Zoe Hardman has candidly discussed her experience with the early menopause and how the experience left her feeling incredibly low.
The presenter, 37, said she began experiencing menopausal symptoms towards the end of last year after developing the hereditary condition, which her sister, mother and grandmother have also faced.
Zoe revealed that the confusing experience left her in constant ‘waves of tears’, as she credits her husband Paul Doran-Jones, 35, for ‘picking her up off the floor’, when she was struggling with the condition.
Opening up: Zoe Hardman has candidly discussed her experience with the early menopause and how the experience left her feeling incredibly low
On Thursday, Zoe took to Instagram as she shared an image of her upcoming Fabulous magazine cover and penned an impassioned caption about her ordeal.
The star admitted that she wanted to be ‘brave’, in the hope of ‘normalising’ the condition and helping other women who are also experiencing it.
Zoe, who is mum to Luna, three, and Kit, two, wrote: ‘It’s time for me to be brave. It’s time to talk about early menopause.
Strong: Zoe, who is mum to Luna, three, and Kit, two (pictured), wrote: ‘It’s time for me to be brave. It’s time to talk about early menopause’
‘2020 has chucked some really challenging things at me, but this one is at the top of the list. Before I had my children, my wonderful sister very sadly went through premature ovarian failure at 34. We knew it was hereditary as both my mum and grandma went through it at 40.
Detailing her symptoms, she wrote: ‘Towards the end of last year I started to experience some pretty horrible symptoms; hot flushes, night sweats, dizziness, headaches & a whole host of other issues.’
Zoe explained that her husband Paul, who she married in 2017, has been her rock throughout and picked her up when she was feeling down.
Supportive: Zoe revealed that the confusing experience left her in constant ‘waves of tears’, as she credits her husband Paul Doran-Jones, 35, for ‘picking her up off the floor’, when she was struggling with the condition
She said: ‘In January of this year I was so low I didn’t know what to do…the waves of tears just wouldn’t go away…my amazing husband was instrumental in me getting the help I needed and picking me up off the floor every day.’
‘This Sunday, in the brilliant you can read my full interview on what happened & how I am today. Menopause is NOTHING to be ashamed about, or embarrassed by…the more we talk, the more we normalise it & raise awareness that it can happen earlier than we think sometimes.’
Signing off, she said: ‘But together as women we can support each other through this time in our lives, whenever that may be. Big love, Zo xx.’
In 2016, Zoe urged women to consider having their eggs frozen in their 20s as she discussed her own fertility struggles during an appearance on This Morning.
Before welcoming her two children, Zoe worried she would be unable to fall pregnant after her sister went through early menopause at the age of just 34.
Appearing on the magazine show alongside her older sibling Kathryn, emotional Zoe discussed her journey and undergoing IVF treatment, describing discovering she had a low egg count as a ‘ticking time bomb’.
Talking to presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, the Heart FM host said: ‘I have a very low AMH rate, which is anti-mullerian hormone, one of the markers for low ovarian reserves. So basically I don’t have many eggs left.’
Describing her thoughts after learning of her chances of conceiving, Zoe said: ‘It felt like a ticking time bomb to me.’
‘I said, “What do I do?” It felt like a ticking time bomb, and I tried to go for an egg freeze. He [Paul] kept very calm. He said we’ll deal with it together.’
IVF wasn’t straightforward for Zoe, with the TV presenter explaining her struggle with the gruelling process.
She said: ‘I had to spend 12 days injecting my stomach. In the end they didn’t even harvest them.’
Despite Zoe’s low ovarian count, she and her partner Paul learnt that they were to become parents at the end of 2015.
Though her happy moment came at a difficult time for her sister Kathryn, who discovered she had gone into the premature menopause at the age of just 34.
Having been on the pill for such a long-time, Kathryn explained that she didn’t realise that she had POI (Primary Ovarian Insufficiency) – and it was only recently that she discovered she had the condition.
Speaking out: The star admitted that she wanted to be ‘brave’, in the hope of ‘normalising’ the condition and helping other women who are also experiencing it (pictured with Paul and son Kit)
Kathryn explained: ‘I remember it started when I came over all dizzy and lightheaded. I’d been away abroad, so when I came back I thought I was suffering from malaria.’
But after confiding in Zoe, who told her it sounded like the menopause, Kathryn was diagnosed with POI, a condition which their grandmother had also suffered from.
Zoe explained they discovered the condition ran in their family, saying: ‘Our grandma had it [the menopause] quite early on. She was in her forties when she got the menopause.’
Love: Zoe explained that her husband Paul, who she married in 2017, has been her rock throughout and picked her up when she was feeling down
Kathryn said of the devastating diagnosis: ‘They thought it was initially malaria. I went to my GP who was amazing. But then she said I think it could be the menopause. I told them all about my mum.
‘My whole world fell apart. I sat in the consultant’s office and just burst into tears. There was a bit of hope that it wasn’t.
‘It has been one of the toughest years of my life but I couldn’t be more thrilled Zoe is expecting a baby.’
Both sisters were unaware of the condition before Kathryn’s diagnosis, and they were at pains to share their own fertility experiences with the public to raise awareness when it comes to POI.
Speaking out: In 2016, Zoe urged women to consider having their eggs frozen in their 20s as she discussed her own fertility struggles during an appearance on This Morning
Brave: Appearing on the magazine show alongside her older sibling Kathryn, emotional Zoe discussed her journey and undergoing IVF treatment
According to The Daisy Network, an organisation set up to provide information on the condition, the Premature Menopause is a condition that mirrors the menopause, but occurs much earlier in women – aged 20-45.
With POI the ovaries often don’t completely fail, meaning that there could still be a chance to conceive.
Approximately one in every 100 women under the age of 40, one in 1,000 women under 30 and one in 10,000 under 20 experience POI.
Elsewhere, Zoe has been spending the lockdown period with her retired rugby star husband Paul and their two children.
The doting mum recently told how she found her first few weeks of motherhood a ‘terrifying’ experience.
Speaking on Sky Sunrise, she said: ‘It’s a terrifying time. You’re growing a human for nearly 10 months and then you leave the hospital and you have a stranger in your own home that you’re supposed to be bonding with and breastfeeding.
‘You can feel very isolated, very lonely and the tears come. It’s really important to talk because we all need a big hug and to know the end is in sight.’
Family: Elsewhere, Zoe has been spending the lockdown period with her retired rugby star husband Paul and their two children