Gabby Logan feared menopause would kill her sex life

Gabby Logan has revealed she feared reaching the menopause would ruin her sex life. 

But the presenter, 51, has said that after starting HRT, the opposite is in fact true.

The Welsh TV personality told The Sun that hormone treatment has increased her libido and she no longer worries that sex with her husband will feel like a chore. 

Gabby first realised she was perimenopausal at the age of 47, but didn't recognise the symptoms, believing she was too young. 

Instead she confessed she felt like a 'lesser version of herself'.

Gabby told the publication that she didn't know what was wrong with her and that her normal healthy habits weren't helping her.

The FIFA presenter only realised what her symptoms were after she invited broadcaster Mariella Frostrup on her podcast, The Mid Point, in 2020.

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The star, who shares 19-year-old twins Lois and Reuben with her former Scottish rugby player Kenny Logan, explained that the honest discussion allowed her to face her own symptoms. 

Gabby added that some of the keys signs included anxiety, impatience, shouting at family and friends, losing your temper, feeling tired a lot of the time with low energy levels and having brain fog.

The sports presenter also confessed that the menopause seriously affected her sex life.

She said: 'My libido was definitely affected by the menopause and perimenopause. I found I didn't want to have sex with my husband as much, and it felt like something I was going to have to do even if I didn't really want to.

'It was almost like, 'Is this going to become a duty?' So many women say this and I didn't want to become one of them.

She added that she wanted to regain her sex drive because her sex life with her husband had always been so important. 

As soon as a doctor prescribed her HRT, she said she was relived and felt she could return to her normal self and even found the whole experience quite emotional.

WHAT IS THE MENOPAUSE?

Menopause is when a woman stops having periods, and is no longer able to get pregnant naturally.

It usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55.

It is a normal part of ageing and caused by levels of the sex hormone oestrogen dropping.

Some women go through this time with few, if any, symptoms. 

Others suffer from hot flushes, sleeping difficulties, mood swings and brain fog, which can last for months or years and might change over time.

HRT replaces the hormones and is the main treatment used to treat symptoms — which can be severe and disrupt day-to-day life.

Menopause happens when your ovaries stop producing as much of the hormone oestrogen and no longer release an egg each month.

Gabby revealed she has always had a healthy sexual relationship with Kenny and has always fancied him but couldn't understand why she didn't want to have sex with him as much. 

But added that after starting on the hormonal treatment: 'My libido came back within about a week and our sex life was back on track — even to the extent of having daytime sex. Our kids will kill me if I say any more!”

The couple hit another hurdle in 2022 when Kenny was diagnosed with prostate cancer which required surgery.

Along with her worries for her husband, the star was also battling empty-nest syndrome and has taken to hobbies to help transition to life without her children at home. 

Gabby regularly goes cold water swimming and finds that the process helps relieve her menopause symptoms.

She told the newspaper that many women don't realise that The Sun affects physical and mental wellbeing, including heart health and osteoporosis and exercise is a good way of counteracting those issues. 

The presenter encouraged other women to read about the menopause before it happens to minimise the shock of it, adding that nothing can prepare you for the real experience.