Lorraine Kelly opened up about why breaking the menopause taboo and empowering women is a cause so close to her heart.
The 61-year-old TV presenter is recalling a holiday in Spain with her husband around a decade ago, when she really wasn't feeling herself.
"We were sitting in the sun, we were having a lovely lunch, we were going to meet friends later - and I was just so miserable and couldn't feel any joy. I was joyless," the famously lovely and upbeat TV host reflects.
"That's what it was, joyless. My husband said, 'This is not you, is anything bothering you, what are you worried about?' - because he's great, I can talk to him about anything, and I said, 'I honestly don't know'."
Soon after, it did click into place - Kelly was going through menopause.
The hormone changes that occur during this phase can affect women very differently, causing a host of physical and mental symptoms of varying severity.
While things like hot flushes are well known, often the effects of menopause can creep up on people in much less obvious ways.
"For me, it really manifested in just feeling flat, no joy in anything, it was really strange," says the Glasgow-born presenter. "
As soon as I got HRT, my husband said, 'I've got you back'.
I'd got myself back, that's how it felt; it was amazing."
Kelly has teamed up with Always Discreet on their new campaign, seeking to redefine our understanding of menopause and empower women to live it 'their way'.
The brand recently surveyed 1,000 UK women - more than half agreed menopause is so much more than 'when your periods stop' (how it's currently defined in the dictionary).
