Loose Women presenter Andrea McLean is on a mission to demystify the menopause. Jane McGowan finds out more...
Nowadays, when preparing to interview someone, the first step is invariably to ‘Google them’. On this occasion, the interviewee is journalist and presenter Andrea McLean. And while I am familiar with the frank – and sometimes fruity – fare bandied about on her daily ITV1 panel show Loose Women, I am nevertheless taken aback by the words screaming out at me from the internet: ‘Andrea McLean’s vaginal dryness’.
Intrigued, I read on. Yet this, it transpires, is not some sensationalist kiss and tell, but Andrea’s open and honest account of her (and her husband’s) struggles through post-menopausal sex. It did make me wonder, however, why 49-year-old Andrea had chosen to reveal all this to the world.
“When I had my hysterectomy in 2016, I felt that I had to explain on camera why I was going to be off-air for six weeks,” says the mother of two, who lives in Ashtead. “But in truth, I didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t want people to know that I was entering the menopause, as I didn’t want them to think I was old.”
It was owing to her struggles with endometriosis that doctors advised Andrea to have the radical surgery, finally ridding her of the painful symptoms of the complaint and the debilitating side-effects of treatment.
In the 24 hours that followed her statement, more than 10,000 women got in touch to ask for advice, thanking her for her openness about a life event, which will affect 50% of the population.
“I realised there were so many women out there all desperate to talk to someone about the menopause. There is a lot of misinformation around the subject, and it was while I was trying to help people on a one-to-one basis that I got the idea for a book.”
And so, helped by a team of medical, dietary and fitness specialists, Andrea wrote Confessions of a Menopausal Woman: an honest bid to offer support to women who were perimenopausal or already in the throes of what has historically been dubbed ‘the change’.
The book talks frankly about the signs and symptoms of menopause – from the standard hot sweats to the aforementioned dryness. And Andrea has also been candid about how it has impacted her relationship with husband number three, businessman Nick Feeney, detailing everything from her loss of libido to mood swings. Her advice: talk about it.
“That will be awkward, but the longer you leave it, the worse it will be,” she warns.
The book’s success led Andrea and Nick to create This Girl Is On Fire, a lifestyle and wellbeing website dedicated to empowering women of a certain age, urging them to take life by the scruff of the neck. And Andrea is certainly leading by example. Not only is she about to embark on a one-woman tour entitled Confessions, but 2019 has also seen her complete a 10km run in her underwear and survive a celebrity version of SAS: Who Dares Wins to raise money for Stand Up to Cancer.
“I am 50 this year and, like a lot of people, I began to ask: ‘What am I here for? What will the second half of my life be about?’ People can start to feel a bit lost.
“The website is all about making women feel they can do anything and that they shouldn’t let anything hold them back. I can’t really shout about that and then not follow my own advice.
“My passion is making women feel better about themselves,” she enthuses. “When you hit middle age you are not halfway done – you’re just halfway there. We have a huge amount of life experience to share and we need to celebrate it.”
Andrea McLean is touring the UK with Confessions – The Live Tour from Sept 24. For tickets visit thisgirlisonfire.co.uk. Her book, Confessions of a Menopausal Woman, is available from all good bookshops.
