This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil - You Might Also Like: The Tamsen Show

Episode Date: March 17, 2025

Introducing Halle Berry: I Thought I Would Skip Menopause from The Tamsen Show.Follow the show: The Tamsen Show Hollywood said this would be a career ender. Doctors dismissed her. But Halle Berry refused to be silenced and made sure the world heard her voice on Capitol Hill. In the premiere episode of The Tamsen Show, Halle opens up like never before about the shocking way she learned she was in menopause, why women have been misled by the medical community, and how she’s fighting to change the narrative around aging and women’s health for good.Halle Berry is the founder of the women’s longevity and wellness platform Re-spin, an Academy Award-winning actress, filmmaker, entrepreneur, and advocate leading a new conversation around menopause and culture.She gets real about finding love in later life, letting go of the pressure to be forever 35, and why menopause is a basic human rights issue. If Halle Berry couldn’t find answers about her own body, it’s no wonder millions of women are struggling too.Halle is giving us solutions. If you want to thrive in your second act, listen now to learn:• The truth about menopause and why women deserve better• How menopause almost ruined Halle’s relationship and the harsh reality of painful sex• How to take control of your sex life with confidence• The most important lesson Halle learned about advocating for her own body• What Halle Berry does to look and feel her best in menopause, including her go-to health, beauty, and longevity secrets• The power of community and how to feel less alone→ If you love the podcast and want to support it, please subscribe and rate us 5 stars! Your support helps amplify women's stories and keeps these important conversations going.Join Tamsen's newsletter and be part of an incredible community of women navigating life together. Get expert insights, real conversations, and the latest updates straight to your inbox. Sign up here: https://www.tamsenfadal.com/subscribe Follow The Tamsen Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetamsenshow/Watch the Full Episode Here: https://www.youtube.com/@TamsenFadalTVFollow Tamsen Fadal:Website: https://www.tamsenfadal.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/tamsenfadalTik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tamsenfadalPre-order How to Menopause, Tamsen's upcoming book featuring insights from 42 leading experts in the field, coming March 25, 2025! -For a limited time, you can try Respin Health for a whole month, free. Go to re-spin.com/tamsen to get started. Get a personalized menopause care plan, a menopause coach who will guide you through the entire journey and an entire support system to make last changing. Note: Limited spots available, first come first serve. No credit card necessary.Medical Disclaimer:The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical concerns or treatment options. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Tamsen Show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices DISCLAIMER: Please note, this is an independent podcast episode not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in conjunction with the host podcast feed or any of its media entities. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the creators and guests. For any concerns, please reach out to [e-mail].

You stood in DC shouting at the top of your lungs like, could somebody pay attention? I'm in menopause! Why have we accepted this? We have been drinking the Kool-Aid. Menopause has been Hollywood's best kept secret. If you weren't young, you weren't valuable. If you were struggling, you stayed silent.

I mean, I was a journalist for 30 years. I never said the word on television. Even Halle Berry, one of the most powerful women in the industry was told to keep quiet. Some people said to me, ooh, that's gonna be a career ender. If it was this hard for her to get answers, what does that mean for the rest of us? He looked at me and he said, I don't wanna say it.

I said, what, say it. He said, I can't. I said, menopause, right. He said, yes. And I said, why can't you say that? And he said, I can't say that. Look at you, I can't tell you you're in menopause. And I'm like.

Now she's sitting down with me on the Tamsen show to break the silence and to share what she's learned, what still needs to change, and how she's creating a space to support women through menopause. What do you do on a daily basis? Get a whole list of stuff that I will not miss. I have to take.

For the first time, she's revealing exactly how she thrives in menopause and what every woman needs to know. And if Halle Berry is willing to put her name on the line to change the conversation, so are we. It's only our favorite topic. -♪ Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey is really a gift as I'm talking to actress and entrepreneur Halle Berry. Halle's a menopause, how do we know that? Well, she stood on Capitol Hill last year and screamed it for all of us.

Through her advocacy work, she's pushing for better women's healthcare, education, and a deeper societal understanding. In an industry that really demands we fight to preserve our youth, Halle says there is no way we can be forever 35. At 58, she wants every woman to know menopause isn't the end. What she's about to share will change how you take charge of yourself and your health forever.

Halle Berry, welcome to the Tamsen Show. Nice to see you. Thank you. Thank you for having me. I've been a huge fan of yours. I'm a huge fan of yours. First of all, I want to say it has been brilliant to see what you have done and so needed to see what you've done because we've needed voices getting louder and louder. I listened to you in an interview say that making a difference for women in midlife was a reason that you get up every day and the reason that you stay up late at night.

