‘I Finally Feel Brave Again'

Bestselling author and TV presenter Andrea McLean talks to us about how she beat menopause, and why she’s feeling better than ever at 50...

- Robyn Morris

Sitting down with Andrea McLean is like catching up with an old friend. She’s warm, open and funny: nothing is off-limits.

After announcing in 2016 that she’d be taking time off to have a hysterectomy – which triggered early menopause – she was inundated with messages from women asking for information and advice. She couldn’t respond to every query so, with the help of a menopause expert, she penned a bestselling book, Confessions of a Menopausal Woman.

“My experience hasn’t been brilliant, but women don’t need to accept that this is how it is; there is help,” she says.

Andrea has two kids, Finlay, 18, and Amy, 13, and is married to Nick. She says she feels “full of beans” again. On the topic of her 50th birthday in 2019, Andrea said, “I celebrated in the year building up to it and it’s going to be the year after, too. My confidence is back.”

Here, she tells us about her big plans for 2020, the secret to a happy marriage, and why SA is special to her.

Last night, I was lying in bed thinking, ‘I’m 50!’

Deep down, I still feel the way I did in my twenties – but now I can say, “No, I don’t like that,” and it’s allowed. It’s given me loads of energy because I feel the way I did 30 years ago, when I felt anything was possible. I feel brave again, which I’d lost along the way as my personal life took tough twists and turns.

I had a wonderful joint party with the kids.