Latest news with #ShellyHorton
Daily Telegraph
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Telegraph
Shelly Horton on the dark truth about perimenopause
Don't miss out on the headlines from Celebrity Life. Followed categories will be added to My News. When Shelly Horton found herself in hospital with heavy bleeding in 2020, it never crossed her mind that her symptoms might have been due to perimenopause. The TV journalist hadn't even heard the word before, so she didn't connect it with the raft of physical and mental changes she had been experiencing at the time, including heart palpitations, heightened body temperature, brain fog and debilitating depression. Instead, the now 51-year-old had been told by doctors that she might have cancer, and was sent for an ultrasound – which revealed nothing. 'They said, 'Great news, you haven't got cancer. You must be stressed, and maybe you should take up a hobby,'' Horton recalls. 'I drove home in tears, blaming myself. I didn't go and see another doctor for nine months.' Media personality Shelly Horton has opened up about her health journey through perimenopause. Picture: Daniel Nadel for Stellar It was only when she spoke to her friend, menopause expert Dr Ginni Mansberg – who she first met while appearing on the Seven Network's breakfast show Sunrise in 2008 – that Horton was able to make sense of her suffering. Before that defining conversation, she hadn't considered herself in the target market. 'I thought menopause was for women in their late 50s, [when] their period stopped and they got hot flushes,' she recalls. 'I had that stereotype in my brain of grey-haired old ladies clutching their pearls and fanning themselves. 'I was like, 'I'm a fox. I'm way too young and fabulous.' 'I didn't understand that perimenopause can last for 10 years so, in fact, I was right in the average age group.' 'I didn't understand why anyone cared about my uterus and what I did with it.' Picture: Daniel Nadel for Stellar Once she got the right help and started to feel better, Horton got mad. Specifically about the menopause cone of silence, which perpetuates the poor treatment options and dearth of knowledge for women. 'We've been taught by our mothers and past generations that it's just women's problems so you keep it to yourself,' she tells Stellar. 'A heads-up would have been nice. I felt like the sisterhood had let me down. Secret women's business holds women back. This whole 'soldier on' of the Boomer generation, I'm like, 'No, I'm Gen X. We're going to get loud about this.'' In 2023, Horton shared her experience at the first parliamentary roundtable on menopause, alongside respected experts, in what was the first time 'menopause' had been mentioned inside the Parliament of Australia. It sparked a Senate inquiry, and Horton inadvertently became a spokesperson on the subject. Listen to a new episode of the Stellar podcast Something To Talk About below, featuring US author and podcaster Glennon Doyle: The Today Extra panellist reveals how she got through 'dark times' and rebuilt herself. Picture: Supplied It wasn't the first time that Horton had found herself leading the charge on destigmatising taboo topics for women. In 2013, when she wrote about her decision to stay child free, she copped a pile-on from dissenters and was trolled on social media. But she takes heart in knowing her words started a national conversation. 'I had comments like, 'A woman who doesn't want kids is not a real woman. She's a waste of a uterus.' It was awful,' she recalls. 'I didn't understand why anyone cared about my uterus and what I did with it.' As the TV presenter sees it, one of the many upsides of being child-free is having the freedom and funds to travel as she wishes. She and her husband Darren Robinson – who she met 'the old-fashioned way' in a bar in 2012 – renew their vows in every country they visit. In 10 years of marriage, that's 25 vow renewals. 'Sometimes it's been incredibly romantic, like in the Maldives with the sunset. Then we nearly forgot in Iceland and did it on the plane as we were taking off,' she says, laughing. The couple also run a production company together, Robinson behind the camera ('the workhorse') and Horton in front ('the show pony'). They share their home with rescue dogs Mr Barkley and Maui, whom Horton describes as a salve during her three years of depression. 'My wonderful husband would put me to bed and hand me a puppy.' Adhering to her own motto of 'adapt or die', Horton's career trajectory has been, as she puts it, eclectic. She was a producer for Entertainment Tonight in the US, a crime then health reporter for the ABC, a Sydney gossip columnist, a panellist on Today Extra, and host of Married At First Sight's spin-off TV show Talking Married. It's all a long way from home for the girl from Kingaroy in regional Queensland. Or, as she puts it, 'From the red soil to the red carpet.' Now she can add author to the list since she has documented her harrowing menopause experience – along with evidence-based advice from experts – in a book to support other women going through it. Despite enduring all the turmoils of menopause, Horton says the experience has also helped her. 