Yes, besides my hot flashes. Besides the hot flashes and night sweats. But yeah, it's become the single most important part of the work that I will do in my second act. The single most important, for sure. What made you know that that was where you were going to be? Did it happen to you? Did it happen to you that it came to you as this is it

versus you're going through it, right? But then you kept saying like, wait a this is it versus you're going through it, right? But then you kept saying like, wait a minute, it's not just about me now, it's about all women. Right. Well, I think the minute I realized that I was in perimenopause, I was 54 years old, and I found out in the most heinous way to me to find this out and I realized that I knew so little nobody had ever talked to me and I had this knowing that if I knew so little and I

Feel like I have some world-class doctors in California And if none of them really sat me down and talked about this time of my life and prepared me in any way That I'm sure millions and millions of other women are just as in the dark as I was. So I knew that as I advocated for myself, I would essentially be advocating for all women because we all, if we live long enough and aging is a privilege, we're all gonna go through it.

But we can't go through it being stuck on stupid. We can't go through it. Very well said. With no information. That's not, that's not, that's not sustainable. We deserve better. We do deserve better. And there's a lot that has to be done to get us to better.

I know you've told the story before, but can you talk about that? Because that story I think is heinous and shocking. Shocking. And so upsetting on so many different levels. Yeah. Well, first of all, I thought I would skip menopause. Whatever that was, I thought, you know,

I got myself off insulin. I'm a type two diabetic. I weaned myself off insulin, then off oral medication. So there was a feeling of, hey, I can do pretty much anything I wanna do if I eat right and exercise and prioritize my health and well-being. So I thought whatever menopause is, I don't know much about it, but I'm sure I'm going

to skip it because I'm too healthy. I'm too on top of everything. So when I finally met, which I believe now is the true love of my life, I finally meet my life partner and we're having the best time two can have, right? And we have one night of amazing sex. I wake up the next morning and I try to go to the bathroom and I can't do it.

I cannot do it. I am in the most excruciating pain. Other than having a scratched cornea, there was nothing more painful that I was going through. And it literally took me about 10 minutes to empty my bladder because I had to do it little bit by little bit because it was just so painful. And I went to him and I said,

something's really, really wrong with me. I have to go to the doctor right now. I don't know what this is. It's not a bladder infection. It's not, there's something really wrong. So I go to the doctor and my doctor, who I had for a very long time, did the examination and upon looking up there he said, I can tell you exactly what this is. Okay what?

He said this is a bad case of herpes. And I said, herpes? How do I have herpes? He said, I don't know, but I'll do the test because I should do it, but I'm telling you, that's what it is. I'll call you in three days when I get the results. And I was horrified. I'm having this new guy in my life where,

and not that herpes is a death sentence, but you would just think if we're in a relationship and if you have herpes, you would just share that information. It's not a deal breaker, but I would like to know that. So I go down there to him and I say, so what, so you got herpes? He said, I don't have her that. So I go down there to him and I say, so what, so you got herpes? He said, I don't have herpes.

I'm like, well, yeah, you do because now I have herpes and I didn't have it before I knew you. So yeah, you do. And we did this dance back and forth and he was convinced he didn't have it. So he did the responsible thing. Well, I told him, you're going to go get a test because we're going to find out that you do have herpes because somehow. So we do this test and for 72 hours we are both just questioning each other and why wouldn't you tell me this? Like it's really it's okay and you know trust comes into play and you

just you know so we do that whole dance. So first of all he gets his phone call first his doctor calls him and says well nope you don't have herpes. So he's like, told you, I don't have herpes and good thing you didn't give it to me. I don't know why you have it, but thank God I don't. My doctor calls about two hours after that and says the same thing, you don't have herpes. I said, I don't have herpes. And he's like, did you want to have herpes? I'm like, no, but you told me I had herpes. And now then what do I have? What is this then? Did not know.

Don't know, but it's not herpes. No, it was kind of like, be glad about that. I was glad about that, but I was even more disturbed because I didn't have an answer for what I did have. So that was the inciting incident that sort of sent me down the rabbit hole of doing my own investigation and reconnaissance and reading and reading and

Realizing that it was you know, dry vagina syndrome all of our orifice get dry right eyes mouth and vagina and I've got dry all three right and that got me on my journey of discovery and what made me realize I would be a part of Respin and building a company that would be the company that I wished I had, the support that I wish I had, so that I didn't have to arrive at this moment at 54, just gobsmacked and not having one of my doctors having had a conversation with me about this time of life.

They should have been having it with me when I was 40, right? But now I'm 54, so almost 15 years into this change of life, nobody had talked to me about it. I'm sorry that you went through that. And especially when I think about that initial diagnosis, and I think about those 72 hours with somebody that you care about, you're getting to know, you've been intimate with now, this is somebody you wanna be with,

and to have that lack of feeling of trust, and I mean, it's awful on so many different levels. It is, you know? And it's also, I think, cruel to make a diagnosis before you've done a test. That's know, that's something all doctors should know. Yeah, never do that No, never never tell someone something like that before you know what, you know, please read a chapter on menopause. Yeah somewhere Just one I want to talk about respin health and I want to talk about What you've done because it is so needed, it is

so necessary, it's going to bring women who don't even know how confused they're going to be during this time information so they don't feel confused. Can you talk about the platform, where the idea came from and what you hope it does for women and community? I will talk about it but I have to say this. It's doing the same thing your book is doing. You're teaching us how to menopause. Thank you. And I know I have gained so much information

from reading your book, and it's also just realizing I'm not alone. There's so many stories that I go, yep, yep, yep, yep. And it's so affirming and reassuring when you can read words of other women. So thank you for your book being a guide. It's gonna be sort of our Bible at Respin.

