Latest news with #GrégoireTrudeau
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau says there's 'no shame' in talking about sex during menopause. Here's what a doctor wants you to know
The 50-year-old author and mental health advocate didn't shy away from a "risqué" topic during a recent social media video. Sophie Grégoire Trudeau is empowering women to take control of their bodies and their health during menopause. Earlier this week, the former television host took to social media to share a message with her followers about an encounter with a woman following a yoga class. According to Grégoire Trudeau, the woman asked her to discuss a "risqué" topic with her more than 369,000 followers on Instagram: sex during menopause. "Risqué? More like real-squé," the 50-year-old author joked. "There is no shame talking about this because during menopause our relationship with intimacy shifts not just physically but emotionally and psychologically — and even I would say, spiritually." This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Contact a qualified medical professional before engaging in any physical activity, or making any changes to your diet, medication or lifestyle. Grégoire Trudeau continued by noting that many women experience vaginal dryness, changes in libido as well as discomfort that "nobody warned us about." Others may view menopause as a time to "reclaim" their bodies after "years of roles and expectations." "But here's the truth — these changes are common and are part of a transition process, a transition phase that can be manageable," she said. The wellness expert and mental health advocate encouraged followers to speak to their healthcare providers about options to alleviate the symptoms of menopause, including hormone therapies or pelvic floor therapy. "These aren't just medical options they're conversations about quality of life, connection to your own body," Grégoire Trudeau continued. "Don't be intimidated to ask. Our bodies as women will only open up and blossom if we feel connected and safe physically and emotionally." While there's the common misconception that women become less sexual during menopause, Grégoire Trudeau encouraged women to rethink the possibilities for their life during and post menopause. "Menopause doesn't have to be the end of our erotic world and language and sexuality," she said. "It can be the beginning of a more honest and fulfilling relationship own language with our bodies." The post was met by praise from followers who appreciated Grégoire Trudeau taking on what many may consider a taboo topic. "I remember hitting menopause and wanting to talk about these things with girlfriends, and no one wanted to go there," a follower said. "But unless we talk about it, we can't discover solutions or learn a few tips." "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You've started such an important conversation and with such grace and thoughtfulness," another added. "...This conversation is so important and you are amazing for speaking about it," someone said. "Honestly I've only ever heard you and Halle Berry speak on this topic publicly and openly. A lot of women have zero information on any of this and it's really damaging." While there's been more talk of menopause and the life-changing symptoms it brings, for many women, it still remains a subject shrouded in mystery. Dr. Sheila Wijayasinghe, a family physician at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, who is committed to rewriting the narrative surrounding menopause by raising awareness about the sexual changes they may experience and providing expert advice on how to navigate it with confidence. "As individuals transition through perimenopause into menopause, they experience just a myriad of changes that can significantly impact their sexual function that really, is multifactorial," Wijayasinghe said in a previous interview with Yahoo Canada. Wijayasinghe explained that these changes are rooted in hormonal fluctuations, primarily involving estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Addressing the elephant in the room: Vaginal dryness While loss of libido and vaginal dryness are two primary issues that impact women's sexual health during menopause, they're also two of the most challenging things to address with a healthcare professional due to stigma. "It's not something that patients will necessarily bring up as a first comment. But I'll notice it when I'm about to prepare to do a pap test," Wijayasinghe said, adding that vaginal dryness is one of the "key symptoms" she manages at her primary care office. Vaginal dryness is one of the vaginal health symptoms included in genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM), an umbrella term that can also include burning and stinging (dysuria), frequent urge to urinate reccurring urinary tract infections. Wijayasinghe explained how vaginal dryness can "make sexual activity uncomfortable and painful" and can not only impact someone's quality of life, but also the quality of relationships. In terms of libido, she says that while many people might notice a decrease in libido due to lower levels of estrogen and testosterone, others may experience the opposite; a sexual awakening. "Some people actually notice when they transition through to menopause, an increase in libido and increase in arousal because they actually feel more confident in themselves, they are free from periods, they're not worried about getting pregnant," Wijayasinghe said. What to do when menopause symptoms impact your sex life Wijayasinghe said "communication is lubrication" when it comes to sexual health. Acknowledging that there are changes happening and then communicating them with your partner can "foster intimacy and lead to a better understanding of each other's needs." Candid communication with your healthcare provider is also important in finding the best course of action in treating menopausal symptoms. "It can be really scary to discuss this, but there are solutions that are available that can help improve your overall well being, your quality of life, and your sexual health," Wijayasinghe said. "...Exercise, proper sleep, mindfulness, relaxation techniques can all help manage stress, improve our mood, improve our self-esteem, our physical health and enhance sexual well-being," she said. "Perhaps considering exploring new avenues of intimacy, where you have a little bit of fun with it, experiment with different ways to connect sexually and emotionally."
