The Second Coming of Halle Berry

Halle Berry has found her purpose. She’s chatting with Trevor and Christiana about the jaw-dropping personal experience that led her to her new project: promoting the conversation around women’s longevity and creating tools for those experiencing menopause. We’re learning a lot in this one.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Trevor Noah?

  Earth can be a lot sometimes. Heat waves, gas prices, bad hair days. Why not go where life is good? Escape to Pluto TV. Turn off your problems and turn on your favorite movies and shows. You know, the ones you already love. From Anchorman, the legend of Ron Burgundy, to Dirty Dancing, to Top Gun Maverick. From Alias to The X-Files. It's all here and all free. Go where the TV is always good. Escape to Pluto TV. Stream now, pay never.

• 0:35Trevor Noah?

  This segment is brought to you by Google Pixel. You know what's really frustrating? Knowing the exact information you need is somewhere on your phone, but still ending up wasting your time digging through five different apps just to actually find it. Thankfully, Google Pixel 11 is designed with Gemini intelligence, so it can proactively find the information I need right when I need it. Like my flight info on travel days or my calendar when Eugene texts me to hang out. Oh, sorry Eugene, I'm booked. Learn more about what Google Pixel 11 can do at googlestore.com. These AI features are available in select countries and languages for users 18 and over, and make sure to check responses.

• 1:20Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, booked forever, forever. It's always like what I call the plus one purchase in a pharmacy. No one will go in and just buy lube. No one. People are always like, oh, get a bunch of other things, shampoo. Orange juice.

• 1:33Speaker 01

  I'm just gonna go buy condom.

• 1:35Trevor Noah?

  No, no, no.

• 1:36Speaker 01

  You're gonna throw some other stuff.

• 1:37Trevor Noah?

  No, you throw everything else in and then you're just like, ah, lube. And then, God forbid, the lube doesn't scan. Like if it doesn't, like, if that code doesn't work.

• 1:52Trevor Noah?

  This is What Now? with Trevor Noah.

• 2:03Speaker 02

  You know what, the more kids you have, the harder the pregnancies become. Because if you got pregnant now and you had to run it after your other two...

• 2:09Speaker 01

  Well, now I'm 58, that'd be pregnant, it'd be hard for that reason.

• 2:12Speaker 02

  No, you could...

• 2:12Trevor Noah?

  Is that real, though? Are you sure that you're 58? No, I ask you this because like, some people don't know, like, maybe you don't, like, are you sure, sure?

• 2:21Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 2:22Speaker 01

  1966, August 14th, I'm 58.

• 2:24Speaker 02

  He's like your biological age, that's what he's asking.

• 2:27Speaker 01

  Well, my glen age is 40.

• 2:28Trevor Noah?

  Oh, that's me. There you go.

• 2:30Speaker 01

  I just did that, that's my glen age.

• 2:31Trevor Noah?

  That's what I mean. I don't, I don't think some people age the same way calendars work.

• 2:36Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 2:37Trevor Noah?

  And I think you're one of those people.

• 2:39Speaker 01

  Well, thank you.

• 2:40Trevor Noah?

  If we had to repopulate another planet, I would pick Halle Berry as one of the people.

• 2:44Speaker 02

  Of course.

• 2:44Trevor Noah?

  Because I'd go like...

• 2:45Speaker 02

  Yeah, Helen of Troy, basically.

• 2:47Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, essentially, that's what I would, I would do.

• 2:49Speaker 02

  Stop, stop that.

• 2:50Trevor Noah?

  It's so good to have you here, by the way, thank you so much for joining us.

• 2:52Speaker 01

  I'm so happy.

• 2:53Trevor Noah?

  This is, can I tell you, I don't think I've had more fun researching somebody than researching you before this conversation. Because half of the things that I found seemed like conspiracy theories, but they're true. Because you type "Halle Berry", and then all of a sudden, like, the first thing that popped up was "Halle Berry intimacy gel", and I was like, "Oh, wait, no, no, this is..." And I thought it was my search engine, I was like, "No, no, no, sorry, wait, this is, no, no, me, Halle Berry, as a, what is she doing?" And then it was like, "Halle Berry, herpes", and I was like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, no, no, no", I was like, "What is happening to my algorithm?" And then when I read through everything, I was like, "Oh, wow, Halle Berry is, is doing everything right now."

• 3:32Speaker 01

  Is she?

• 3:33Trevor Noah?

  I mean, you, you, you tell me. Like, you, you, it feels like, in the same way that menopause is a moment of transformation for women, it feels like you are in a menopause of life, and you're turning something that people would commonly think of as the end into a new beginning.

• 3:50Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's how I feel. That's exactly how I feel. I am approaching my second act and I couldn't be more excited. You know, when you find, you find a there there and you connect to what you know is a greater purpose. We always ask ourselves when we're here, but what is my why? Why am I here? What am I meant to do? I've figured out what that is. And there's joy and there's peace and there's comfort and there's confidence in that, right? And so that's where I'm at.

• 4:16Trevor Noah?

  And what is that? If you were to distill the purpose down, what is it for Halle Berry?

• 4:20Speaker 01

  It is to be a voice for women in midlife, a time of life that we have been so forgotten and so underserved and underappreciated. And I realize that I have been chosen to be a voice, not the voice, but a voice, a loud voice in this space, to talk about what it looks like to be in our second act, what it looks like to be in midlife, what does longevity really look like for women? Right? Because we're living longer, but we've been in poor health. And why is that?

• 4:53Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 4:54Speaker 01

  Right? And why can't we redefine ourselves? And we are here for more than baby making. That's a wonderful glorious thing that we do, but we're here for so much more than that. But the world has told us after we do that, we're done. I'm here to say, no, that's not true. That's not true. And how are we going to live this thing out in our best health?

• 5:11Speaker 02

  So, Halle, I'm so curious because this is something me and my friends talk about a lot, that we know like all of our mothers went through menopause, but they've never discussed it with us, right?

• 5:19Trevor Noah?

  But they've never said anything to, is this like an African mother thing?

• 5:22Speaker 02

  No, just all of the, all my girlfriends, black, white, we're always like, you know, we're like, when are, you know, perimenopause, like we have lots of questions because we're like, a lot of us are going into perimenopause now, right? And it's like.

• 5:35Trevor Noah?

  Wait, for those who don't know, what is?

• 5:37Speaker 02

  Perimenopause is a period before menopause, which is chaotic and very difficult for women. And you have like memory loss and anxiety and you.

• 5:45Speaker 01

  And I think peri is the worst. Once you get in the menopause, like you're kind of on the other side of it. It's the peri is where it's the hardest. I'm still in peri too. And I'm like, man, I got three more months and then I'm going to be in the menopause if I don't menstruate. And man, I'm gonna be so happy to be in that menopause.

• 6:00Speaker 02

  But like, most women don't actually know what perimenopause is, right? So it's debilitating. And me and my friends of all backgrounds, we talk about the fact that our mothers and grandmothers and great grandmothers must have gone through this.

• 6:13Speaker 01

  Of course they did.

• 6:13Speaker 02

  They haven't given us this guidebook. Do they even have the language?

• 6:17Speaker 01

  They don't.

• 6:17Speaker 02

  For what they went through. And I'm curious how you came to it and were like, I'm gonna use this as transformation because from my perspective and from our friends, it's just something that's shrouded in shame. Like, it's a conversation we still haven't even had with our own mothers.

• 6:31Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 6:31Speaker 02

  And you're like, out here.

• 6:32Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 6:32Speaker 02

  Really publicly claiming it.