Thank you. I want you to know that because we all need a book to go to. Thank you. To find the answers. I mean so much. Thank you for that. We're all in this together, right?

Well, but Respin came about because as I said, I wanted to build the community that I wish I had. What I've learned is that the more I can talk to women, even the conversations we've had here today, the more I can talk to other women, the better I feel. We all go through it in such a different way. There's 100 symptoms of menopause for God's sakes, and we all go through it differently.

So having a community that we can talk to, other women that we can hear from, just right away helps us to de-stigmatize it. We have to get it out of our bodies. We have to talk about what's happened to us, how little we know about it. We have to ask each other questions. So that's a big part of what Respin is, a community of like-minded women and men. We're going to have some forums for men because men need to understand what's happening. Every man knows a woman, loves a woman, works with a woman, right, has a daughter. So men need to also be educated.

But so it's about community. And then the respin is about care. How do we get the best care for ourselves, right? So we have health coaches that will be there to help hold your hand, help you devise a plan for yourself, give you the most accurate information based on science, right, and clinical trials and studies, not just wild, wild west, well, I heard this, I heard that,

but always fact-based information that we can rely on as women, because I believe that when we make decisions for ourselves from an educated place We feel empowered. Nobody's telling us what to do We are deciding what to do based on the information that we've been given right and then I think those are Therapies or plans that we can stick to because we know why we're doing it and we kind of have chosen it and I think it's true when we say most people need some support to go through this. I know I've

needed support in my whole life. I haven't, I've done nothing alone. So why should we have to menopause alone? So we need a community and we need a coach to help us do that and help us make the right decisions for ourself. If we wanna get HRT, we'll help you find your path to HRT. If you wanna go a more holistic route because most, a lot of people don't wanna go on HRT, that's fine.

We'll help you find what that path should be, help you figure out how to eat better, how to exercise. Everything changes when you get to this time of life. And we'll be there to do that. And one of the big things that we're doing at Respin is the more we can talk to women, the more information we can put into our AI database. And that's how we'll be able to actually figure out

how women are going through menopause. We have to get the information. We have to hear from women. We have to understand how we're all experiencing this time of life in a different way. That's how we're going to get information. It's almost like we're going to start studying us at Respin so we can actually gain that data for ourselves along with the clinical trials and studies that are going on. But it's so necessary because no one has studied us really. The fact that we are

essentially begging people to study us at this point and that's really what is happening. Yes. You stood in DC, shouting at the top of your lungs like, could somebody pay attention? Yes. And people did. But that is the first time people have started paying attention and it's just shocking to me. Well, because it's been such a taboo, you know, and as women, you know, we have to claim ownership in that taboo because we've been drinking the Kool-Aid, we've been brainwashed and we've been made to believe that it is taboo, we can't talk about it.

And we've also been made to believe that we're only valuable if we're forever 35, right? And we believe, I know when I was 35, I thought that, I thought, my God, one thing I don't wanna do is get old. But now that I'm older, I'm like, this God, one thing I don't want to do is get old. You know? But now that I'm older, I'm like, this is the best thing I could have done. I'm still here. I'm smarter.

I'm wiser. I'm more confident. Like, this is an amazing place to, it's a blessing to age. It really is. What do you love about this time in life? Because I mean, I just have my own thoughts about what I love. And I was just like you, I was like 30, 35. If I get beyond this, they're not gonna want me anymore.

In the workplace, you feel like in your relationships you'll be less desirable. Like all of these things play, work a havoc on us psychologically and it's hard. And then when we look around, we see women today turning themselves into monsters to stay eternally 35. You know, at some point, we have to stop that and allow ourselves to do what we're born to do,

which is age, but find a graceful way to do it so that we don't turn ourselves into versions of a shell of who we really are because we're searching for eternal youth. It's just, why is that the goal? Why does that have to be the goal? I don't know, I think about it now and I actually think about like,

what have I learned on the other side of this, right? My mother didn't live past 51, so I never had that roadmap of what happens next. And so seeing women of our age doing beautiful things, I mean, a second chapter, you have done so much and there's so much more I can see that you're doing with Respin. And it's just, it's gotta be tremendous every day

to know the impact that you're gonna have on women, not just our age, but the younger generation who should know this at 40 years old, who should know this at 35 years old. Yes, and Respin will be a place for them too. We'll have younger forums and younger groups and chats because they need to know what to expect. You know better, you do better.

So when they know how to prepare for midlife, they will arrive at midlife in a much better, much more empowered place. And I also want them to know it's nothing to be afraid of. I know. It's nothing to be afraid of, right? As so many of you know, I'm in the middle of my book tour right now

and my schedule has been crazy. I've been flying all over the country. So eating five servings of fruits and vegetables is almost impossible these days. We're human. I don't always eat healthy. You don't always eat healthy. You don't always eat healthy.

