Petra Bagust

"Imperfection is the joy of ageing"

- Wendyl Nissen

The podcaster and radio star talks to writer Wendyl Nissen about menopause, crying and coping with the tough times.

Broadcaster, podcaster and all-round good person Petra Bagust has forgotten about our interview. She opens the door with an element of surprise, gives us a hug and then confesses, laughing, I didn’t remember you were coming!”

Not that we would have known. Though Petra’s not wearing a lick of make-up, her silver hair is pulled back into a tidy knot and she’s not still in her pyjamas at 10am, as many of us who work from home might be. Instead, she’s draped in a gorgeous, comfy wrap, worn over a linen dress. Though our photoshoot is still days away, she looks camera-ready.

“I wondered about whipping off and putting on some mascara while I made your drink, but no, you see me as am,” she says later as she delivers a cup of steaming coffee.

At almost 51, Petra is allowed to forget things because she’s in late perimenopause. Menopause is just around the corner and she hopes that when it finally arrives, her memory will return.

“I forget so much,” she admits. T’ll be sitting here having a cup of tea and pick up my phone to check my emails, and there it is a meeting which starts in two minutes across town!”

But she’s not beating herself up about it. In that particular case, she made the appointment, albeit 15 minutes late, and no one really minded.

“Do I hate myself? Not at all. I don’t even hate myself a little bit,” Petra says. Rather than tell myself I am useless and embark on a tirade of critique, I just thought, The world hasn’t ended. Nobody died.’”