• 6:35Speaker 01

  Well, I, like you, didn't know what perimenopause was. Nobody talked to me either. And, but I did have this feeling that I was gonna skip it. I thought, I got myself off insulin at an early age. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and I got off insulin, I got off oral medication, and I found a way with food and using, you know, food as medicine to get off insulin. And I thought, whatever this perimenopause thing is that happens to women around this time, I'm gonna skip it. Because look what I did with the diabetes diagnosis. So I'm just gonna skip this whole shit. Well, no. I didn't skip that bullshit. I realized that I was in it, and Trevor's heard this, so I'm not gonna like go into the gruesome details, because I think I was.

• 7:19Trevor Noah?

  No, you should.

• 7:20Speaker 02

  No, please, you have to.

• 7:20Trevor Noah?

  Because I individually have heard it, but like, I think it's important for everyone to, no, really.

• 7:24Speaker 02

  Because not everyone's heard it, and it's important to know.

• 7:26Trevor Noah?

  No, I really think it's very important to hear it, genuinely.

• 7:28Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 7:29Trevor Noah?

  Because I, like, okay, I'll tell you, before you even tell it, I'll tell you why I think it's important. So, I think, I love what you said about being chosen. You know, my mother always says, sometimes you're not chosen because somebody chooses you, you're chosen because you are the best person in the best position to do something about something. And that's sometimes what being chosen means.

• 7:47Speaker 01

  Yes, yes.

• 7:48Trevor Noah?

  And I think, in a weird way, I feel like, in this moment in your life, everything that was put on you, some of, some of it good and some of it even as a burden, has almost become like the chariot that you're gonna ride into this thing on. Does that make sense? And so I think, I think the story is very important because nobody is brave enough to tell it, and nobody is, not many people are interesting enough to tell it, to be honest with you. And no, and I think, I think that's important because I, I heard this, like, with a few guys as well, and it was interesting to see guys just be like, oh wow, we, we gotta get into this, we gotta like, I, I, I don't know, I don't know how to explain it. I think it was cool to see a story being told. In a way that it affects women.

• 8:28Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:29Trevor Noah?

  But men are affected. Men live with women, like you're in our world, you're in our lives.

• 8:32Speaker 01

  Okay, well, pretend you didn't hear it.

• 8:34Trevor Noah?

  I didn't hear anything. I didn't hear anything.

• 8:35Speaker 01

  And do all the oohs and ahs and gasping.

• 8:37Trevor Noah?

  We're fully in, girl. We're fully in.

• 8:39Speaker 01

  Okay, okay, okay. So, how I found out was, um, you know, I've been divorced three times. That's okay. I'm proud of that, right? Having the courage to leave when something's not right. I don't think that's a bad thing. I think it's a wonderful thing to be able to do. So I'm not ashamed of that. But I have been divorced three times. I finally meet what I thought, and I now know, to be my person. And we are firing on all cylinders. We're getting along and we're having the most amazing sex. I didn't even think it was possible to have something so great at this time in life. I really didn't. After three divorces, I kind of thought, oh, I'm kind of done. And I'm cool with that. But I meet this person and we're just having the best time. All of a sudden, a year into our relationship, we had a great night of sex.

• 9:24Speaker 01

  I wake up in the morning and I do what we always do. I go to the bathroom. Well, I think I'm gonna go to the bathroom. I sit down on the toilet. I cannot go to the bathroom. My body just sort of seizes up and I can't go. And I start to let a little bit out and it's the most excruciating pain I have ever felt. Besides having a cornea scratched, there's nothing more painful than...

• 9:45Speaker 02

  And you've given birth without drugs, by the way.

• 9:48Speaker 01

  Yes, my second baby, so...

• 9:50Speaker 02

  I think it's important we mention that.

• 9:51Speaker 01

  It's more painful than that.

• 9:52Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 9:53Speaker 01

  Right? And I'm like, oh, my God. And it takes me literally probably 10 minutes to just empty my bladder because I can't let it out. So I get off the toilet and I go to my guy and I say, "Look, I gotta go to the doctor. Like, something has happened to me and I don't know what it is." And I couldn't even put my legs together.

• 10:09Speaker 02

  Oh, my God.

• 10:09Speaker 01

  Whatever happened in the night after that sex was bad. So we jump in the car. He drives me to see my doctor. I get in there and my doctor's, you know, got me on the table. He's looking up there and he says, "Wow, you got a new guy in your life?" I said, "I do." And I'm like, "That's amazing." And he's like, "Hmm." He said, "Well, I think I know what this is. Actually, I know what this is. I've seen this before." And I said, "What?" He said, "It's a really bad case of herpes." Like, a really bad case. And I'm like... Herpes. I mean, not knocking anyone that has herpes, but I was like, herpes? I'm like, what? Well, how do you know that? He goes, I've seen this before. This is a really bad case of herpes. Now, all these things are going through my mind, like the love of my life, this great man, this great sex, and wow, he gave me herpes? Like, I thought, wow, he would have told me he had herpes.

• 10:55Speaker 01

  Like, I thought he should have, he could have. Like, why didn't he? Going through all this stuff. And he goes, I'm gonna do the test, and three days you'll get the results back. But I'm sure, I'm, I'm pretty sure, Hal, this, this, this, this is herpes. So now I go down in the car. He's in the car waiting for me. I, I see him, I open the door, and I'm, I'm, I'm angry, and I'm sad that he didn't tell me, and I'm also mad, and I'm like, so yo, look, so you got herpes? He's like, what? I'm like, you have herpes? He's like, I don't have herpes. I said, clearly you have herpes, because I have herpes. And I didn't have herpes before I knew you, now I have herpes. So you clearly gave me herpes. Oh, wow. Oh, my god. He's like, no, I swear I didn't. I don't think I have herpes. I said, I don't have it. I said, well, let me be the first to tell you, you got herpes. Because I got herpes.

• 11:40Speaker 01

  I didn't have it before you. So we're driving home in this argument, like, who has herpes? And we're arguing about why.

• 11:46Trevor Noah?

  Awkward car ride ever.

• 11:47Speaker 01

  Awkward, right? So we get home, and I say to him, look, you're gonna have to go to the doctors, and you're gonna have to get a test too, and you're gonna find out you have herpes. Because now we both have herpes, and you, you gave it to me. So he's like, okay, I'll go to the doctor. I don't feel like I have any herpes. So he goes to the doctor. So we have 72 hours of just blaming each other and not knowing what to do. He gets his test back first. He comes to me, chest poked out. Like I said, I don't have herpes. Upright. You have the herpes. And I thought, oh, my god. I said, okay, I guess I have, I have the herpes. I said, I'm sorry, I've given you herpes. Like, I, I didn't know. I wouldn't, I, I'm sorry.

• 12:31Speaker 01

  Few hours later, my doctor calls me. Before he even says anything, I'm ready to say, okay, yeah, I already know I got the herpes. He says, Hallie, you don't have herpes. I'm like, I don't? I'm like, I don't have herpes, really? He said, no, you don't. I said, well, why would you say that? He said, well, that's what it looked like, but I don't know how to explain this. But no, you, you do not have herpes. I'm like, well, what is it then? Didn't know.

• 12:57Trevor Noah?

  Didn't know?

• 12:58Speaker 01

  He didn't know. He said, I don't know. I don't know.

• 13:00Speaker 02

  And this is like your primary care doctor had no idea.

• 13:04Speaker 01

  No. And this was the defining moment that set me on this journey. What I went through with my guy for seventy two hours, finding out this news the way we did. But nobody could tell me, well, why had this happened to me and what was wrong with me?

• 13:22Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 13:22Speaker 01

  And that sent me on my own journey of investigation and reconnaissance and reading. And I came to after about two or three weeks of my own individual investigation, that what was happening to me was a symptom that many women suffer from in the perimenopausal years. Now, I'm fifty four. Some one of my doctors should have already talked to me about being in perimenopause.

• 13:45Trevor Noah?

  This is wild.

• 13:46Speaker 01

  Nobody, and I've got like six doctors.

• 13:49Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 13:50Speaker 01

  Not one of them had a conversation, I'm fifty four years old, about perimenopause.