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promise. Your doctor will notice your improved health or your money back. Let me get you started with my special discount. I got you 20% off for your first order. Just use the code TAM What would you like to see happen with regard to the research and the clinical trials that need to be done at this point? Because I know that you've had your finger on the pulse of those. I know you're very aware of everything that's going on in DC, but there's so many different areas that we have work to do.

We do. We have work to do in every area, because estrogen is in every cell of our body, so it affects every organ in our body, our brains, our hearts, our bones. All of our systems are run off estrogen. And so when that changes, everything about our body changes. And so we need more research in every single area, quite honestly. And I know that it affects brown and black women disproportionately. And I want to know why is that? Why is that?

Nobody's been able to answer that question. We know that it's true, but I'm searching for the why. Because if we can figure out the why, maybe we can mitigate that question. We know that it's true, but I'm searching for the why, because if we can figure out the why, maybe we can mitigate that fact, you know? But we don't know why. So more research, more research. Yeah, we don't. We hear that symptoms can start earlier, last longer, and be more intense. And yes, nobody can say why that's going on. You know, how to talk about lifestyle changes, how to talk about hormonal versus non-hormonal, it's shocking that this is really the first part of that conversation.

And most women are getting that information from community or from online and not even doctors at this point. Yes. And you know, and I feel like doctors, and I don't blame doctors, and I don't even blame my doctor that misdiagnosed me. I really don't. He did the best he could. He wasn't educated in school on our menopausal body.

It wasn't made to be a subject that had great importance. So it's not really his fault, but I will start blaming doctors because now that we're out here talking about it loud and proud and we're demanding that we deserve better, I am going to start blaming doctors if they don't go back and get retooled and they don't really work very hard to understand what's happening to half the population for half of their life.

I think it will become something that I think they should be held accountable for pretty soon. I agree with you, and especially because there are so many different solutions out there that we're seeing more and more come up and Lifestyle changes have to be part of that solution. Yes, be poo-pooed as you know do do this one pill or this one patch or this one thing and everything else is just You know optional. Yeah, and because we go through it all so differently. How can it be like a one? It's not a one-trick pony When you were at the Capitol and you shouted,

I'm in menopause. Did you know the reaction that was going to get when you went back and looked at it? I just, I could feel it was in your, you know, it was just like in your, it just came from you, you know? And I, I was so happy when I saw that the first time I went, oh, thank goodness somebody, she is saying this out loud. Did you, did you have any idea when you went back and looked at that?

No, I didn't care. Yeah, I love that. I was so angry in that moment. So angry. Why were you so angry? Because I had to be there and I had to be shouting and I had to wake people up to the importance of this topic, you know?

I was angry when I really realized that I reached 54 and nobody had talked to me about this. I was angry. I felt that I had been unseen for so long and uncared for, you know, and marginalized. And I was angry. I was really angry when I first went to Washington. And I tried to, you know, keep my lid on because I wanted to do some good work. But I was seething. because I wanted to do some good work, but I was seething. I was really seething that I even had to be there fighting for the basic human rights of women in 2024 at the time.

Yeah, it's stunning. And not all reaction has been like, thank you so much, right, you've had a lot of different, I think we all have had a lot of different reaction, but you've had people come up to you directly and say, eh, why are you doing this? Yeah, and like I just told you earlier that, sometimes when I talk in these health seminars

or talks to a group of people, I look out in the audience and I see the face of usually men and they just look gobsmacked, or they looked bored or they're looking at their watch or their phone or like they're not really interested and they come up to me afterwards and they're looking at their watch or their phone, or like they're not really interested, and they come up to me afterwards, and they're like, that was hard to hear. I don't know if I needed to hear that.

And I said, you don't know if you needed to hear that. I said, well, I don't know if I need to be going through this, but guess what? I am, and there's nothing I can do about it. So you're gonna have to hear it, buddy. I'm really sorry, but you're gonna have to hear it, buddy. I'm really sorry, but you're gonna have to hear it. And that part has been liberating to sort of force it on some people because we're not gonna get change

if we don't. We will not get people to wake up if we don't make them sit through some uncomfortable conversations, talk about things they don't wanna talk about, right? Women, you have to be able to talk with your husbands about what's going on with your body. I have a friend that almost got a divorce. He was married for 22 years.

He said to me one day, he said, I don't know what's wrong with my wife. I think I'm gonna get a divorce. I said, what do you mean what's wrong with your wife? Why is it her fault? He said, every time I go to try to touch her and I want to get intimate, she pulls away. I think she's cheating.

She no longer wants me anymore. We have no sex life anymore. And I said, let me tell you something. Go talk to her about what's going on down there. Go talk to her about the fact that she might be going through menopause. And he said, I can't talk to my wife about that.

I said, this is your problem. You have to go talk to her about it. And he swore to can't talk to my wife about that. I said, this is your problem. You have to go talk to her about it. And he swore to me he couldn't. I can't do that. She's already not into me. If I try to make her feel like she's old, I can kiss her goodbye. I said, go talk to her.