'I wish I could just say, 'Slap on some HRT [hormone replacement therapy], you'll be fine,' but it's not as simple as that,' she explains. 'I had to do the work. I'd treated my body as a rental. I had to have the appointments with the psychiatrist. I had to change my lifestyle, improve my sleep, increase my exercise. I'm living proof that you can go through dark times and come out. Perimenopause broke me, but then I rebuilt me.' I'm Your Peri Godmother by Shelly Horton (Murdoch Books, $34.99) is out Tuesday. For more from Stellar and the podcast, Something To Talk About, click here.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Aussie TV favourite opens up about heartbreaking menopause battle - and reveals why it almost 'broke' her
Shelly Horton has opened up about her experience with menopause as she prepares to release a tell-all book about her ordeal. The Today Extra presenter, 51, has long been open about her struggle with perimenopause and admitted to Stellar this week that the condition 'broke' her. 'I'm living proof that you can go through dark times and come out. It broke me... but I rebuilt,' she said. Perimenopause typically affects women between 40 - 50 years old, and is the transitional phase before menopause where their hormone levels start to fluctuate, causing symptoms like irregular periods and mood changes. Shelly added she hadn't even heard of perimenopause until she found herself in hospital in 2020 to undergo an ablation – a procedure to stop persistent bleeding. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Doctors at the time told her that she might have cancer, sending her for an ultrasound. When the test proved negative, doctors told her that she must be 'stressed' and to 'take up a hobby'. 'I drove home in tears, blaming myself, and didn't go and see another doctor for nine months,' she admitted. Shelly added that it was a consultation with friend and TV medico Dr Ginny Mansberg that helped her understand her experience and dispel her preconceived notions about menopause. 'I had that stereotype in my brain of grey-haired old ladies clutching their pearls and fanning themselves,' she said. 'I didn't understand that perimenopause can last 10 years... so, in fact, I was right in the average age group.' Shelly has since become an ardent spokesperson on the matter, sharing her experiences at the first parliamentary round table on menopause. It was a historic moment, as it was the first time menopause had been mentioned in the Australian Parliament. She is also set to release a book this week, I'm Your Peri Godmother, detailing her experiences, as part of a continued effort to de-stigmatise the issue that millions of women deal with. It comes after Shelly shared the shock and heartbreak she felt when her doctor told her she would need to have a hysterectomy due to severe bleeding and perimenopause symptoms. 'I'm shocked at how overwhelmed and teary I feel about it' she wrote in her column for Nine Honey in 2024. Shelly, who has been married to husband Darren Robinson for over a decade, added that while she has never wanted children, she has still felt some 'grief' over losing the reproductive organ. 'I'm proudly childfree by choice, so I am furious this organ that I haven't ever needed gives me so much misery,' she wrote. 'I've joked to friends I want to sell my uterus on eBay – "One uterus. Never used. Still in box!" 'Yet, just as I laugh, I also feel a mix of anger, sadness and a sense of betrayal by my own body.' Shelly stressed that 'a uterus does not define a woman' and added her story is a 'call to action for all of us to redefine womanhood beyond biological functions.' She has been open in the past about why she doesn't want to have children with her husband, and they are perfectly content to be raising a family that includes two dogs instead. But Shelly admitted she was rattled by an email from a troll which labelled Horton as an 'obese feminist' he would like to see 'get off TV'. The full email read: 'I'm so happy you don't have kids, now just to get you off TV would be the best Christmas gift any man could ask for. Obese feminist is nothing to be proud of.' 'Trolls don't normally worry me. I get messages like that a lot as do most women in the media,' she said the following day. 'But I've been working very long hours on some big new projects, so I was tired, he got under my skin. Thank you all for being my cheer squad... felt like a warm hug. Suck on that,' she added, referring to the email's author.