• 13:54Speaker 02

  And not telling you how to prepare for it.

• 13:56Speaker 01

  I thought it was even coming.

• 13:57Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 13:57Speaker 01

  Like, I thought I was gonna skip it because nobody talked to me about it. So it wasn't gonna happen to me then.

• 14:03Trevor Noah?

  You hear these stories happening to people, like in all of medicine. So I think, you know, sometimes I think medicine is hard. Let's, we acknowledge that. There are many things doctors don't know, a lot of things that doctors can't figure out. And a good doctor will tell you that. They're like, hey, we try our best, but there's oftentimes we don't know. But it's crazy how much more they don't know about women's issues.

• 14:24Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 14:24Trevor Noah?

  Do you know what I mean?

• 14:25Speaker 01

  We haven't been studied in the same way men have. We only were allowed to be a part of clinical studies in nineteen ninety three.

• 14:30Trevor Noah?

  Ninety three?

• 14:31Speaker 01

  Nineteen ninety three.

• 14:32Trevor Noah?

  Oh, wow.

• 14:32Speaker 01

  Was when they started including women.

• 14:34Trevor Noah?

  I didn't know what that means.

• 14:34Speaker 02

  But the thing is, they know our periods cease at a point. Like, I would accept that, like, as a reason. Yeah, there's something you don't know, but this is not unknowable. We know that women, at a certain point, if you live long enough. You'll probably stop menstruating.

• 14:50Trevor Noah?

  Right.

• 14:50Speaker 02

  And the period before that can be difficult. Well, doctors should know that, I guess.

• 14:55Trevor Noah?

  But they didn't, so they didn't prepare you at all. No one says, hey, just so you know, you're getting to, like, for instance, okay, so when I turned forty, without fail, my doctor was like, how old are you? For, even when I was like thirty eight, they're like thirty eight, they're like, soon you're gonna need to go and get your prostate checked.

• 15:08Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 15:08Trevor Noah?

  And I was like, what is that? And they're like, they're gonna go and do the thing to your bum. And I was like, okay. But every stop I would go to, people would like, throw it out, they're like, throw it out, throw it out, throw it out. Even like the dentist, he was like, oh, happy birthday, prostate time. I'm like, okay, so I just knew, genuinely, I just knew, at forty, prostate is now a thing that gets checked. And you're telling me that.

• 15:26Speaker 01

  Wouldn't it be great if doctors told us at forty, okay, perimenopause time, let me tell you what you gotta do to get, you know? Wouldn't that be great if, if they knew enough? But the truth is, only thirteen percent of doctors in our country understand the menopausal body, and it's one chapter in medical school. That's why doctors don't know. So I don't sit here even blaming my doctor that didn't know what that was. Not his fault, not his fault. On an institutional level, we have not been made important on any level. So it's not their fault. It's only gonna become their fault as this conversation gets louder and louder, and these doctors don't go back and get retooled.

• 16:05Speaker 01

  Then I will start blaming them, because when you know better, you do better. Now, doctors are really starting to understand what they don't know. And menopause used to not be a thing. Nobody ever thought that it was real. It was like, just deal with it. It's just old age. It's just, oh. No, it's not just, oh, it's a real thing. And it affects more than our, just our lady parts. When we lose our estrogen, the thing that makes us us, that makes women women, it affects our brain, our heart, our liver, our skin, our bones, our hair, our mood. Everything about us becomes compromised.

• 16:37Speaker 02

  Well, the suicide rate goes up for menopausal women. That was something I read.

• 16:40Speaker 01

  And we just get put on antidepressants because we're depressed. No, we're not depressed. We're losing that hormone that makes up. Who we are on a cellular level. And if we don't replace that in some way, we're just gonna die slowly. And it's a tragic death because we lose our faculties to think. Yeah. And remember, early onset Alzheimer's and dementia. Our bones get so brittle, we fall down, we break them. It's lights out, right? Our heart gets compromised. More women have heart disease and heart attacks at this time of life than men do. Right? So it's not just we get what I know I had now was vaginal atrophy. It's not just that. Yeah. You know, that I've learned how to fix. I'm good now. But how do we fix our heart disease? How do we fix our brain?

• 17:21Speaker 01

  How do we stay virile and active and be able to walk and take care of ourselves? How do we do that without this very thing that makes us us? That's what we have to start studying.

• 17:31Trevor Noah?

  We're gonna continue this conversation right after this short break.

• 17:36Trevor Noah?

  Some of the most interesting things you learn happen while you're doing something completely ordinary. Maybe you're cooking dinner while watching a history video. Maybe you're on a flight catching up on a long-form interview. Or maybe you're trying to figure out how to fix something in your house because apparently owning a screwdriver means you're an electrician now. But you see, that's one of the things I love about YouTube Premium. I travel a lot, so I download videos before a flight. That way, I'm not leaving my entertainment in the hands of airplane Wi-Fi. Yeah, I've made that mistake before. You think you're gonna watch something in 4K and suddenly everyone's face is pixels. But one of my favorite features is smart downloads. You see, YouTube Premium can automatically download recommended videos for you

• 18:21Trevor Noah?

  based on what you already watched. So sometimes I'll get on a plane, I look at my phone, I'm like, ah, I didn't download anything. And it's like, no, YouTube already thought about this. They packed entertainment for me in my little lunchbox. And with background play, I can lock my phone, switch apps, and whatever I'm watching just keeps on going. So. If you like YouTube, you will love YouTube Premium. Sign up now for your free trial at youtube.com/premium. Terms apply. Cancel anytime. Pretty much every brand offers rewards these days. But most of them, let's be honest, they aren't that rewarding. Well, starting now, Verizon's doing rewards different. Rewards you'll love all year round for every customer.

• 19:05Trevor Noah?

  They're introducing Verizon Dollars, which gives you cash back every month just for being a customer. That's it. Plus, you have the flexibility to use those glorious new dollars how you want. Shop with Verizon. Get gift cards for the brands that you love, or transfer them to our partner programs. They're also introducing Verizon Shine, where now, every Monday, you can snag once-in-a-lifetime experiences like NFL tickets across the globe, all-inclusive music festivals, and the chance to meet your favorite stars, plus daily drops, tickets, and pre-sale access all week. So, let's recap. Cash back in your pocket every month with Verizon Dollars,

• 19:47Trevor Noah?

  and epic experiences from Verizon Shine every Monday all year round. Now, those are some rewarding rewards, only from Verizon. Enroll today at Verizon.com. Earth can be a lot sometimes. Heat waves, gas prices, bad hair days. Why not go where life is good? Escape to Pluto TV. Turn off your problems and turn on your favorite movies and shows. You know, the ones you already love. From Anchorman, the Legend of Ron Burgundy, to Dirty Dancing, to Top Gun: Maverick, from Alias to The X-Files. It's all here, and all free. Go where the TV is always good. Escape to Pluto TV. Stream now, pay never.

• 20:41Trevor Noah?