I'm requiring you to go talk to her. I love that. And you know what he found out? That every time he went to touch her, it's not that she didn't want him. She thought that every touch he went to touch her, it's not that she didn't want him, she thought that every touch or every moment that she felt like he was trying to be intimate, it was going to lead to sex.

And sex had become so painful, she didn't wanna have sex, so she was just trying to avoid it at all cost. But it had nothing to do with her desire to be with him or she was still in love with him. And they almost got a divorce. He almost filed for a divorce because he was sure she was no longer interested

and she was probably having an affair. Oh my gosh. And just one conversation. Were they so grateful to you for that? Because pushing that, that wouldn't have happened. No, it wouldn't have happened. And this is, he would have been a part of that statistic. You know, you're married for 20, 25 years,

and then you just think you've lost the spark of your relationship because you're not communicating about the things that really matter at that time of life. You're too afraid. It's too stigmatized. And so you just stay quiet and you divorce. And now they're thriving. Oh, I love hearing that.

You notice though how these all kind of fall into these patterns because I completely, the minute you said that, I was like, I bet that she's scared it's going to lead to sex. Like that's, that's what I was thinking. Cause I understand it. I, I went through it. I got remarried at 50 years old. And so in, in those, those are real, those are real things that you don't want to, you don't even know how to talk about, right? Even if you think you do know how to talk about them. Right. But something I learned, you have it in your book too, is that why does that time of life, like when you're at this stage

and you're going through menopause, it gets better. And why? Because like you said, it's true for me too, you take your time now. You have to take your time now. So it's no longer a, in our youth, it could sometimes be like a wham bam thank you man. Totally.

Now, it can't be no wham bam thank you nothing. You have to take time and it becomes an experience now that I so look forward to because you just have to take your time. So we can get to where we need to get and when we get there it's like a whole new experience. And so I want women to know it does get better once you know what to do, you know better, you do better.

It does get better. I love that what to do, you know better, you do better, it does get better. I love that. I want them to hear that from you because I think that it's sometimes hard to convey that when you're going through the painful sex and feeling low libido, feeling not confident. So all those things just kind of pile on and you don't know where to begin unraveling at all.

But it does get better. And I think there's a couple of things that, you know, women should know they have to get to know themselves too. And I think we haven't spent a lot of time doing that. I mean, or even being taught how to do that. And get comfortable with ourselves too. And our changing bodies, you know, realizing we're not going to be forever 35 and who wants to be.

But find the beauty in this stage and have self-acceptance, have self-love. We can't expect someone else to accept us and love us if we can't do that for ourselves, right? So we have to work on that. And only we can make those shifts. You are very clear at who you are. And that's always, that's a really beautiful thing. When somebody knows who they are and they understand,

you know, what they believe and what's next for them. And I know that doesn't always, it comes easy, it comes with a lot of work. Where did you get that feeling and that confidence and that understanding at this age of who you are? Being a black woman, I have always had to have a clear understanding of who I was in every stage.

You know, I have felt behind the eight ball my whole life, being a black woman, like a double whammy, and I've always had to fake it until, fake it till you make it syndrome. I had to believe in myself when nobody believed in me in order to get anywhere. And so now that I reached this stage of my life, it's the same philosophy that I still carry with me.

I had to believe in my own worth since I can remember believing anything. And so the ability to believe in my own worth now that I've reached this new stage of life and I'm morphing into another version of myself, I've gotta believe it before I can get other people to believe that this is can get other people to believe that this is a very valuable stage of life for me

and that I'm just getting started with something new. I have to believe that, because I've always had to believe that about myself. So that's my journey. Well, I love that and I can feel it. And I think that people want to know where to find that confidence. This is a difficult time, but when they see you feeling confident about talking about it, talking about menopause, I have to imagine most of Hollywood's like, oh,

thank goodness she's saying this. Finally, somebody is speaking for us because I know that those are careers and that's where you're trying to be forever 25 for goodness sake. Well, you know, when I first sort of put the word out to some feelers to my close inner circle that I was gonna now go on this second act, menopause movement, you'd be surprised. Some people said to me,

ooh, that's gonna be a career ender. Are you ready to just go do that and quit acting? Because that could be really, are you ready to just go do that and quit acting? Because that could be really, are you sure you wanna align yourself with the word menopause? Like, you know what that means and you know. And I said, that's exactly why I wanna align my name with that word, because that's what needs to change.

You're saying that we're not enough because we're going through a natural part of being a woman. You're diminishing me because I'm doing something that I have no choice not to do. And you're diminishing me for that. You're the ones thinking about this in a wrong way, not me. And that's exactly why I'm doing it.

