Now in her 60s, the GMTV star is busier than ever and incredibly optimistic about the future
Anthea Turner has opened up about her experience of perimenopause, which coincided with one of the most turbulent periods of her life. Back in 2012, the former GMTV star began experiencing symptoms she struggled to describe and decided to visit a GP.
“The most difficult thing for me at the time was actually explaining myself,” she said. “When I started out on my journey, there just wasn’t the conversation. You could, if you really looked, find something – but nobody really wanted to talk about menopause, because it was this horrible admission as a woman that you’re getting old – and God forbid we want to admit that.”
Sitting in her local surgery ‘snivelling’ through her symptoms, the broadcaster, now 65, left with a prescription for tranquilisers. She continued: “He said, ‘I’m going to prescribe you tranquilisers.’ Before I even took one, I thought: no, no, this has got to be wrong – and obviously I went on my own journey.”
That journey was far from straightforward. Turner also began having problems within her marriage to her then-husband Grant Bovey, CEO of Imagine Homes, who had just declared bankruptcy in 2010.
“My ex-husband’s business was going down. I rolled up my sleeves and did what all women do, ‘I’ll work my way out of this’,” she said. “…I was literally commuting back and forth to Canada and filming and coming home then somewhere in all this melee I was going through the menopause as well.”
Turner even wrote her husband a letter to explain what she was going through. She continued: “I tried to put into words what was happening to me, but then of course I later found out he was having an affair and wasn’t interested in his sweaty wife.
“Your confidence takes the hit – and confidence is the key to life. When you start to lose it, it’s a downward spiral.” Nonetheless, Turner described how acknowledging her loss of confidence was a crucial factor that made menopause a transformative experience for her.
“It’s probably the best wake-up call you’ll ever have to take control,” she said. “Up until then, we’ve partied, we’ve eaten whatever we wanted, we haven’t really thought about our health because we didn’t need to. Then there comes a point where you have a big night out and it takes three days to get over it.”
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You might find it surprising that her approach was centred on vanity. She continued: “How was I going to get my confidence back? I was going to use vanity and self-preservation.
“Sometimes that’s what you need. You look in the mirror and say, OK then, my skin, my hair, my waistline – they don’t look the same. There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of vanity to get that confidence back.”
Turner’s reset began with her diet. “I cut out processed foods and sugar,” she said. “[Now] I do the 80:20 rule – 80 per cent of things are good and 20 per cent I can have that croissant. I apply it to food, clothes, exercise, everything.”
She later added: “The cleaner you eat, the less complicated it becomes. If you have to put your glasses on to read the ingredients on the back of a packet, it’s probably not good.”
The catalyst that kick-started her diet change was the visible difference she began to see in her hair. Once her trademark, it had started to break off. It’s a familiar story for many women going through hormonal changes, as falling oestrogen can make hair thinner, drier and more brittle.
“When I cut sugar, slowly that tanker started to turn around,” she added. “I didn’t change my haircare routine – it was beauty from within.”
Like many women in midlife rediscovering their confidence, Turner observed increased dialogue about hair and lash loss—once a taboo subject that’s now openly discussed on social media. She finds that using serums and scalp oils, especially brands like UKLash, has been transformative.
The same logic applies to skincare. In the first five years after menopause, collagen production decreases by 30 per cent. She claimed that post-menopause skin ‘needs more moisture and fewer harsh products’, stating that ingredients like ceramides, hyaluronic acid, peptides and niacinamide really help.
Turner also admitted that she’s not above making a few aesthetic adjustments. “I haven’t frowned since I was 40 – frankly, I’ve needed to on many occasions,” she laughed, referring to Botox injectables, “But I cannot always look as angry as I feel.
“I do have a tiny bit of filler just in the apples [of my cheeks]. Then I do all the facial exercises and I have got the [LED] mask and I love it but I don’t know how much it works. I’m just always trying to keep things in balance.”
For Turner, menopause was therefore less an ending than a recalibration. And now in her 60s, she’s busier than ever and incredibly optimistic. “First off, you have to admit things are changing,” she said.
“You might not want another baby, but when those doors close, it affects you mentally. Still, once you accept it, there’s freedom. You’ll speak with greater confidence because you’ve got more air miles behind you than in front of you.”