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau shares sweet Father's Day tribute to former PM Justin Trudeau: 'Taught me so much'
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may be separated, but the pair are still friendly co-parents. On Sunday, Grégoire Trudeau shared a video to Instagram that featured personal photos of Trudeau as well as her late father, Jean Grégoire, to celebrate Father's Day, with the message, "To my favourite dads in this world. You both taught me so much in different ways, Happy Father's Day!" The video included photos of the former couple's three children, 17-year-old Xavier, 16-year-old Ella-Grace and 11-year-old Hadrien, and a lengthy caption about the emotional legacy of fatherhood. "What does it mean to 'father'? To help others to adapt to the world, how to 'be' in the world. It means to love, to listen, to to care and protect," the 50-year-old author wrote. "But fathers were boys first and they learned how to know themselves, live their emotions and define who they are through the eyes of their fathers." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sophie Grégoire Trudeau (@sophiegregoiretrudeau) Grégoire Trudeau, who released her first book Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other in 2024, added that there's still plenty of healing for men that needs to take place on a societal and personal level. "We are still living and experiencing the wounded generations of men who weren't loved fully and with consistency," she continued. "But we are breaking cycles and there are many conscious boys and men out there doing their 'work' so we can leave an unhealthy patriarchy behind and build on more evolved, emotionally literate and well-regulated beings who can be father figures to us all!" is getting candid about relationships, sharing more insight about how she learned to "cut ties" after her split with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The 49-year-old author spoke to The Telegraph recently, noting mental health techniques helped with her break up last year. The former television host and Trudeau announced in August 2023 they "made the decision to separate," according to a post the Liberal Party leader made on Instagram. Since then, Grégoire Trudeau has been open about her relationship, speaking on everything from its post-split parenting mechanics to her struggles. Below, read everything she's said about relationships since becoming estranged from Canada's former leader. In August 2023, the couple made separate social media posts that included identical words, asking for people to respect the family's privacy amid the break up. While Trudeau's post is still viewable on Instagram, Grégoire Trudeau has since deleted hers. "As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build," they both wrote in their messages, according to CBC News. "For the well-being of our children, we ask that you respect our and their privacy." Elle Canada published a feature on Grégoire Trudeau earlier in March, where she spoke candidly about the decision to publicly announce their separation. She noted making the decision to split up was "hard" and made her think a lot about relationships and being vulnerable. "I imagined the worst-case scenario, I'll tell you that," she said. "I had to. I didn't want to be naive. But I also had to protect myself. ... Let's just say that we [all] stayed away from our phones. We were together as a family, [and] we held each other." She further explained she's a "family woman" and didn't want to break the "mould" she had. "Even the words we use to describe relationships — it's either success [and you] stay together or failure [and you] go on different path. We really need to develop a new vocabulary for human beings as we transform on our own paths." The Montreal-native added navigating her public break-up has been confusing and filled with conflicting emotions: "Are there days when I ask myself, 'What have I done?' Yes. Deep inside, do I feel integrity and congruence? Yes. So I sit with all of it. And it's chaotic, and it's a mess, but it's also loving, compassionate and tender. "That doesn't mean it hurts less, but you take things less personally because you understand human functioning better," she said, adding that she and Justin Trudeau still share laughs together. "And we will for a very long time." Months after her split, Grégoire Trudeau made a comment that some media outlets saw as a "veiled swipe" at the Canadian prime minister. "Your needs, you shouldn't expect the minimum," she told the Know Your Value podcast in March. "You should expect a maximum of nourishment, presence and help in your life with the people around you. And we shouldn't have to hold it all together as women." During her appearance on the podcast, she also opened up about romance: "Human wounds, pain, suffering, is universal. The language of love is slow, and