcare, led the conversation with Halle Berry. “At first, my ego told me that it wouldn’t affect me, because I was in excellent shape”, confessed the actress, who stressed the need for women to embrace this stage of life, which she argues does not have as much visibility as it should have.

For Berry, now 57, it was a surprise to learn she had reached menopause. “At 54, I finally met the man of my dreams,” she says, quoted by the magazine People, while openly talking about her sex life with her boyfriend, 54-year-old musician Van Hunt. After feeling a lot of pain, she decided to go to the gynecologist who diagnosed her with “the worst herpes she had ever seen in her life”. The actress and her boyfriend were tested and the tests revealed that neither of them had herpes. “Then I discovered it was a symptom of perimenopause.”

Perimenopause is the phase that precedes menopause, when the first symptoms appear, including vaginal dryness, which was, after all, Halle Berry’s supposed herpes. “My doctor did not have adequate knowledge and did not prepare me. So I thought, ‘I have to use my platform, everything I have and who I am to make a difference in other women’s lives,’” he decided.

This is how the Re-Spin platform was born, focused on the well-being of women in perimenopause and menopause, launched in January. And he argues: “This renewed focus on menopause is necessary because it not only affects all women, but everyone who knows a woman, is married to a woman, works with a woman, has a daughter and, of course, a wife.”

This phase is as important in a woman’s life as puberty, which directly affects “more than half of the world’s population”, insists. The aim “is to empower women to embrace this natural transition and be inspired by the eternal beauty that accompanies them”.

It is not yet clear what the focus of the platform will be, which, for now, only shares informative content. But Halle Berry’s bet, known for films such as Catwoman or After the HateThe most popular brand is Goop, owned by Gwyneth Paltrow, which has also invested in the menopause segment, with Madame Ovary vitamins, aimed at women between 40 and 60 years old. “I think menopause has a very bad reputation and needs an image overhaul”, explained the actress.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Demi Moore are also investors in Evernow, a company that offers remote menopause consultations and delivers hormonal medications prescribed by doctors. The business has already generated more than 28.5 million dollars (26.4 million euros), according to the report. El País.