Gabrielle Union-Wade has never been someone who keeps the hard parts of life off-limits. The actress, producer and author has spoken openly about motherhood, identity and reinvention, so it makes sense that she’s bringing that same honesty to menopause, too. In a new episode of The Beauty Authority, Union-Wade joins host Tatiana Bido and Grand Rapids, MI OBGYN Diana Bitner, MD to talk about hot flashes, the stigma that still surrounds them and why women deserve more than a shrug and a “push through it.”
The symptom no one prepared her for
“I don’t think anything really prepares you for it—it’s a heat that you cannot cool. It’s this internal flame,” Union-Wade shared about her first hot flash experience. “And I felt instantly embarrassed and ashamed.”
It’s not just the discomfort, she says; it’s the way the symptoms can make you feel exposed in your own body. Talking about it, though, really helped. “The more I learned and the more doctors I spoke to and the more friends I was able to talk to about this, the more I felt empowered to actually tell the truth to my doctor about what I was experiencing.”
A nonhormonal option worth knowing about
For women who want relief but are looking for a nonhormonal path, Dr. Bitner highlights Lynkuet, a nonhormonal, FDA-approved prescription option for moderate to severe hot flashes. “It works in the brain to stop a hot flash,” she explains, adding that it targets symptoms “at the core of where hot flashes start.”
Dr. Bitner also notes that results can show up sooner than many women expect. “A good percentage of women experience benefit in the first week and certainly by the first 12 weeks in clinical trials,” she says.
The turning point in her menopause journey
The star says learning her options helped her stop viewing symptoms as something she was meant to tolerate. “Once I started looking at all of the options, after talking to my doctor, I was like, wait, hold on,” says Union-Wade. “There is an option that feels great for me. Safe for me.”
She’s also clear that menopause is not a one-size-fits-all experience. “No two menopause journeys are the same. No two hot flashes are the same,” she adds.
The conversation women deserve to be having
If there’s one message the actress wants women to take away, it’s that menopause isn’t the issue—isolation is. “Menopause isn’t the problem. It’s the lack of conversation. That’s the problem,” she says.
And for anyone quietly struggling, she makes it simple: “That you’re not alone. There’s nothing wrong with you. This is a normal, natural shift in life, you know? And there’s options.”