love not just in the romantic sense of the word." Later that same month speaking to Vogue, Grégoire Trudeau opened up about how she co-parents with her estranged husband. "We don't even have a parental sharing plan. We go along with the kids' schedules, and we keep each other posted." The interview painted Grégoire Trudeau as warm, fun-loving and emotional, and while she puts on a brave face publicly, she noted there are still struggles: "I think it hurts me for the kids," she said, adding she had worried about the "emotional heritage" she might be passing down to them. But moving forward, she noted her mission was to help the children transition to their new family structure: "You can heal without hatred, without division, without blame. I'm not perfect. It takes two to tango, and I think we both acknowledge that." Ahead of the April 23 release of her book, Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other, Grégoire Trudeau sat down with Yahoo Canada for an emotional conversation. She spoke about mental health, her upbringing and her hunger for perfection — and reflected on healing from her break up. "I have never been more attuned and caring of my mental health than through this whole process," she explained. "I have been pushed to dig into my authenticity and to put my attachment issues aside. But just because you restructure a relationship, it doesn't mean you have to kill it. We are still bound by love." Still, she admitted during the interview — with tears welling in her eyes — that her break up with Trudeau "hurts" — but that she's OK with the uncertainty of a new decade of her life: "When you have love and respect for real, you learn that at some point, you have to set them free. But it's hard. It's hard. But still full of love." Speaking to CBC's The Current, Grégoire Trudeau noted family life after a split isn't, of course, always perfect. The mom-of-three also noted that although there are bound to be people trying to "sniff out the gossip" there's "not much to sniff out" about her split with the Canadian prime minister. "I'm in a family and I'm raising my kids, and I've had, you know, a partner where sincerity, open conversations, difficult conversations, are at the core of who we are as a family," she explained. "I feel that this space of calm inside me, most people sense it. And the ones who don't, well, it's OK. I can't control that." While the separation had proven to be a learning curve for the family, Grégoire Trudeau shared they were bound by "respect and love," and they still were there for one another: "Sometimes it gets messy, you know, in all family life. And it should be, because it kind of makes us appreciate the better times." In multiple interviews, Grégoire Trudeau noted people often dramatize the end of relationships — but that shouldn't always be the case. Speaking to outlets like Chatelaine and the Next Question with Katie Couric podcast, she said marriage and divorce aren't as black and white as success and failure. "We dramatize the ending of relationships instead of accepting that we can free the people we love if it becomes necessary," she told Chatelaine. "We can restructure relationships without losing the other, without being abandoned. ... But we were never taught this. We were taught the opposite! So it's time that we wake up and start sharing this knowledge, so we can continue to not be afraid of loving. I want to be part of the solution." She later said on the Next Question podcast people may dramatize the end of relationships because of insecurity: "We are afraid to be abandoned, we are afraid to be alone as human beings. It is not in our nature to be alone and just living alone." Speaking to the Toronto Star while promoting her then-upcoming book, Grégoire Trudeau opened up a bit about emotional attachment in relationships. She also shared how people in relationships can't always expect their significant other to be on the same as them throughout the entirety of their life. "We have to accept that people have growth curves on different paths," she said. "You cannot always expect the person that you're sharing your life with to be at the same point of experience that you are. Sometimes we have this concept of possession of the other when we are in a couple and we become jealous or we become controlling." She added she hopes people entering relationships can feel more secure and work on being more literate both emotionally and relationally. In turn that should help with feeling "much less threatened by the difference of the other." "Sometimes in relationships, when there is love and this spills outside of romantic love, we must set each other free sometimes. ... Compassion and empathy are very difficult when we are fearful and angry," she said. In May, Grégoire Trudeau opened up further about being partnered with a political figure, telling Newsweek she "never perceived her marriage as political." Still, she added it wasn't always easy being one-half of such a public relationship. "Of course, I wish I didn't have to share the state of my relationship with the world," she said. "It is my life, but it is a very small portion of my life. I don't live my life with the cameras on. I'm at home with the kids. We're running around, we're booking appointments. ... I now understand that being on a co-political path, and your partner does that, it implies a lot of changes in one's life that you don't expect. And you have to constantly adapt." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lisa LaFlamme (@lisamlaflamme) Chatting with Lisa LaFlamme at a fundraiser for YW Kitchener-Waterloo in May, Grégoire Trudeau was able to skirt past most of the former CTV National News anchor's questions about her post-split personal life. Still, Grégoire Trudeau reiterated some of her past sentiments, saying that clinging to a belief that your relationship won't change is a "fairy tale." "We've been brought up wanting to attach, and to make everything eternal — our youth, our love, our desire. That is not how life is. It is not," she said, adding she was the one to instigate change in the marriage and that she chose "authenticity over attachments" in that moment. During a virtual wellness summit called "Bouncing Back From a Broken Heart" on Nov. 1, Grégoire Trudeau opened up about how her split from the Canadian prime minister still impacts her more than a year later. She also revealed she experienced chronic stress amid threats to Trudeau and her family. "There's still so much love and relationship and closeness in our family," she said during her panel, according to the National Post. "Even though our relationship is transforming, it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. ... It hurts so much. Why? Because I had to choose my authenticity over my attachment, and that can be called 'heartbreak,' although the heart never breaks." After being asked how she dealt with the breakup, Grégoire Trudeau said her yoga mat has seen it all and the exercise helps her "clear the debris" from her mind: "That mat, let me tell you, has seen tears of sweat, of confusion, of alert, of sadness, of grief, of trying to let go, of not understanding what's going on and of navigating life through a thick fog." In November 2024, Grégoire Trudeau spoke to The Telegraph about the technique's she relied on to help her through her split. "I've trained my brain to deal with uncertainty," she told the British outlet. "I learned to cut ties and not cling too much to life, to others, to relationships." She added that yoga and self-regulation have helped her navigate the life change. "I have to say we are really lucky to be in a respectful open communication which is key," she said.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau shares sweet Father's Day tribute to former PM Justin Trudeau: 'Taught me so much'
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may be separated, but the pair are still friendly co-parents. On Sunday, Grégoire Trudeau shared a video to Instagram that featured personal photos of Trudeau as well as her late father, Jean Grégoire, to celebrate Father's Day, with the message, "To my favourite dads in this world. You both taught me so much in different ways, Happy Father's Day!" The video included photos of the former couple's three children, 17-year-old Xavier, 16-year-old Ella-Grace and 11-year-old Hadrien, and a lengthy caption about the emotional legacy of fatherhood. "What does it mean to 'father'? To help others to adapt to the world, how to 'be' in the world. It means to love, to listen, to to care and protect," the 50-year-old author wrote. "But fathers were boys first and they learned how to know themselves, live their emotions and define who they are through the eyes of their fathers." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sophie Grégoire Trudeau (@sophiegregoiretrudeau) Grégoire Trudeau, who released her first book Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other in 2024, added that there's still plenty of healing for men that needs to take place on a societal and personal level. "We are still living and experiencing the wounded generations of men who weren't loved fully and with consistency," she continued. "But we are breaking cycles and there are many conscious boys and men out there doing their 'work' so we can leave an unhealthy patriarchy behind and build on more evolved, emotionally literate and well-regulated beings who can be father figures to us all!" is getting candid about relationships, sharing more insight about how she learned to "cut ties" after her split with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The 49-year-old author spoke to The Telegraph recently, noting mental health techniques helped with her break up last year. The former television host