And if I don't have any more parts, then I don't have any more parts. And that's not what's happened at all. It's not what's gonna happen because I I say no, that's not gonna happen. Absolutely. That's not gonna happen. Absolutely, I'm so glad you did. I'm so glad you've had your voice, and I think that it's going to change this narrative,

and we're gonna get rid of that word taboo at some point, which is what is so necessary. What would you tell 35-year-old Halle? Oh, girl, do not fear aging. Cause I was afraid of it at 35 if I'm honest. I was like every woman. I don't want that to happen to me. I would tell myself, honey, don't be afraid of that.

You're gonna feel like your best self then. And at 35, I couldn't have imagined that. But I couldn't have imagined sitting in a room and feeling like no matter who's on the other side of me, I can say exactly what I want to say, whether you like it or not. Always be respectful and kind because I want people to treat me that way,

but I have a right to have my feelings. I have a right to say exactly what I wanna say. And I didn't feel that way at 35. I was still the dancing bear. I was still trying to please everybody and I wanted everybody to like me and I wanted to be the good girl. And I'm no longer her.

I'm no longer her and that feels so empowered. And I wish my 35 year old self knew that this day was coming. I love that though, cause everybody gets that. Everyone feels that. I want everyone to like me. I want everyone, but I think we get here because of what we've, because of the roads, right?

Because of what we've gone through, what we haven't gone through, who we've met along the way. And so maybe it's true we can't get here a moment before we get here because it's those life experiences, I guess, that allow us to be here today as women of almost the same age saying,

I don't really care what anybody thinks about me anymore. I'm sure glad you're here. Yeah. Thank you. You know, you've taken on a whole new business career pivot. There's a lot that goes with it. Have there been stresses along the way? Has it been exciting along the way?

What do you want to see happen with Respin and where it goes? And I know there's different pillars of it. Yes, yes. with with Respin and where it goes and I know there's different pillars of it. Yes. And I think that the pillars are very unique and very necessary for the wholeness of a woman. Yes. Well it's been the last I'd say two and a half years in the making and building and it's been exciting to now be an entrepreneur and a founder, a co-founder. It's been challenging. I've never had to go out and work so hard to raise money.

Like the whole VC world, that's not my, you know, I'm an actor, you know, like that's been a whole, you know, adventure for me. And I've learned so much and I've learned how hard it is. You can have an idea and want to do something, but in order to make that happen, I had to align myself with the best of the best and find a bunch of really smart people that were as passionate about this cause as I am.

And it took time to find those people and align with those people. We had to find the most perfect coaches because coaching is so much a part of what Respin offers. And the joys have been, we did a beta over the summer, and we sort of tested our model. And to find out that 90% of the women reported increase in the way they felt,

and increased benefits from going through our program. Two thirds of the women actually had improvement and we weren't selling them anything. We didn't have a product to put them on. We gave them coaching, information, and community, other like-minded women, and it shifted them in a major, major way. So that's what let us know, we're onto something.

This is what women really need. And we're not preaching, we're not telling them how to do it, we're just providing a safe place to hug them, hold them, and help them figure it out, and give them really the state of the art, the most accurate information. As we get

it, we'll be passing it along. That's so great because there's so much misinformation, confusion, and everyone's going back and forth and I think to have a solid place with Science Back, an incredible board of advisors with medical board of advisors that you have, which is a beautiful thing to say. You know what no one told me about menopause that it doesn't just happen it hit you the brain fog the sleepless nights the exhaustion I felt like I was losing control of my own body and for a while I thought maybe this is just how it is

but then I realized it doesn't have to be I started digging into the science talking to experts and trying real solutions that actually work and that's why I wrote how to menopause because you and I deserve answers. This book is your blueprint for navigating menopause with confidence understanding your body and feeling stronger healthier and even better than before if you're ready to stop feeling stuck and start taking charge, this is your moment.

Grab your copy of How to Menopause Now at howtomenopause.com and unlock some exclusive bonuses to help you get started today. I don't know about you, I didn't understand the definition of community growing. Now that I look back on it, it's very different now than it was then. I thought like, I got a couple of girlfriends

and yeah, they're my people and it's all good. Now I understand what community means. It means something very different to me and it actually does hold me up in a whole different way. Yes, and we need that, you know, and especially as women, we need that and we need that during this time, because we have a lot of work to do to change culture around how we're seen in our later years.

We have a lot of work to do to de-stigmatize menopause. I mean, I don't even like the word anymore. I know. Like I wanna try to come up with another word at Respend that we can call it. We have a lot of work to do, and it's gonna take every single one of us in this movement, you know, to lock arms and support each other, right?

And this is the thing I want to do. I want us to start having siestas. You know how we have baby showers, wedding showers? When a woman realizes that she's in the menopause, you know, 365 days and you know you're in it, I think that woman's family, it's their duty to give that woman a siesta and celebrate her. I love that.

Like we do every other milestone in our life, right? A siesta. Yes, we should be celebrating it. That changes those words. I said the day the taboo doesn't come next to the word menopause, it will be the day that we know that we have really changed this narrative

and seen a real shift. And I want it to be, I'm in menopause, it will be the day that we know that we have really changed this narrative and seen a real shift. And I want it to be, I'm in menopause, you get a shista! Like I want it to feel festive. I'll help you throw the first one for somebody, I love that. Let's do it. That would be amazing to show up at a woman's house. That would be great. Let's do it.