  I'll tell you why I love these conversations because like so like I've I've told you something like so I grew up with my mom like as a single mom for most of our lives right and for various reasons apartheid being one but like just like a single mom but my mom like it's it's I don't realize I or I didn't realize how blessed I was because she shares everything with me so when she was going through menopause she would just like tell me stuff that was happening to her body and she you know she'd be like oh I'm so hot hey hey hey hey hey she said oh you must you must thank god you're not a woman I yeah yeah yeah this thing that's happening to my what she says I'm hot and I'm cold and I'm angry and I'm tired and I'm sleepy and I'm hi Trevor no I yeah yeah this whoa I I I don't want it I don't want it

• 21:23Trevor Noah?

  and then like when she was finished she said I feel strong I feel like a man I feel like a man and I was like this I don't know what's happening but

• 21:29Speaker 01

  she pretty much turned into one

• 21:30Trevor Noah?

  no so I love I love these conversations and I'm in a strange way used to them you know um because of just I guess how my mom was with me but but I don't know what some of the terms are and I don't so like what is vaginal atrophy

• 21:45Speaker 01

  you should say vaginal atrophy is what fifty percent of the women who go through perimenopause actually experience

• 21:51Trevor Noah?

  fifty percent

• 21:52Speaker 01

  fifty percent so it's a real serious part of I I am so not alone in what I've gone through and it's when the the walls of your vagina start to actually atrophy which means they start to fall apart and sort of disintegrate you lose your collagen inside your vagina as we do in our faces and we start to get wrinkles and your skin gets crepey that's what's happening inside your vagina and so the walls get really thin and you know crepey so when you are having sex those walls are so thin it cracks and that's what the razor blades in the vagina feels like that I experienced right and sometimes it happens during sex but then it can happen after you've had sex if you were like in the moment and you got your groove and you don't feel that it's cracking because you know those endorphins are kicking off and pleasure is happening

• 22:37Speaker 01

  the next morning when you go to the bathroom and you try to urinate it's when the urine touches the walls of those cracks it's that's what makes it so painful right and that's what vaginal atrophy is

• 22:49Speaker 02

  I'm so curious because women aren't necessarily talking to other women about this and don't have the resources themselves.

• 22:55Speaker 01

  No.

• 22:56Speaker 02

  Doctors don't seem to know. Where does a woman go who's like perimenopausal or menopausal and is just trying to figure out what is going on and who can help me?

• 23:05Speaker 01

  What's funny you should say. Because we have just launched Respin 2.0 and Respin Health. And the whole idea of this company is about creating community. We learned that when people have other people, like-minded people, who are struggling with the same issue to talk to, there's strength in that, right? There's strength in community. Talking to other people, you can hold each other accountable, you can brainstorm, you can share stories. Because I've learned, as I've been talking about it, when I talk to other women, they go, ah, aha. They instantly feel better because they can talk about it with someone who understands, who's not afraid to talk about it, who can hold space for their feelings, who know that what they're saying is true and real.

• 23:50Speaker 01

  They can feel less shame, they can feel not alone, less afraid. That right there is half the battle. Just getting them to talk about it and feel good talking, not just talking about it, but feeling empowered by being able to talk about it. So Respin is that place of community, but they can also not just talk and like talk about it in like a Wild, Wild West kind of way. They can talk about it and be guided with doctors and professionals and scientists.

• 24:15Trevor Noah?

  Oh, so it's connected to healthcare providers as well?

• 24:17Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 24:17Trevor Noah?

  Okay.

• 24:17Speaker 01

  And people that are on the cutting edge of where we are in menopause, who are doing the latest researches, right? Running the most recent clinical trials and studies, who can tell you why HRT isn't bad for us like we once thought 20 years ago. Why that was a debunked study that was a fake.

• 24:36Trevor Noah?

  That's hormone replacement therapy?

• 24:37Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 24:37Trevor Noah?

  Okay.

• 24:37Speaker 01

  Right, and why that that study.

• 24:39Speaker 02

  And that's something I actually wanted to ask you about because when I, the older women who do. Speak about it with me are so terrified of hormone replacement there.

• 24:48Speaker 01

  Yes, because of that study.

• 24:49Speaker 02

  Yeah, and I say, well, the study's been debunked and you can go on Instagram and see in the comments section, this big pharma trying to kill us. No, but you know, because it's like breast cancer is a thing that does increase with age and people are terrified to get breast cancer.

• 25:02Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 25:02Speaker 02

  So there are women suffering right now who maybe are good candidates for HRT.

• 25:07Speaker 01

  Absolutely, and that's why we have to figure out what the truth is about it. And then as women, we have to make those choices for ourselves, not because what you heard or what somebody else is afraid of, but we have to make these decisions based out of education, based on education for ourselves. Because for me, just just me, we have a greater chance of having cancer late in life anyway. So if that's the truth, I want to live my second act feeling great, not having brain fog, not flooding my laundry room every other week, not raging, not having headaches, not, you know, not worrying.

• 25:45Trevor Noah?

  Popping at the mercy of your body, it sounds like.

• 25:47Speaker 01

  Right, I want to live my best life. And so, once I did my own education, I too was afraid of HRT because I'd heard those stories. But once I got into understanding why it was okay for me, I now know I'll be on this till the day I die.

• 26:01Speaker 02

  Oh, really?

• 26:01Speaker 01

  Yes, because I'm gonna die anyway and I'm gonna die feeling good about it.

• 26:06Trevor Noah?

  We don't know, we don't know if that's a fact, though.

• 26:08Speaker 01

  Yes, I am gonna die.

• 26:09Trevor Noah?

  We assume, you think you'll die.

• 26:12Speaker 01

  But I might not.

• 26:12Trevor Noah?

  I mean, you say you're 58, we don't know.

• 26:14Speaker 02

  We don't, I don't believe that.

• 26:16Trevor Noah?

  There might be like a future generation having this conversation. So Hallie, as the first thousand year old person, what do you feel about? Let me ask you a few questions.

• 26:23Speaker 01

  Oh, God, I better not be here today.

• 26:24Trevor Noah?

  From an ignorant, from an ignorant perspective, like, you know, for people who are either scared or aren't suitable for hormone replacement therapy, are there, are there other options? Are there non-HRT options?

• 26:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, there are, there are other options on the market that women can try that are afraid or who, you know, legit cannot go on hormone replacement. There are those women out there. But that's why I've been in Washington trying to get this bill passed, this menopause bill with $265 million bill, because we need more research, we need more education, we need more therapies developed so that HRT will not be the best solution. Right now, arguably, if you can take it, it is the best solution. But we're working with doctors and with the government to try to come up with other therapies because not every woman will feel like that's the right choice for her. I get that. And we should have the right to do hormone or do. You know, a non-hormonal remedy. We should have the right to make that choice.

• 27:17Trevor Noah?

  The right and the range.

• 27:18Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 27:19Speaker 02

  Curious, like drinking bone broth, collagen supplements, would that help?

• 27:23Speaker 01

  Yes, yes, all of that help. I'm on the bone broth, been on that for like six years. Bone broth, supplements, a good, a good quality collagen though. All collagen is not created equal, but a good collagen, absolutely.

• 27:34Speaker 02

  Okay, so from the inside out, you can do some of the work?

• 27:37Speaker 01

  Yeah, you can do some of the work, but sometimes I'm finding for the more severe vaginal atrophies, that's like the slow boat from China. Like you might be done having sex before it gets fixed.

• 27:47Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 27:48Speaker 01

  So you might have to find another remedy like the V fit or HRT, you know, or vaginal inserts, estradiol vaginal inserts, we're now finding are actually very, very helpful too.

• 28:00Trevor Noah?

  So I would understand if like this was a conversation that women didn't have with men. I'd love to know like why women don't have it with women or why it isn't like, I don't even, again, this is very ignorant of me, but I don't understand why there's any shame attached to it. What, what is it about it that is shameful?

• 28:19Speaker 01

  Well, I can tell you one thing, because we live in a world where as women, we have been sold the ideology that we have to stay forever young. We have to stay forever 30.

• 28:31Trevor Noah?

  Oh damn.

• 28:31Speaker 01

  Right? And look, look around, look, you see what's happening to the faces and the people. We have to stay at all costs. We cannot age. We are only valuable when we are young and virile and forever 30, 35. And that's why we don't have the conversations, because we have bought into that and we don't want to get old either. So we're not going to talk about that with each other. Women are talking about how they can stay young.

• 28:56Trevor Noah?

  Right.

• 28:56Speaker 01

  What they can do with their face, the procedures they can do and how can you, that's what we're talking about. Where we are also victims of this way of thinking. The goal should not be to stay forever 30. The goal should be to age gracefully, have the confidence to be able to do that, knowing that our real value lies within, not externally. Cause we're fighting for external youth, because the inside is doing what the inside is doing.