and Trudeau announced in August 2023 they "made the decision to separate," according to a post the Liberal Party leader made on Instagram. Since then, Grégoire Trudeau has been open about her relationship, speaking on everything from its post-split parenting mechanics to her struggles. Below, read everything she's said about relationships since becoming estranged from Canada's former leader. In August 2023, the couple made separate social media posts that included identical words, asking for people to respect the family's privacy amid the break up. While Trudeau's post is still viewable on Instagram, Grégoire Trudeau has since deleted hers. "As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build," they both wrote in their messages, according to CBC News. "For the well-being of our children, we ask that you respect our and their privacy." Elle Canada published a feature on Grégoire Trudeau earlier in March, where she spoke candidly about the decision to publicly announce their separation. She noted making the decision to split up was "hard" and made her think a lot about relationships and being vulnerable. "I imagined the worst-case scenario, I'll tell you that," she said. "I had to. I didn't want to be naive. But I also had to protect myself. ... Let's just say that we [all] stayed away from our phones. We were together as a family, [and] we held each other." She further explained she's a "family woman" and didn't want to break the "mould" she had. "Even the words we use to describe relationships — it's either success [and you] stay together or failure [and you] go on different path. We really need to develop a new vocabulary for human beings as we transform on our own paths." The Montreal-native added navigating her public break-up has been confusing and filled with conflicting emotions: "Are there days when I ask myself, 'What have I done?' Yes. Deep inside, do I feel integrity and congruence? Yes. So I sit with all of it. And it's chaotic, and it's a mess, but it's also loving, compassionate and tender. "That doesn't mean it hurts less, but you take things less personally because you understand human functioning better," she said, adding that she and Justin Trudeau still share laughs together. "And we will for a very long time." Months after her split, Grégoire Trudeau made a comment that some media outlets saw as a "veiled swipe" at the Canadian prime minister. "Your needs, you shouldn't expect the minimum," she told the Know Your Value podcast in March. "You should expect a maximum of nourishment, presence and help in your life with the people around you. And we shouldn't have to hold it all together as women." During her appearance on the podcast, she also opened up about romance: "Human wounds, pain, suffering, is universal. The language of love is slow, and love not just in the romantic sense of the word." Later that same month speaking to Vogue, Grégoire Trudeau opened up about how she co-parents with her estranged husband. "We don't even have a parental sharing plan. We go along with the kids' schedules, and we keep each other posted." The interview painted Grégoire Trudeau as warm, fun-loving and emotional, and while she puts on a brave face publicly, she noted there are still struggles: "I think it hurts me for the kids," she said, adding she had worried about the "emotional heritage" she might be passing down to them. But moving forward, she noted her mission was to help the children transition to their new family structure: "You can heal without hatred, without division, without blame. I'm not perfect. It takes two to tango, and I think we both acknowledge that." Ahead of the April 23 release of her book, Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other, Grégoire Trudeau sat down with Yahoo Canada for an emotional conversation. She spoke about mental health, her upbringing and her hunger for perfection — and reflected on healing from her break up. "I have never been more attuned and caring of my mental health than through this whole process," she explained. "I have been pushed to dig into my authenticity and to put my attachment issues aside. But just because you restructure a relationship, it doesn't mean you have to kill it. We are still bound by love." Still, she admitted during the interview — with tears welling in her eyes — that her break up with Trudeau "hurts" — but that she's OK with the uncertainty of a new decade of her life: "When you have love and respect for real, you learn that at some point, you have to set them free. But it's hard. It's hard. But still full of love." Speaking to CBC's The Current, Grégoire Trudeau noted family life after a split isn't, of course, always perfect. The mom-of-three also noted that although there are bound to be people trying to "sniff out the gossip" there's "not much to sniff out" about her split with the Canadian prime minister. "I'm in a family and