Halle Berry thought little-known ‘dry vagina’ symptom was an STI before realising it was something else
In 2020, Halle Berry was diagnosed by a doctor with a 'really bad case' of herpes - just weeks after striking up a relationship with new boyfriend, singer-songwriter Van Hunt.
In the months prior, the Hollywood bombshell had been experiencing several symptoms of the sexually-transmitted infection - including discomfort when going to the bathroom and pain during sex - but was adamant that the medic's assertion was incorrect.
Berry and Hunt were subsequently tested for the virus - which causes painful blisters or ulcers - but came back all-clear.
It wasn't until afterwards that the 58-year-old actress discovered she'd been misdiagnosed, and that she'd actually been suffering symptoms of something different altogether.
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Little did the former Catwoman star know at the time, that she was experiencing perimenopause.
Perimenopause is the 'natural process caused when your ovaries gradually stop working', according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
"Perimenopause is the transitional time around menopause. Menopause is when a woman’s periods stop. It’s marked by changes in the menstrual cycle, along with other physical and emotional symptoms," it adds.
Reflecting on the dark time during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show earlier this week (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?'."
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].
Rhianna Benson