• 29:24Trevor Noah?

  Welcome to a special part of the show, Best Drive Ever, which is brought to you today by Audi. Audi has taken a huge leap forward with their all-new, fully-electric Audi Q6 e-tron, featuring effortless power, serious acceleration, and the most advanced tech of any Audi ever. You know, I remember my first electric car like it was yesterday. And it wasn't just any electric car. It was the Audi e-tron. Not the Q6, unluckily, but it was. And it wasn't just the e-tron. Believe it or not, it was the very first one of the production line. I've loved cars.

• 30:08Trevor Noah?

  Like, my whole entire life, I've loved cars. But my first electric car, that was something special. Because the e-tron wasn't just an electric car. You know, I remember stepping into that car. It felt like I was stepping into the future, a future that I'd always imagined. You know, it felt like a car, the way I wanted a car to feel. It felt special. It was really designed well. It was beautiful looking. It had everything that was familiar to me. But there was an element of the future that was, there was something beyond my mind. The hum of the engine was replaced by a quiet confidence. There was a seamless acceleration. The way the road felt different. It was smoother, it was more connected, almost like the car was an extension of the journey itself.

• 30:54Trevor Noah?

  And when I was thinking about this experience, I was thinking about how my love for driving started long before that moment. As a kid, I was never in a rush to get anywhere. Because for me, the best part wasn't the destination, it literally was the drive. You know, I remember my mom taking us home from church. And instead of heading straight back, she'd take the long way. We'd weave through different neighborhoods. And we'd play this game where we'd guess who lived behind the walls and what their lives were like. Some streets were lined with jacaranda trees, their petals painting the road purple. Others stretched wide open, endless tarmac, leading to places unknown. I never wanted the ride to end, because in those moments, the car wasn't just a way to get somewhere. It was a part of the experience itself.

• 31:39Trevor Noah?

  And I think that's what makes a truly great car. It doesn't just move you from A to B. It moves you. It makes the journey feel effortless. It turns silence into serenity and transforms motion into something meaningful. And when you're in a great car with great people, oh, that's when the real magic happens. You know, think about it. That's when you have the deepest conversations, the biggest laughs, the kind of moments that stay with you long after you've turned that ignition off. And that's exactly what the Audi Q6 e-tron is all about. Power, precision, and the kind of driving experience that reminds you why the road will always be a place of possibility.

• 32:22Trevor Noah?

  And then, when you're done with your road trip, the Q6 e-tron can come back to the real world with you as your everyday car. For instance, the fully electric Q6 e-tron features a new panoramic digital stage. Plus, you can add an optional screen for front seat passengers. So if you wanted to watch my specials or this podcast in there, you could. Uh, just a suggestion. I mean, you could watch whatever you like. Experience powerful performance, smooth and refined driving dynamics, and a comfortable ride. You'll look and feel confident and in command of the road in the sporty, perfectly proportioned, and fully electric SUV. Learn more at AudiUSA.com.

• 33:07Trevor Noah?

  Always pay careful attention to the road and do not drive while distracted.

• 33:16Trevor Noah?

  You see, it's interesting that you say that. That's what I mean by reading up on your life and why I feel like chosen is a situation that you were in and you've accepted. Because when I, when I look at the journey of Halle Berry, I've gone back to interviews that you did in like 1992, just like random moments with local newspapers. And it's amazing, no, it's really amazing to see how you were trying to pitch yourself as a serious actor, somebody who's in the game, as somebody who takes their craft seriously. And without fail, your beauty will always be put first before everything. And by the way, I'm not even like judging people because I know I'm part of them. I'm not like sitting here like I was like, I'm not gonna be here like, no, I was, you say Halle Berry and then I was like, hallelujah. You get what I'm saying?

• 34:01Trevor Noah?

  But I, but I, I, it's, it's such a strange thing because someone would go like, oh, but it's like a good problem. But I feel like you are the embodiment of that in a very specific way. And now you're using some of that experience to try and rally against the idea because you are the epitome of that. And you work in an industry where many actresses have said across the board, God forbid, a wrinkle starts popping out the corner of your eye. Out the corner of your mouth and all of a sudden they're like, do you want to play someone's mom? And the rolls dry up and the, you know, everything disappears. Whereas like George Clooney, he's still the heartthrob. Him and Brad Pitt, let's do it, baby. No one's like, wait, they're how old? No, everyone's just like, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, oh, yeah.

• 34:43Trevor Noah?

  But if like two women of the same age in Hollywood were trying to do that, someone would go, huh, that's an interesting. What is like a, like a mom's weekend movie? A MILF movie?

• 34:51Speaker 01

  A MILF movie. Then we're MILFs. Cougars.

• 34:54Trevor Noah?

  I'd love to know like how you, how you've dealt with that because it can be hard. I can only assume to on the one hand, have something that people see as an asset, and it is in some ways. But then also deal with the limitations that it comes with in allowing you to be your fullest self as a person.

• 35:12Speaker 01

  Yeah. Yeah. And it has been, you know, I feel like this is a very hard thing to say because, you know, people often are, you know, oh, poor you.

• 35:23Trevor Noah?

  Oh, yeah, no, yeah.

• 35:24Speaker 01

  You told you're pretty.

• 35:28Speaker 01

  God damn it. You know, and, and I know that. So it's, this is a hard thing to say, but it's something that, and I think I've said this recently. I have longed to hear somebody say anything else other than that, anything else. You could call me, you know, she's a curse.

• 35:45Trevor Noah?

  You can say anything.

• 35:46Speaker 01

  She can say, she's a motherfucking bitch. I'd almost rather them say that at this point than just the same thing I've heard for four decades. You know, because I know that I'm more than this and I feel like that's always so reductive. You know, it's just reductive. I've worked hard to be a good actor. I work hard to be a good mother. I've worked hard at trying to be me and to just be reduced to, oh, she's pretty. It is at fifty-eight. It's a hard pill to swallow these days. And so you're right. I think this cause has given me a platform to talk about something other than that. And if I have been known as that my whole life, I'm the perfect person to talk about.

• 36:27Trevor Noah?

  That's exactly what I mean.

• 36:28Speaker 01

  That's what you mean.

• 36:29Speaker 02

  Hallie, I was gonna say.

• 36:29Speaker 01

  I'm the perfect person to talk about this now.

• 36:31Speaker 02

  Is that why you're claiming like probably the most unsexy?

• 36:34Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 36:35Speaker 02

  Gruesome.

• 36:36Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 36:36Speaker 02

  Experience. Not as true like.

• 36:38Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 36:38Speaker 02

  Beyond the actual act of giving birth, which is very ugly. It's beautiful, but it's ugly if you see it upfront. Menopause and this is just like, it's not something that most women would have the courage to claim publicly. And you think you're trying to.

• 36:52Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 36:52Speaker 02

  Claim it for yourself in part because you want to get away from that perception of perfection and beauty and.

• 36:59Speaker 01

  And maybe I didn't choose it consciously, but like you said, Trevor, it's chosen me.

• 37:03Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 37:04Speaker 01

  Because I am the right person to talk about it.

• 37:07Speaker 02

  Mm-hmm.

• 37:07Speaker 01

  Right? Because you would think someone like me would, I'd be the last one talking about it. But see, I've never, you know, I don't ride on that beauty horse.

• 37:15Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 37:15Speaker 01

  That people always want to put me on.

• 37:17Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 37:17Speaker 01

  So I woke up one morning with this idea, oh, I'm gonna tell this story. When this happened to me, I had no trepidation about telling it, like none.

• 37:25Trevor Noah?

  Was there anyone in your circle who was like, Hallie, what are you doing? Like surely there was some, I, like, I can only imagine like the world of agents, managers, you know, everything, because there is the idea of Halle Berry. I, I wonder if there was just anyone who was like, Hallie, you, you can't, you can't, like, what are you doing? Surely there was a little doubt.

