Andrea spoke candidly
Former Loose Women star Andrea McLean appeared on Vogue Williams' podcast with ,, and spoke openly about her menopause experience.
READ: How to fix your sex and relationship issues during menopause
The presenter, who is 53, was plunged into menopause at 46 following a hysterectomy after suffering with endometriosis for her whole life. Andrea shared that she had high hopes that she'd lose weight following the serious operation.
WATCH: Carol Vorderman spoke candidly about her menopause experience
"I thought I'd lose at least a stone and have a flatter tummy, but it made no difference," she joked, before going on to explain that her sex drive dropped during menopause.
READ: What to do when menopause impacts your work, according to an HR expert
MORE: Why can't I sleep during menopause? The real reason
Talking about experiencing vaginal dryness as a result of a drop in oestrogen, which made sex painful, Andrea said: "If something hurts, why on earth would you want to keep doing it?"
Explaining how she broached the subject with her partner, she said: "It's not that I don't fancy you, it's that it really hurts."
Andrea found sex painful during menopause
Andrea also spoke openly about how menopause impacted her at work, sharing that hot flushes left her worried to be on live TV.
READ: Strictly's Shirley Ballas reveals isolating menopause crisis: 'My body didn't function'
"You'd be in the middle of [the show] and you could just feel the heat build and build and build. The sweat would be all around my hairline, I couldn't raise my arms, it was just terrible," she said.
Andrea struggled with hot flushes
The 53-year-old went on to share that she picked up a top tip from the wardrobe team.
"Top tip: pantyliners under the armpits – gamechanger, I used to do that every day," she said, sharing that the wardrobe team said that they used the trick on male presenters all the time to stop them from sweating.
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