Halle Berry told little-known ‘dry vagina' symptom was STI before being diagnosed with something else

Halle Berry was diagnosed with an STI, before it was discovered she was experiencing symptoms of a very different condition.

The Catwoman actress was told she had a 'really bad case' of herpes after getting involved with her singer-songwriter boyfriend, Van Hunt.

The Hollywood star had been feeling discomfort when going to the bathroom and pain during sex, leading to the clinician to diagnose her with the virus prior to her receiving her test results.

However, when Berry and Hunt were tested for the virus, they both found that neither had herpes.

So, what did the 58-year-old actress have?

Friday 10th October was World Menopause Day, which aims to shine the spotlight on the challenges facing women during the menopause transition every year.

Just like Berry, so many women experience the same symptoms she was having.

That’s because, instead of an STI, she was she was experiencing perimenopause.

Halle Berry was diagnosed with Herpes before finding out the real cause (Irena Sowinska/ Getty stock)

According to the Menopause Society, perimenopause marks ‘a change in menstrual periods is caused by the ovaries’ erratic production of hormones and less-frequent release of an egg (ovulation)’.

"In the beginning of perimenopause, these changes are often subtle. It’s common for cycles to become a little shorter than usual. The number of days of bleeding may be fewer or greater, and blood flow may be heavier or lighter. As perimenopause progresses, cycle length may vary by 7 days or more. In the beginning it may be an occasional skipped period, but in the late menopause transition women may skip 60 days or more," it adds.

Reflecting on the dark time during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show earlier this year (24 February), she began by discussing the start of her and Hunt's relationship.

Berry told the presenter that the couple were 'having the best time' and that she'd 'finally met her person' before their romance was suddenly put to the test.

"I tried to go to the bathroom and I couldn’t go," the movie star reflected on her initial symptom.

"It was so painful when I tried to let a little bit out. I couldn’t go. It took me almost 10 minutes just to empty my bladder because it was so painful."

Berry added: "Substances were down there that I had never seen before, and I thought, 'What is this?'"

Berry was perimenopausal (Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)

She also revealed she was 'so swollen' by this point that she 'couldn’t even put [her] legs together to drive' to the doctor's surgery.

After she was dealt a herpes diagnosis, the Ohio-born star and her beau began playing 'the blame game'.

"And then a couple of hours after that, my doctor called me and said, 'You do not have herpes,'" she went on, describing the revelation as a 'defining moment' in her life.

Since then, she has attempted to raise awareness of 'dry vagina syndrome' - a symptom of perimenopause.

Berry's television admission comes less than a year after she attended the A Day of Unreasonable Conversation summit in LA in March 2024, where she and former First Lady Jill Biden discussed the lack of research in women’s health.

During the event, the actress - who has become an impressive menopause awareness advocate in the years since her perimenopause misdiagnosis - claimed she hopes to 'change the way women and men feel about women during their midlife'.

Reflecting on her initial misdiagnosis, she added: "My doctor had no knowledge and didn’t prepare me, that’s when I knew, 'Oh my gosh, I’ve got to use my platform, I have to use all of who I am and I have to start making a change and a difference for other women'."

If you have been affected by the contents of this article, please find more information and support via Menopause Matters on their website, or email [email protected].