Iconic supermodel Beverly Johnson gets transparent about menopause and shares how she had it full blown at the age of 47.
During a recent interview, Johnson, 70, revealed that after having a hysterectomy after having painful uterine fibroids that caused internal bleeding, menopause came after. “It was a life-changing moment. I went from my swinging forties to full-blown menopause and I was not prepared.”
She stated that she was diagnosed with fibroids in her thirties and after undergoing a myomectomy with no improvement, the hysterectomy came after. “It was a major operation. I didn’t fully understand what the procedure entailed. The doctor didn’t explain and I thought menopause would come on gradually.”
Johnson continued, “My body changed. You start gaining weight in the middle. And I was still modeling. I felt tired. I remember talking to older women and when they’d break out in a sweat, I’d say ‘What’s wrong? Are you okay?’ And the response was always ‘You’ll know about it soon enough.’ I never connected the two. Well, I was that woman now. You’re in the middle of a conversation with an attractive guy- I was single- and all of a sudden, there’s a mustache of sweat, and he’s saying ‘Are you okay?’”
The supermodel went on to say that her sex life was also affected. “You don’t have the hormones that keep you nice and moist in the areas you want to be nice and moist in. Mentally, you still have a sex drive but physically, there were changes. You’re moist in all the wrong places and that was a big shocker for me. There are all these unexpected consequences.”
Beverly Johnson continued the conversation and talked about how she had no one to really talk to about menopause during that time. However, Johnson finds it to be empowering that the times are changing and that women are sharing their stories about menopause.
“Why do we have to stay in the Dark Ages when it comes to this? It’s life-changing but it also causes some health changes so it’s wonderful people are talking about it and we can read about it in places like PEOPLE and not just medical journals.”