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Health
- News.com.au
‘I had treated my body as a rental': Media personality Shelly Horton reveals life-changing health message to Australian women
When Shelly Horton found herself in the ICU after an ablation in 2020 (a simple procedure to stop persistent bleeding), it didn't cross her mind that it might be a symptom of perimenopause. Nor did she join the dots between a raft of sudden physical and mental changes – heart palpitations, increased body temperature, 'brain fog', and debilitating depression – and perimenopause. The now 51-year-old says she'd never heard the word before, and instead was told by doctors that it might be cancer and was sent for an ultrasound. 'They said, 'Great news, you haven't got cancer. You must be stressed and maybe you should take up a hobby',' Horton tells Stellar. 'I drove home in tears, blaming myself, and didn't go and see another doctor for nine months.' It wasn't until the TV presenter consulted with her friend, Dr. Ginny Mansberg, whom she met as a fellow panellist on Seven's Sunrise in 2008, that she was able to make sense of her suffering. Before that defining moment, she hadn't considered herself in the target market. 'I thought menopause was for women in their late 50s, their period stopped and they got hot flushes,' she explains. 'I had that stereotype in my brain of grey-haired old ladies clutching their pearls and fanning themselves. 'I was like, 'I'm a fox. I'm way too young and fabulous.' 'I didn't understand that perimenopause can last 10 years so, in fact, I was right in the average age group.' Once she started to feel better, Horton got mad. Specifically about the menopause cone of silence which perpetuates the dearth of knowledge and poor treatment options for women. 'We've been taught by our mothers and past generations that it's just women's problems so you keep it to yourself,' she says. 'A heads-up would have been nice. I felt like the sisterhood let me down. 'Secret women's business holds women back. This whole 'soldier on' of the boomer generation, I'm like, 'No, I'm Gen X. We're going to get loud about this.'' In 2023, Horton shared her experience at the first parliamentary roundtable on menopause alongside respected experts – the first time 'menopause' had been mentioned in the Australian Parliament. It sparked a Senate inquiry, with Horton inadvertently becoming a spokesperson on perimenopause. It's not the first time Horton has led the charge on de-stigmatising taboo topics for women. When she 'bravely' wrote about her decision to stay 'child free' in 2013, she copped a pile-on from dissenters and was trolled on social media. But she takes heart in knowing it started a national conversation. 'I had comments like, 'A woman who doesn't want kids is not a real woman. She's a waste of a uterus.' It was awful. I didn't understand why anyone cared about my uterus and what I did with it.' As the TV presenter sees it, one of the many upsides of being child-free is having the freedom and funds to travel. She and her husband, Darren Robinson, whom she met 'the old-fashioned way' in a bar in 2013, renew their wedding vows in every country they visit. In 10 years of marriage, that's 25 vow renewals. 'Sometimes it's been incredibly romantic in the Maldives with the sunset. Then we nearly forgot in Iceland and we did it on the plane as we were taking off,' she laughs. They also run their production company together, Robinson behind the camera ('the workhorse') Horton in front ('the show pony'). She says their two rescue dogs were a salve during her three years of depression. 'My wonderful husband would put me to bed and hand me a puppy.' Adhering to her motto of 'adapt or die', Horton's career trajectory has been 'eclectic'. She was a producer for the first American Survivor in Borneo, a crime then health reporter for the ABC, Sydney gossip columnist, panellist on Today Extra, and host of Married at First Sight's spin-off TV show. It's a long way from home for the girl from Kingaroy in regional Queensland. 'From the red soil to the red carpet,' she says. Now she can add author to the list, documenting her harrowing menopause experience – along with evidence-based advice from experts – on paper to support other women going through it. Despite the turmoil of menopause, Horton reveals it has also helped her too. 'I wish I could just say, 'Slap on some HRT [hormone replacement therapy], you'll be fine', but it's not as simple as that,' she tells Stellar. 'I had to do the work. I had treated my body as a rental. 'I had to have the appointments with the psychiatrist. I had to change my lifestyle, improve my sleep, increase my exercise. 'I'm living proof that you can go through dark times and come out. Perimenopause broke me, but then I rebuilt me.'