I'm raising my kids, and I've had, you know, a partner where sincerity, open conversations, difficult conversations, are at the core of who we are as a family," she explained. "I feel that this space of calm inside me, most people sense it. And the ones who don't, well, it's OK. I can't control that." While the separation had proven to be a learning curve for the family, Grégoire Trudeau shared they were bound by "respect and love," and they still were there for one another: "Sometimes it gets messy, you know, in all family life. And it should be, because it kind of makes us appreciate the better times." In multiple interviews, Grégoire Trudeau noted people often dramatize the end of relationships — but that shouldn't always be the case. Speaking to outlets like Chatelaine and the Next Question with Katie Couric podcast, she said marriage and divorce aren't as black and white as success and failure. "We dramatize the ending of relationships instead of accepting that we can free the people we love if it becomes necessary," she told Chatelaine. "We can restructure relationships without losing the other, without being abandoned. ... But we were never taught this. We were taught the opposite! So it's time that we wake up and start sharing this knowledge, so we can continue to not be afraid of loving. I want to be part of the solution." She later said on the Next Question podcast people may dramatize the end of relationships because of insecurity: "We are afraid to be abandoned, we are afraid to be alone as human beings. It is not in our nature to be alone and just living alone." Speaking to the Toronto Star while promoting her then-upcoming book, Grégoire Trudeau opened up a bit about emotional attachment in relationships. She also shared how people in relationships can't always expect their significant other to be on the same as them throughout the entirety of their life. "We have to accept that people have growth curves on different paths," she said. "You cannot always expect the person that you're sharing your life with to be at the same point of experience that you are. Sometimes we have this concept of possession of the other when we are in a couple and we become jealous or we become controlling." She added she hopes people entering relationships can feel more secure and work on being more literate both emotionally and relationally. In turn that should help with feeling "much less threatened by the difference of the other." "Sometimes in relationships, when there is love and this spills outside of romantic love, we must set each other free sometimes. ... Compassion and empathy are very difficult when we are fearful and angry," she said. In May, Grégoire Trudeau opened up further about being partnered with a political figure, telling Newsweek she "never perceived her marriage as political." Still, she added it wasn't always easy being one-half of such a public relationship. "Of course, I wish I didn't have to share the state of my relationship with the world," she said. "It is my life, but it is a very small portion of my life. I don't live my life with the cameras on. I'm at home with the kids. We're running around, we're booking appointments. ... I now understand that being on a co-political path, and your partner does that, it implies a lot of changes in one's life that you don't expect. And you have to constantly adapt." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lisa LaFlamme (@lisamlaflamme) Chatting with Lisa LaFlamme at a fundraiser for YW Kitchener-Waterloo in May, Grégoire Trudeau was able to skirt past most of the former CTV National News anchor's questions about her post-split personal life. Still, Grégoire Trudeau reiterated some of her past sentiments, saying that clinging to a belief that your relationship won't change is a "fairy tale." "We've been brought up wanting to attach, and to make everything eternal — our youth, our love, our desire. That is not how life is. It is not," she said, adding she was the one to instigate change in the marriage and that she chose "authenticity over attachments" in that moment. During a virtual wellness summit called "Bouncing Back From a Broken Heart" on Nov. 1, Grégoire Trudeau opened up about how her split from the Canadian prime minister still impacts her more than a year later. She also revealed she experienced chronic stress amid threats to Trudeau and her family. "There's still so much love and relationship and closeness in our family," she said during her panel, according to the National Post. "Even though our relationship is transforming, it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. ... It hurts so much. Why? Because I had to choose my authenticity over my attachment, and that can be called 'heartbreak,' although the heart never breaks." After being asked how she dealt with the breakup, Grégoire Trudeau said her yoga mat has seen it all and the exercise helps her "clear the debris" from her mind: "That mat, let me tell you, has seen tears of sweat, of confusion, of alert, of sadness, of grief, of trying to let go, of not understanding what's going on and of navigating life through a thick fog." In November 2024, Grégoire Trudeau spoke to The Telegraph about the technique's she relied on to help her through her split. "I've trained my brain to deal with uncertainty," she told the British outlet. "I learned to cut ties and not cling too much to life, to others, to relationships." She added that yoga and self-regulation have helped her navigate the life change. "I have to say we are really lucky to be in a respectful open communication which is key," she said.