There's some beauty in that. There's beauty. In the celebration of all of it, and I know that relationships with girlfriends come into play, I know with family, things come into play. Love comes into play. I mean, this is a time that I never thought, I never thought that that was part of this, but that's where I feel like that beautiful part

of midlife comes together for us all. Yes, and we can have all of it. We don't have to lose one single ounce of what made our life full when we were in our 20s and 30s. I just think it gets, I think it gets actually a lot better. Lisa Moscone's book, I know I was there, you had gone through it backward and forward as I did.

The book is brilliant in so many ways. What did you see in that book? What did that book do for you? That was the first book I read on the subject. And it's the first time I realized how much our lack of estrogen affects our brain, right? And I realized it was more than a hot flash. It was more just feeling uncomfortable

that if we didn't get that, if I didn't get this under control, it could really have really damaging effects as I went down the path of life, as I call it. And I was fascinated by that. And that's also part of why I went to Washington, because I thought, this is a real, this is a real problem that's happening here.

And when we're told just to grit our teeth and bear it, it's really causing us major health issues. Even if we could bear it, so what? What is that gonna mean for us on the other side of bearing that? It can be early dementia, Alzheimer's, like we really have to start taking this seriously. In her book, that was a huge eye-opening wake-up call for me.

Yeah, I think it was for me too, understanding the long-term ramifications when you're talking about brain, cardiovascular, bone. I just thought if you got through the symptoms, then that would be okay. I didn't understand that at one point, there's really long-term health consequences of all of it. That's what we all thought. That it's just symptom management. Right? Exactly right.

We didn't know what it was doing to our bodies. But now we know. What do you do on a daily basis? Do you have some must do's in terms of, I mean, you've always been like this with your health, but are there some things that have changed or shifted in the past, I don't know, three or four or five years? There has. I'm on like probably 16 vitamins now. I can match you. I can match you to my 12.

I got a whole list of stuff that I will not miss. I have to take. I'm religious about it. I have studied all the different things that I'm taking that are right for my body with an inch of my life. I believe in every single one of them and I will not miss it, no matter what. That's been really important.

I still work out pretty religiously and now it's very much for optimum good health. Like I don't wanna fall down and like break a hip because as we know that could be the beginning of the end. So keeping my lean muscle mass on is important. I started taking testosterone, which I never thought I, ignorantly, I thought I'm not trying to grow hair on my chest. Like, you know. Do you notice a difference with it? I do. Me too. Yeah, I know. And I have more energy. I found it again. I found my libido. Right? Isn't it good

when you find that again? It's really good. It was MIA for a little while. But I also, I eat differently now. I used to be keto because that's how I manage my diabetes and now I've learned at this stage of life I need a little carbs, I need that for energy because my energy levels are different and I manage my sugar by cutting out other things but there are little adjustments that I've had to make

along the way as I've really understood what's happening in my body because we all have different bodies and go through it differently. Yeah. I think with so many symptoms, when women are 34, it's one thing. When they're here now, we've talked about over 100 symptoms. It's shocking, but not so shocking because when you look at what estrogen does at all different areas, from your eyes to your mouth, ears. I mean, it's just, it's unbelievable.

And women felt like they were losing it, not realizing it was all that. I went to see my eye doctor and I couldn't see. I was seeing these white sort of flashes through. And I went to him and I said, what is this? And he looked at me and he said, Oh no. I don't wanna say it. I said, what, say it. he said, Oh no.

I don't wanna say it. I said, what, say it. He said, I can't. I said, say it. He said, I can't. I said, menopause, right? He said, yes, I think it's because of, what are you in the paring now?

I think it's because of that. And I said, why can't you say that? And he said, I can't say that. Look at you, I can't tell you you're in menopause. And I'm like, My gosh. I said, this is why you say that? And he said, I can't say that. Look at you, I can't tell you you're in menopause. And I'm like. My gosh. I said, this is why I'm doing what I'm doing. If our healthcare practitioners can't say the words to us,

how can they treat us? No, isn't that stunning though? That's stunning. Because what he told me was- Do you think it was gonna insult you? Yes. He's worried about it. I'm like, you should be worried about me going blind

and my ducts drying up. That insulting me. Get over insulting me, save my eyes, doctor, please. And what was that? Was it lack of estrogen? Yes. What was it? Really, I didn't know that. Lack of estrogen, the glands that are under my,

under all of our eyes here start to dry up because we get dry eyes, dry mouth, dry vagina, right? So they start to dry up. The problem is once those glands dry up, you don't get them back. And you have major problems for the rest of your life with dry eyes and all the complications that that causes. And so luckily he found the courage to tell me about this

just in the nick of time, but I still had to get like an $8,000 treatment of like lipoflow and radio frequency that insurance does not cover. But that's what I was facing because nobody dared to have the conversation with me and warned me that this would be happening and put me on some other kind of maintenance and care plan before that happened. And I was again, furious. And I didn't blame my doctor because he is afraid because it's such a stigma.

