Keeping it Together: Gabrielle Union defies menopause stigma

Gabrielle Union knows a thing or two about the power of vulnerability. If no one else is willing to make space for conversations that matter, she’s willing to do it herself.

Hi, I'm Katie, a health and wellness reporter with Paste BN. I attended an event in New York City this week where I got to spend 1-1 time with Union and discuss her experience with perimenopause — a journey she's now embracing on a whole other level by partnering with Clearblue to promote its Menopause Stage Indicator urine test.

During our interview, Union confidently rejected the concept of succumbing to menopause stigmas and revealed the one thing she regrets about how she shared her experiences with the world.

Unsure if it’s Hollywood or “an oversized ego,” Union said she has prevented menopause’s harsh stigmas from bringing her down by “just being honest” with herself. That means not concealing the fact she’s in perimenopause from friends, family and fans, and refusing to be viewed as “defective.” 

“We're all going to go through this, so why would I feel any kind of shame about it?” Union said. 

In fact, “I feel more shame that I wasn't as vocal from the beginning, so other people aren't spiraling when we could have been in community together,” she added.

In past interviews and in her 2021 book “You Got Anything Stronger?,” Union said she experienced suicidal ideation around 48 years old. If she and others would have spoken up sooner, Union wonders whether lives could have been saved. 

“I learned that the age women are most likely to kill themselves is in the 45-55 age range. I started thinking of all the people I personally knew who had taken their lives, and wondered if at least some of that was related to menopause — and could we have saved some of these people if we talked about this more,” Union said. “We're just so easily dismissed as being dramatic or toxic — and that doesn't help you get help. That helps you feel shame, and shame is rarely a good jumping off place to heal yourself.”

Read more on how Union feels about the health care system and how its shortfalls impact people going through menopause.