Courier-Mail
5 days ago
- Health
- Courier-Mail
Shelly Horton on the dark truth about perimenopause
Don't miss out on the headlines from Celebrity Life. Followed categories will be added to My News. When Shelly Horton found herself in the ICU after an ablation in 2020 (a simple procedure to stop persistent bleeding), it didn't cross her mind that it might be a symptom of perimenopause. Nor did she join the dots between a raft of sudden physical and mental changes – heart palpitations, increased body temperature, 'brain fog', and debilitating depression – and perimenopause. The now 51-year-old says she'd never heard the word before, and instead was told by doctors that it might be cancer and was sent for an ultrasound. 'They said, 'Great news, you haven't got cancer. You must be stressed and maybe you should take up a hobby',' Horton tells Stellar. 'I drove home in tears, blaming myself, and didn't go and see another doctor for nine months.' Media personality Shelly Horton has opened up about her health journey through perimenopause. Picture: Daniel Nadel for Stellar It wasn't until the TV presenter consulted with her friend, Dr. Ginny Mansberg, whom she met as a fellow panellist on Seven's Sunrise in 2008, that she was able to make sense of her suffering. Before that defining moment, she hadn't considered herself in the target market. 'I thought menopause was for women in their late 50s, their period stopped and they got hot flushes,' she explains. 'I had that stereotype in my brain of grey-haired old ladies clutching their pearls and fanning themselves. 'I was like, 'I'm a fox. I'm way too young and fabulous.' 'I didn't understand that perimenopause can last 10 years so, in fact, I was right in the average age group.' Once she started to feel better, Horton got mad. Specifically about the menopause cone of silence which perpetuates the dearth of knowledge and poor treatment options for women. 'We've been taught by our mothers and past generations that it's just women's problems so you keep it to yourself,' she says. 'A heads-up would have been nice. I felt like the sisterhood let me down. 'Secret women's business holds women back. This whole 'soldier on' of the boomer generation, I'm like, 'No, I'm Gen X. We're going to get loud about this.'' 'I didn't understand why anyone cared about my uterus and what I did with it.' Picture: Daniel Nadel for Stellar In 2023, Horton shared her experience at the first parliamentary roundtable on menopause alongside respected experts – the first time 'menopause' had been mentioned in the Australian Parliament. It sparked a Senate inquiry, with Horton inadvertently becoming a spokesperson on perimenopause. It's not the first time Horton has led the charge on de-stigmatising taboo topics for women. When she 'bravely' wrote about her decision to stay 'child free' in 2013, she copped a pile-on from dissenters and was trolled on social media. But she takes heart in knowing it started a national conversation. 'I had comments like, 'A woman who doesn't want kids is not a real woman. She's a waste of a uterus.' It was awful. I didn't understand why anyone cared about my uterus and what I did with it.' As the TV presenter sees it, one of the many upsides of being child-free is having the freedom and funds to travel. The former Today Extra panellist reveals how she got through 'dark times' and rebuilt herself. Picture: Supplied She and her husband, Darren Robinson, whom she met 'the old-fashioned way' in a bar in 2013, renew their wedding vows in every country they visit. In 10 years of marriage, that's 25 vow renewals. 'Sometimes it's been incredibly romantic in the Maldives with the sunset. Then we nearly forgot in Iceland and we did it on the plane as we were taking off,' she laughs. They also run their production company together, Robinson behind the camera ('the workhorse') Horton in front ('the show pony'). She says their two rescue dogs were a salve during her three years of depression. 'My wonderful husband would put me to bed and hand me a puppy.' Adhering to her motto of 'adapt or die', Horton's career trajectory has been 'eclectic'. She was a producer for the first American Survivor in Borneo, a crime then health reporter for the ABC, Sydney gossip columnist, panellist on Today Extra, and host of Married at First Sight's spin-off TV show. It's a long way from home for the girl from Kingaroy in regional Queensland. 'From the red soil to the red carpet,' she says. Now she can add author to the list, documenting her harrowing menopause experience – along with evidence-based advice from experts – on paper to support other women going through it. Despite the turmoil of menopause, Horton reveals it has also helped her too. 'I wish I could just say, 'Slap on some HRT [hormone replacement therapy], you'll be fine', but it's not as simple as that,' she tells Stellar. 'I had to do the work. I had treated my body as a rental. 'I had to have the appointments with the psychiatrist. I had to change my lifestyle, improve my sleep, increase my exercise. 'I'm living proof that you can go through dark times and come out. Perimenopause broke me, but then I rebuilt me.' I'm Your Peri Godmother by Shelly Horton (Murdoch Books, $34.99) is out Tuesday. For more from Stellar and the podcast, Something To Talk About, click here. Originally published as 'I had treated my body as a rental': Media personality Shelly Horton reveals life-changing health message to Australian women
Sydney Morning Herald
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Gen Z is being held back by the fear of being 'cringe'
Today Extra panelists Shelly Horton and author Sean Szeps discussed whether Gen Z is being held back by the fear of being "cringe" Loading