He doesn't wanna talk about this with his patients. So all of these things that happened, Tamsen just let me know, I am on the right path to getting people to talk about this. And this is something I have to do. So it's not even a want, I have to do this. There's no choice. You're spearheading a conversation that is long overdue

and needs to be had. Yes, we have to have, and all of us have to have it. You're spearheading one as well. We all have to have it, we're in this together. I see you working on Instagram all the time. What are you doing? Because we need to know that. I say, I'm doing all kinds of stuff.

What I have learned, now that I've gotten down the path of life, that I have to know that. I'm Samson, I'm doing all kinds of stuff. What I have learned now that I've gotten down the path of life that I have to do things differently. I used to do a lot of cardio, right? Now I do no cardio. I'm trying to put muscle mass on. So I lift weights now and I never used to lift weights before. I only did my own body weight and cardio and cycling and running. Now I just do pretty much boring,

what I find boring, but it's necessary for this stage of life. Really just heavier weights than I've ever lifted. And I do it probably two days more a week than I used to. Wow. That's great though, right? Yeah, it is great. Isn't it funny that we avoided the weight room for a long time. Like it wasn't even, I didn't even think about it. It was like where the guys

were in their sweating. And I, because I never wanted to get like muscle-y. Yeah. You know, I wanted to just stay healthy. I was doing it to manage my diabetes, but I didn't want to be muscle-y. And now I'm lifting heavy weights and I'm still not getting muscle-y. I'm just like holding on to the muscle I have to the, and that's important at this age of life. It's so important. It's so important that we do that. To protect the bones.

Yes, yes. Everybody wants to know go-to products. It's gonna be a big part of Respin. There's gonna be products on there, correct? Yes, I'll be proud. What are some of your go-to right now? Well, one that I really love that I had to hand in helping create

is a product called Let's Spin. It's a collab that I did with Joylux and Respin. And it's the first product that we have helped design at Respin because it, you know, it met the need of the co-founder. And I think that's where my focus was when we first, you know, started to build the brand. How can I help myself? Help my intimacy. Yes. Because I was struggling big time there. And so we came up with this Let's Spin

and let me tell you, you're gonna spin. You're gonna spin with Let's Spin. Take a spin. I love that. I'm really proud of it. Yeah, it works. It really does work. That's what we need. And it's been a godsend, yeah.

That's what we need. But I also love this product. I started taking creatine recently as, It works. It really does work. And it's been a godsend. That's what we need. Yeah. That's what we need. But I also love this product. I started taking creatine recently as, and I, this product called Create. It's a creatine, they're little gummies, sugar-free gummies. You just take two of those a day and that's really been my go-to.

Wonderful. I also got an eight sleep. Do you have an eight sleep? No, I don't. Somebody else was telling me about this. Is it great? It's great. Because your side can be cool and what is your side down to? Is it a 65 or something? I don't know. How does it do it?

Well, it's not necessarily. You don't know the temperature. You just like you're on a one or you're like a minus one, two, three, four, or you eight, nine, 10, 10 being very warm. So you can adjust your side from your partner's side. And it fluctuates all through the night. It starts to learn your sleep habits, and then it starts to be on autopilot, and it adjusts for you based on what it's learning about you as you sleep on it night after night. It gives you a sleep score in the morning, kind of like any kind of life bit or Fitbit,

but it's just been, I no longer have to use my ceiling fan that I installed because now I'm at the right temperature in my bed every night and it's been a game changer for me. Oh, that's great. It's great for relationships too, I have a feeling, because I'm always pulling everything off of me and pushing it over the outside of the bed.

Yes, no more. I'll also try that. Yes. Thank you. You have said that Menopause needs a rebrand. What does that rebrand look like? I think, you know, we need to understand that this is not a time of life that we should be afraid of, that we should not talk about, right?

We should realize that what we are going through is something that's normal and very natural. We don't have a disease, we're not sick. This is the most normal and natural thing that we can do. It's about our female longevity. That's really what it's about, right? It's the second half of our life and it's nothing to be ashamed of or to fear.

And a pretty beautiful half. Yeah, very beautiful half. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. You are so wonderful. You're just a very, very special person. Thank you. Thank you.

Her words, her wisdom, menopause isn't the end. It's the beginning of your second act. Halle Berry has proved this. Halle, thank you so much for teaching us how to move forward with confidence. Let's continue this conversation for ourselves and for others. If you have questions or comments, I would love to hear them. Message us at The Tampson Show. And remember, this is a brand new show, so please subscribe and rate us wherever you get your podcasts. The Tampson Show is an

original production by Authentic Wave, executive producers Scott Weinberger, Kevin Bennett, and Rebecca Grierson, brand director Johanna Ofsnick. Our line producer is Sabrina Serre, editing by Zach Smith and Marquis Harris. As so many of you know, I'm in the middle of my book tour right now and my schedule has been crazy. I've been flying all over the country. So eating five servings of fruits and vegetables is almost impossible these days. We're human.

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