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau says keeping her eating disorder a secret only made things worse: 'I was so ashamed ... I had to purge it out'
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau isn't afraid to open up about the struggles she's faced in life. The 49-year-old estranged wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently reflected on keeping her eating disorder a secret for years — and how opening up was "such a relief." The Montreal-native mental health advocate spoke at SHE Media CO-Lab at SXSW in Austin, Texas, on March 8, alongside other well-known figures like actress Naomi Watts, comedian Chelsea Handler and journalist Katie Couric. Grégoire Trudeau explained that sharing her health journey was also "the best thing I ever did," admitting she didn't talk right away. "I was so ashamed. Why me? What the heck? I think that keeping it in constricted my throat, and therefore I had to purge it out," she shared, according to Flow Space. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Flow Space (@thisisflowspace) The retired TV host added she was only able to reflect on her health after a moment of self-awareness: "I saw myself and I said, 'Enough. That's enough.'" However, Grégoire Trudeau noted being open about her experience felt risky, especially because she was new in the broadcast world. More like this: Sophie Grégoire Trudeau reflects on time as 'non-official First Lady' of Canada: 'It's been quite the journey, hasn't it?' Sophie Grégoire Trudeau's relationship with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is still 'full of love': 'At some point, you have to set them free' Sophie Grégoire Trudeau says she 'learned to cut ties' after split with PM Justin Trudeau: Everything she's said about relationships since their break up "I thought, 'I'm never going to get contracts again. People are just going to think of me as the lady who barfs,'" she recalled, adding the response she received "changed my life" and "the way I related to other human beings." For other people going through similar challenges, Grégoire Trudeau urged that most people have positive intentions: "Most human beings are good, and we want to help each other out. When I told my story, maybe some people didn't receive it well — but most did." It's not the first time the Closer Together author has gotten candid over the bulimia she experienced in her late teens and early 20s. Last spring, she shared similar sentiments about the eating disorder while speaking to former CTV News host Lisa LaFlamme during a fundraiser event in Kitchener-Waterloo. "I was ashamed and guilty," she said last May. "I remember being like, 'What the heck am I suffering from?' And every time I was telling myself, 'This is the last time. Why are you doing this to yourself?'" View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sophie Grégoire Trudeau (@sophiegregoiretrudeau) Grégoire Trudeau shared in 2017 that she was only able to get onto the path of recovery when she started sharing her story, where she saw support from her family and friends. "The moment I started sharing my story, obviously I had begun on my road to recovery," she said during an Eating Disorder Awareness Week event that year. In April 2024, Grégoire Trudeau spoke to Yahoo Canada about her story, explaining that eating disorders and anxiety were only the "tip of the iceberg." She recalled how her mother was hyper-focused on physical appearance, and that bled into how she learned to perceive herself. "I got lots of positive reinforcement when I kept my weight on the low side," she recalled. "So I internalized that concept and the pressure that accompanied it. I hid from the outside world, and bathrooms became a twisted safe haven." Eventually, she recalled one night during her second year of junior college where she was shaken up by purging for too long and too hard. She called for her mother and her parents soon got her help by seeing a therapist at Montreal's Sainte-Justine Hospital. "I started wanting to change my situation. I'm a quick learner," she shared with a laugh. "And I think that I was kind of curious and adventurous enough to go inside."