• 37:43Speaker 01

  Maybe, but I always had the right answer. I would say to people that said, this is gonna, oof, this might level your career. And I said, I have been black in this body and a woman my whole career. What's harder than that?

• 37:59Trevor Noah?

  Damn.

• 38:00Speaker 01

  So this doesn't scare me. I've always been behind the eight ball and I made it. And I'm still here doing things on my own terms. So what's harder than that? Nothing.

• 38:11Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 38:12Speaker 01

  So, no fear. I'm used to it.

• 38:15Speaker 02

  I was gonna ask about the black womanhood piece because I think that like when you drill down, black women and menopause and just like reproductive health in general is just a maze.

• 38:24Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 38:25Speaker 02

  And we're misdiagnosed and underdiagnosed. So what would you say?

• 38:28Speaker 01

  And we're at greater risk. We suffer disproportionately.

• 38:30Speaker 02

  Disproportionately. So what would you say to black women specifically, especially those that maybe don't even have the tools and the vocabulary to understand what's happening with their body?

• 38:39Speaker 01

  We have to start taking this into our own hands, even these women in these rural states that don't have access to care. We have to lean in. We have to do our own education because we've got a while before the medical world catches up to where we are and can offer us really what we deserve. We're on the precipice of that right now. So we as women have to, one, realize it's happening. We have to start talking about it, the thing that nobody did. And we have to lean in and we have to do our own research. We have to question our doctors. If our doctors don't know about our bodies, guess what, ladies? Get a new doctor.

• 39:12Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 39:13Speaker 01

  And, you know, as women, we have a hard time doing that. We have a hard time standing up for ourselves, going to our male doctors that we've had for maybe fifteen, twenty years and saying, hey bud, you don't know about my body, I'm out of here. These are the kinds of decisions we have to start making for ourselves because we deserve healthcare and we deserve doctors that understand what's happening. And not many do. So we have to search them out. And maybe sometimes you'll have to have a doctor that's in another state that you can connect with, that can guide you.

• 39:39Speaker 02

  That's wild.

• 39:39Speaker 01

  You might not be able just to go see your doctor that you always went to go see. You might have to look outside those boundaries.

• 39:45Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 39:45Speaker 01

  And find a place where you can really get the information you need and be cared for. And we have to do it ourselves. And we can't keep our heads in the mud and think that it's gonna skip me because that's what I thought. No, ignorant, we cannot come from that place. We have to go do the work and start educating ourselves and make some tough choices.

• 40:04Trevor Noah?

  I only realized how opaque this world was when, so.

• 40:09Trevor Noah?

  Um, I saw you in Sweden. We were in Stockholm. Yes. Right? And you were speaking and you were you were sharing like some of your experience. And I'll never forget how like, like, if you've never been to Sweden, like, if you've never been to Scandinavia, understand something, the Scandinavians are the most put together, non disruptive, polite people you will ever come across. Oh, so polite. Yeah, they're like, hey, you keep to yourself. Everyone does their own thing. You've all got your own house. And let's keep it moving. Do you know what I mean? Like, it's very, very, very polite society. And when Hallie was speaking on stage, people like, it was, it was amazing because it was like watching the human body go through two conflicting emotions at the same time.

• 40:53Trevor Noah?

  On the one hand, you would see these like, these, these Scandinavian women like stiffen up, like you shouldn't be saying this. But then their heads would turn like, tell me more, tell me more. And then afterwards, we were having some conversations and one elderly woman came up to me. And she says, yeah, that Halle Berry, quite a, wow, a story to tell. I don't know if I would have told it the same way, but yeah, I'm glad she spoke. But yeah, that was quite intimate. Yeah, because now we know she has a vagina. And I was like, but we all, we should surely, but it was really amazing to see this. Because you know, you would think, you know, you say rural, you you think, but it is amazing to see how pervasive a shame. Yeah.

• 41:37Trevor Noah?

  Or like, or like an idea can be, and I. Like, I'm like, did you not think I had a vagina? What, but this is, but this is what it made me wonder, like, so when I think of what you, what the journey that you're on now. You know, when I like intimacy gel, for instance. I, I, I love that. It seems like you've taken something that was a kernel of an idea. And you're, you're growing it into like a forest of, of, you know, of acknowledgement in a way. Because like intimacy gel, already people are just like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wait, lubricant, wait, wait, what, what's happening here?

• 42:07Speaker 02

  And she's getting great reviews, by the way. Tabitha Brown. Shout out to Tabitha Brown.

• 42:11Trevor Noah?

  Tabitha. So that's what I mean. Gifts you just get from people. But this is something that was, again, it has a different type of taboo, right?

• 42:18Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 42:19Trevor Noah?

  So if menopause is the taboo of, oh, my body's not working the way it's quote unquote "supposed to work," and if I'm now aging and I'm quote unquote, you know, I'm fading out, or I'm aging out, this is another taboo. It's like, oh, sex, like lubricant, or like any of these things. Do you know what I mean?

• 42:38Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 42:39Trevor Noah?

  This is such a, like, another taboo, so...

• 42:41Speaker 01

  And it's my goal to change that.

• 42:43Trevor Noah?

  Yes.

• 42:43Speaker 01

  I want women to go in there and say, "Do you have Lettspin? I need some Lettspin. Do you have it?" And feel no shame, because sex does get better on the other side.

• 42:53Trevor Noah?

  This is, this is what I want to get into, is the, like, if something is not improved, then it'll always remain bad. It might, it might even get worse, right? And I couldn't help wonder, reading everything about the intimacy gel, I was like, how many people are not having sex anymore, not because they can't, but because they don't know how

• 43:18Speaker 01

  Yes, yes.

• 43:20Trevor Noah?

  And then you're speaking about this, like,

• 43:21Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 43:22Trevor Noah?

  Why was sex as important, in a way, as like just the treating of the menopause itself? Because it seems like one is like a pleasure thing, and the other one's like your, your body. So why, why sex?

• 43:31Speaker 01

  Well, it's both. And I, first of all, I created a product that I most needed, right? And I think whenever somebody introduces a product into the market, or they're an entrepreneur, and they have an idea for something, I find the most interesting companies to me are when they have founders that created something to fill a need that they have, right? And that's how, you know, you put your heart and your soul into it, and it's probably going to be a good product, because they were trying to help themselves. Yeah. But by doing so, they help millions of other people, right? So I was just trying to help myself get through this time, thinking, what can I do Yeah. so that I can continue doing that thing that makes me me, right? Because I just told you, I found my guy, I found my person.

• 44:10Trevor Noah?

  You're having great sex.

• 44:10Speaker 01

  Can't be the end of sex now. I'm like, God, this is a joke.

• 44:16Speaker 01

  I finally found him. So it really came out of a need to help myself.

• 44:19Trevor Noah?

  Right.

• 44:20Speaker 01

  And but in doing so, I started to realize, oh, I'm not the only woman suffering from this. This is a conversation that we all need to start having because and it's not just pleasure. You know, for men to stay connected to their optimal good health, they have to keep having sex. You guys have to keep having that thing, which is why you got the blue pill right away when it was a problem.

• 44:41Trevor Noah?

  Yep.

• 44:41Speaker 01

  Boom.

• 44:42Trevor Noah?

  Yep.

• 44:42Speaker 01

  Right. Well, women are the same way. We have to keep having sex, too. It's a part of staying healthy. It's a part of our of our systems that must operate like your systems operate. Right. It's just we don't get thought of that way because you know what happens when men need to continue having sex? If their partner, who is about their same age, can't keep having sex. Traditionally, nothing against my men because I love you guys.

• 45:05Trevor Noah?

  Oh, no, that's fine.

