Five years ago, Michelle Bridges had never even heard of the term ‘perimenopause’.
Now, the 54-year-old is opening up about her own experience with perimenopause and how it’s shaped the next chapter of her career.
“For several years, women were coming at us saying, ‘Please do something for menopause,” she said on the Stellar podcast over the weekend.
“I remember going, ‘I’ll get onto that.’ And at the same time, in the back of my mind, [I was thinking], ‘Do I wanna be a woman in the fitness industry admitting to or talking about menopause?’
“But I gave myself a good talking to and said, ‘Michelle, you’ve always championed and empowered women. By not saying anything, you are perpetuating the ageism and taboo around this topic,” she added.
Michelle has now penned her 18th book The Perimenopause Method, which she says is a manual for women experiencing perimenopause.
“When I first started talking about this, no-one wanted to talk to me,” she said on Something To Talk About. “I found it a bit frustrating. At the time it was very unsexy, very taboo, with a lot of shameful connotations around it.
“It’s still a topic a lot of ladies don’t want to go near, because they fear it may affect their career, because they may get looked upon as being whingers, or ‘Does that mean if she’s menopausal, she can have a sick day?’
“That attitude is very old school, but it’s still there.”
The mum-of-one recently opened up about being ghosted on her first date in five years, after splitting from her former partner and former The Biggest Loser co-star Steve ‘Commando’ Willis.
“Sharing for my single ladies,” the TV personality posted to her Instagram stories, alongside a selfie of herself on the way home from the date.
“I went of a first date tonight. The FIRST date I’ve had in 5.5 years. (I looked frickin hot btw),” she continued. “And I got stood up.”
The personal trainer went on to explain that while she was waiting for her date who never turned up, she met someone else.
“Met someone who said ‘you look lost, can I help you?’ (So sweet and very handsome). We sat for 2 hours and chatted and laughed. He’s like way too young but at this point who cares!” she said.
“What a start??!!? Who does that???” she continued. “Great content!!!”
Michelle and Steve met on the set of The Biggest Loser and welcomed a son named Axel in 2015.
Last year, she told WHO she was “consciously single” and enjoying the freedom of being alone in her 50s.
“I just feel very independent and I really like it,” she explained. “And no, I’m not looking for love. At all. I haven’t been on a date for four and a half years. I’m good with that. I’m in a time right now where it’s all about my son and about me, too. And I tell you, it’s going to have to be someone pretty darn special for me to let them into this joyous life that I have.
“I get the question a lot – ‘are you looking for love?’ And I’m not. Every now and again I might think, ‘Damn, I’ve got to get the tyre changed or I need to fix that light fitting’. But you can always get someone in for that. I feel empowered by being independent. It’s the longest I’ve been on my own and I don’t plan on changing that any time soon.”
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