Ruth Langsford has shared details of the moment she realised she needed help managing the symptoms of the menopause. The presenter was chatting about the topic on Loose Women on Tuesday (April 26).
She discussed that it was a moment with her son Jack that prompted her to begin hormone replacement therapy (HRT) treatment. Speaking to her fellow panelists - Coleen Nolan, Brenda Edwards, and Kéllé Bryan - Ruth said she had a row with her 20-year-old son, who she shared with husband Eamonn Holmes.
"I really need to go and talk to the doctor about going on HRT," she said. "I had a moment with Jack where we were supposedly clearing his room, he was having it decorated or something and he wasn't pulling his weight and I had a complete overreaction, screaming at him."
READ MORE: ITV This Morning's Phillip Schofield says he has now quit Twitter
"I remember running out of his room, slamming the door between our kitchen and upstairs that's got glass in it, so I thought, 'That's going to break,' ran up to my bedroom and threw myself on the bed and cried like a teenager," Ruth recalled. "Then it was like I woke up, 'What just happened? That was such an overreaction."
She added: "Then I thought I need to go to the doctor so I think everyone's had those moments." The conversation comes amid a HRT shortage in the UK.
Shortages of the medicine, which is used to treat the symptoms of menopause, have reportedly caused some women to travel hundreds of miles in search of it or share the medication of others. A top GP has since warned that the shortage need to be sorted quickly as it may cause some women to take drastic measures and lead to "serious side-effects".
Ruth previously opened up about her struggles with menopause back in 2019. Speaking to Woman magazine, she said: "I definitely feel like an angry old woman. I fight over very simple things, and not always people, it can be inanimate objects in the house, or I bang myself or drop something and it's like a red rage - the language that comes out."
Ruth and her fellow TV presenter husband Eamonn welcomed their only child Jack in 2002. The pair later married in a summer wedding in Hampshire in 2010.
Jack made a rare appearance on his mum's Instagram page last month as she celebrated her 62nd birthday in Manchester. The TV star posted a video to her Instgaram page featuring pictures and clips from her celebrations, with one being a selfie alongside Jack.
"So many of my friends are Pisces girls so we decided to celebrate together with a weekend in wonderful Manchester this year," Ruth said. "Also had a surprise pop in from our son Jack! Thanks @liztayloruk for organising, @hungrywomancooks for being my partner in crime always @slattery_cakes for the AMAZING birthday cake @mollysophie2 @fireflymcr for a fabulous lunch. We missed you @lizziecundy."