• 45:06Speaker 01

  Because what you guys do is you know, well, you'll just go get another younger woman. Yeah. And keep doing the thing you need to do. Yeah. We cannot, right? If our system shuts down, we can't go get another man because we can't have.

• 45:19Speaker 02

  I think you could get someone younger.

• 45:21Speaker 01

  None of this ain't working, I'm saying.

• 45:25Speaker 01

  Because he's gonna want what he's gonna want. So, no, I have to keep this working.

• 45:30Trevor Noah?

  Right.

• 45:30Speaker 01

  Because as women, we failed to keep it working. There have been so many divorces just for that reason, so many. I'll tell you a story. I have a friend who will remain nameless, but he came to me and he said, Hallie, I'm gonna get a divorce. And I've known him a long time. And I was like, but what? You love your wife. Like, what is happening? This was like two years ago. And he said, she just doesn't want me anymore. Like, I don't know what has happened. We were doing so good. I thought we were gonna ride this thing out. I would go to her. I would try to touch her and she would pull away. And she's got someone else or something. She's just, she doesn't feel it for me anymore.

• 46:04Trevor Noah?

  Damn.

• 46:05Speaker 01

  And I just said, wow. And I couldn't believe it. And I was just formulating all of my ideas about what I'm doing now about menopause and how she might be feeling. And I said to him, I said, this is gonna sound crazy to you, but go home and start a conversation with her about perimenopause. And just start asking her how she's feeling down there. Is she feeling dry? Is she feeling headachey? Like, just go have a conversation. I told him all the things to say. Two weeks later, I see him again. He's like, oh, my God, Hallie?

• 46:37Speaker 01

  You were right. She did not, it's not that she didn't want me. She thought that every time I touched her, I was going to want sex. And she knew that that was so painful for her. And she didn't want to feel that. And she was tired of faking it. She was tired of having it be so excruciating painful, but had to act like it wasn't hurting at all. And he was like, that's what it was all about. Because she couldn't even talk to him to tell him that. Right? And so that's when I knew that, oh, my God, this is an issue that we have to talk about. And how intimately men are a part of this conversation. And how many marriages have broken up? Because they were on the verge of a divorce.

• 47:19Speaker 01

  And once they could talk about this, now they're thriving again. She's been a part of respin. She's got her let's spin. She did her V fit, you know, vaginal device. Oh, tell me about the V fit. What's another thing? It's like a red light therapy device. You know, just like we do on our faces now for anti-aging and collagen building. That goes into the vagina and it rebuilds the vaginal walls. And it's like can actually help thicken your walls again. So that you don't, so you have more elasticity in your vagina walls when you're having intercourse.

• 47:52Speaker 02

  This is so techie and futuristic.

• 47:53Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, this is a rock and roll world. I'm, I'm just a tech fan, so I'm.

• 47:57Speaker 02

  You're like, what?

• 47:58Trevor Noah?

  I'm just like, huh, just like, huh. Tell me, tell me more about how all of this works.

• 48:01Speaker 02

  So, and how long would, how long do you put it up? You, is it daily? Like, what's the regimen?

• 48:06Speaker 01

  You do it daily. Well, this is how it worked for me. I did it daily for about three weeks. And then after that, it's just maintenance. It's once a week or once every two weeks. You got that and your let's spin. And, you know, you get some hormone replacement therapy or you do some supplements that you like. And then you find out you can be back off to the races. You know, juicy as peach, all again. But you just have to know the things to do.

• 48:29Trevor Noah?

  Right.

• 48:29Speaker 01

  So that you don't like become a desert. You have to just know. And when we know, we will do. Right? So, you know.

• 48:38Trevor Noah?

  Don't go anywhere because we've got more What Now after this. Some of the most interesting things you learn happen while you're doing something completely ordinary. Maybe you're cooking dinner while watching a history video. Maybe you're on a flight catching up on a long-form interview. Or maybe you're trying to figure out how to fix something in your house because apparently owning a screwdriver means you're an electrician now. But you see, that's one of the things I love about YouTube Premium. I travel a lot, so I download videos before a flight. That way, I'm not leaving my entertainment in the hands of airplane wifi. Yeah, I've made that mistake before. You think you're gonna watch something in 4K and suddenly everyone's face is pixels. But one of my favorite features is smart downloads.

• 49:23Trevor Noah?

  You see, YouTube Premium can automatically download recommended videos for you based on what you already watched. So sometimes I'll get on a plane, I look at my phone, I'm like, "Ah, I didn't download anything." Then it's like, "No, YouTube already thought about this. They packed entertainment for me in my little lunchbox." And with background play, I can lock my phone, switch apps, and whatever I'm watching just keeps on going. So, if you like YouTube, you will love YouTube Premium. Sign up now for your free trial at youtube.com/premium. Terms apply. Cancel anytime. Therapy is one of those things lots of people talk themselves out of without even realizing it. Like, it's too expensive or it's too overwhelming figuring out even where you're gonna start.

• 50:09Trevor Noah?

  But Rula is one way to make that first step feel a lot more doable, offering accessible, affordable therapy that fits your needs. Sign up in just a few minutes and get matched with a therapist who fits what you're looking for. Need to talk to someone quickly? Appointments are often available as soon as the next day. And with insurance, sessions average around a $15 copay. You can also see estimated costs upfront, so there's a lot more clarity going in. And in terms of outcomes, 93% of Rula patients report symptom improvement. If therapy's been sitting in the back of your mind, Rula is a pretty simple way to take that first step. So, turn off the talk track that's keeping you from progress and head to rula.com.

• 50:53Trevor Noah?

  That's R-U-L-A dot com to find a therapist the easy way.

• 50:59Speaker 03

  Time for a quick break to talk about McDonald's. It's the tangiest time of the year. For a limited time, head to McDonald's and get a McRib sandwich. Make it a meal by adding a medium fries and a soft drink like an ice cold Diet Dr. Pepper. So grab a McRib sandwich and embrace the tang. Save time by ordering ahead on the app. At participating McDonald's for a limited time. Dr. Pepper is a registered trademark of Dr. Pepper 7-Up Inc.

• 51:30Speaker 02

  For like a woman at home who's maybe like in her early 70s, is it too late for her? Can she jump on this train and try the V fit and the gel and the hormone replacement therapy because sometimes it feels like the conversation is geared to 40s to like late 50s.

• 51:46Speaker 01

  She can certainly jump into the V fit. She can do the let's spin. Hormones, that's something she'd have to talk to a menopause doctor about to be sure because I have heard that if you don't start the therapy early enough, it can, that's when it can be an issue if you start too late in life. 70, maybe too late. That's not what I should be answering today. I think that's what you need to go talk to a menopause doctor about.

• 52:11Speaker 02

  To women as early as possible be on this journey.

• 52:15Speaker 01

  And start thinking about it at 35, at 35 because you know, our childbearing years are 25 to 35 and at 35, that's when the estrogen starts to leave and we have to start realizing, okay, this peri is coming upon us. So at 35, I think we have to start talking to our doctors. If they're not talking to you, talk to them, get the right doctor and start talking about it. What can I do so that I sail through to this moment, right? And that I don't suffer the way the women before me have suffered.

• 52:43Trevor Noah?

  Before we lose you, I'd love to know how this journey has been informed by or

• 52:52Trevor Noah?

  Has affected your professional slash sort of life journey. And I know the two are connected, but I can't help but see all the links between them. You know, like Christiana and I will talk about all the time with, let's say, pregnancy or motherhood and how it clashes with the way we've built corporate life and companies. And you're in an industry that's unique, but at the same time, isn't really in some ways in that like, you know, if you're a woman in Hollywood, if you're a woman in certain jobs, you know, how you look, how you're perceived, how you're seen affects your ability to work or not work. And I'd love to know, how have you navigated a world that has told you, you don't hold

• 53:34Trevor Noah?

  as much value when you're building up all these other different facets of yourself that do hold value like, because there's a moment before respin where Halle Berry is, as you said, you found another thing and this is your second act. But I'd love to know how you were navigating that experience because it can be a scary one for people in all walks of life. I just think Hollywood gets all the shine, but I think many people will experience that where they go, oh, I didn't know what to do once my kids left for college. I'd always identified as a mom and I was raising these kids and now they're gone. And I just realized now my career as a mom is sort of over in that way. Or someone goes, oh, I've now gone back to the office and you know, my career is this, oh, I've left the office and I'm struggling with the way the world has now changed its perception of me.

