Sophie Turner might be a Hollywood actor, but she is no less immune to the afflictions of womanhood than the rest of us.
The 22-year-old Game of Thrones star was photographed crying in New York City on Wednesday while taking a stroll with her fiancé, Joe Jonas.
The singer, who was celebrating his 29th birthday that same day, was pictured comforting Turner, with fans suspecting the two had gotten into an argument.
However, writing in response to a TMZ article which describes the incident as a “mini crisis”, Turner revealed the real reason behind her tears on Twitter.
“Lol,” she wrote, “Thank god I have a loving fiancé. Periods are a b****.'”
The actor’s candour has sparked a flurry of adoring responses from fans, all of whom have praised Turner for her honesty.
“Preach,” wrote one person, “this was me at Coles (supermarket) last week! Period cramps from hell!! Thanks for keeping it real!”
“I feel the same way. It’s so painful and it sucks. It drains you emotionally too,” added another.
Many women also responded by sharing their own stories of suffering emotionally and physically as a result of their periods, taking solace in the fact that even someone of Turner’s celebrity status might encounter similar difficulties.
Since it was posted on Thursday, Turner’s tweet has garnered more than 49,000 likes and 5,600 retweets.
The A-list duo are believed to have been together since late 2016 and confirmed their engagement in October last year.
Turner's comments come shortly after a study carried out by girls' rights charity Plan International UK revealed the extent of the taboo surrounding periods and the effect this is having on young women.
The survey of 1,000 people aged 14 to 21 found that more than a quarter of them don't know what to do when they start their periods while nearly half (49 per cent) are embarrassed by them.
Meanwhile, 71 per cent of those surveyed admitted to feeling embarrassed when buying sanitary products.
“As a society we obsessively euphemise, belittle and silence menstruation; we need to address the impact this is having on girls," said Tanya Barron, Plan International’s chief executive.
“As a global girls’ rights charity we know that pervading cultural taboos and lack of education around periods can have a damaging impact on the lives of girls both here in the UK and across the world, exposing them to discrimination and preventing them from fulfilling their potential.”