• 54:19Trevor Noah?

  I'd love to know how you, how you navigated it, what you experienced and what you learned? And if you learned something from this part of it, that's, that's sort of helped you? Or if it was part of the reason that respin started?

• 54:31Speaker 01

  It's certainly part of the reason that respin started. I, I, I struggled to understand what this company was. I knew it was always respinning everything we thought we knew, but I didn't have a there there. I didn't have the real purpose of what the there there was. And when I realized that menopause needs the biggest respin of all, then I realized, oh, that's what, that's why I've been building this company, even if I didn't, even when I didn't know why, really. I figured out why, which lets me know that it was happening, you know. To me and for me, because I didn't really have it thought out, but yet I was building something, which is why I know it's chosen me. I just had to get caught up to it, right? But it chose me clearly.

• 55:09Trevor Noah?

  Was there a part of you that was afraid, though, that you were, you know, because you're building this thing, but there's also this other world that you've, I mean, you're an Oscar-winning actress. Like, let's never forget that. Do you know what I mean? Like, it's, you're an Oscar-winning actress.

• 55:22Speaker 02

  History-making.

• 55:22Trevor Noah?

  History-making, Oscar-winning actress. So it's not even, you know, it's not like, oh, yeah, you act. And it's not like you're a good actress. No, no, no, you can't get high. It's a gold medal at the Olympics. Do you get what I'm saying? So I, I wonder, like, how much fear was attached to that? And how, how are you dealing with that? Yes, you, you're making re spin, but before that, you're letting go, in some ways, of something. And, you know, you don't know what that journey will or won't be. And so I, I think a lot of people would be, would be served by knowing, like, you know, just how did Halle Berry figure out what, for many people, is a really tough time in their lives, before you find the next thing?

• 55:58Speaker 01

  But I think this goes back to the thing I said earlier. And that is, being born a black woman, I feel like I have always felt like I sat at the bottom of society.

• 56:10Trevor Noah?

  Damn.

• 56:10Speaker 01

  Right? White man, black man, white woman, black woman. So I've always felt at the bottom. Never feeling like I was defeated because I was at the bottom. Never feeling like I couldn't dream big because I was at the bottom. Never feeling like I wasn't worthy or capable because I was at the bottom. But I always have known that I'm going to have to work ten times harder than everybody else to get anywhere. Just to get a step up from the bottom, I'm gonna have to work harder than a white man, or a white woman, or a black man. I'm gonna have to work that much harder because we sit at the bottom. And so that feeling, I think, has been what has propelled me my whole life. I've never been afraid of hard work.

• 56:54Speaker 01

  I've always known that anything was possible if I decide that it's so. I've always known my worth and my value, even when I've been struggling and I've been afraid, because I knew what my core values were all about. I had a fifth grade teacher, her name is Yvonne Sim, she's a beautiful black woman that took me under her wing when I was 10 years old. And everything that makes me me is her, that she took the time to pour into me. And you know how I knew I was valuable? Because this teacher, who didn't have to take time, she wasn't my mother, she didn't bring me into the world, she didn't owe me. But because this beautiful, smart, wise woman took me under her wing and invested in me. She poured that into me and that gave me value.

• 57:37Speaker 01

  I knew I must be special, I must be of value. If this woman would take her time, every day after school, to pour into me, pour into me, pour into me, pour into me. And that's what I've carried. I've known that worth and that value from a very young age.

• 57:52Trevor Noah?

  That's beautiful.

• 57:53Speaker 01

  And I haven't allowed people to dim my light, even when I've gone through shit. We know the things I've gone through, many of them have been public, I'm going through shit right now. I don't care. It's just things that you go through, you grow through, you learn, that's why we're here, right? But I've always just known, I have value here and I have a purpose. So finding respin and finding this cause of menopause is like, oh, another one of my purposes. Like winning that Oscar that time, I was chosen to do that too, to open that door, I knew it was bigger than me, right? I hope this year, someone stands next to me, this year. I hope it happens, because I'm tired of occupying that space alone. I hope some, hope, I hope this is the year, right?

• 58:34Speaker 01

  But even if it's not, I was chosen in that moment to be a beacon of possibility, right? And I do think it served that purpose. And I think I'm sitting in this moment also, talking about menopause and telling my own story and being bald and bold. It's also to be a beacon of possibility, as. Where we can go as women and what we deserve. And knowing that we're more than this show, right? That we are complicated, we are beautiful, we are strong. We deserve a second act. We deserve all things good. We've raised our children, we sacrificed our bodies, right? We've given what we have to give. I can't believe we live in a world that now says, we got nothing for you. Sorry. I don't believe that, right? But I know we have to change that for ourselves.

• 59:18Speaker 01

  And I realize this is my second act purpose, to help change that narrative. That's my purpose.

• 59:24Trevor Noah?

  It's amazing. A teacher poured into you and I feel like you're now pouring into everybody else.

• 59:29Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 59:29Trevor Noah?

  And you poured into us. This was more fun than I could have expected.

• 59:33Speaker 01

  I'm so happy to be here.

• 59:34Trevor Noah?

  This is so much fun. I wish you could stay longer.

• 59:36Speaker 01

  I know.

• 59:36Trevor Noah?

  You'll come back.

• 59:37Speaker 01

  I will come back.

• 59:38Trevor Noah?

  You'll come back. There'll be more respin. I can see it, it's gonna like. I want the supplements, that's what I'm ready for. It's infinite.

• 59:44Speaker 01

  That's the next thing we're doing.

• 59:45Trevor Noah?

  See?

• 59:45Speaker 01

  We're working on it.

• 59:46Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, I knew it, it's infinite.

• 59:48Speaker 01

  We're working on it.

• 59:48Trevor Noah?

  Okay, great.

• 59:49Speaker 01

  All things yet.

• 59:49Trevor Noah?

  It's gonna be, thank you so much for joining us. And thank you for sharing. Thank you for pouring your hearts out. Thank you, you know? Thank you for being you.

• 59:55Speaker 01

  Thank you. I appreciate it.

• 1:00:02Trevor Noah?

  What Now with Trevor Noah is produced by Spotify Studios in partnership with Day Zero Productions. The show is executive produced by Trevor Noah, Sanaz Yamin, and Jodi Avigan. Our senior producer is Jess Hackel. Claire Slaughter is our producer. Music, mixing, and mastering by Hannes Brown. Thank you so much for listening. Join me next Thursday for another episode of What Now.

• 1:00:41Speaker 03

  Time for a quick break to talk about McDonald's. Start your morning with the $6 McRiddle's Extra Value Meal. Featuring your choice of a sausage, egg, and cheese McRiddle's or bacon, egg, and cheese McRiddle's. Plus crispy hash browns and a small premium roast coffee. Sweet, savory, crispy, and caffeinated. It's everything your morning ordered, all for just $6. Promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing at participating McDonald's.

• 1:01:05Speaker 04

  Real talent is defined by what people can do, not where they learn to do it. So by stopping at the education section of a resume, you might throw away the perfect hire. Skills-first hiring helps you see talent others miss, like more than 70 million stars, skilled through alternative routes. Let their story unfold and gain a competitive advantage, because hiring managers who start with skills are 60% more likely to find a successful hire. Hire skills first. Learn why at tearthepaperciling.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council.