She’s renowned for her warm personality and candid nature, but Ali Daddo admits she hasn’t always been the happy, bubbly star we’ve come to know and love.
“Five years ago, I struggled enormously. The first thing I knew to do was go to a therapist – I knew that it was bad,” a reflective Ali tells New Idea in an exclusive interview.
Like so many women, Ali’s mental health struggle coincided with her entering perimenopause.
“For years I let my health slide, in the sense that I put all my eggs into being a mum and wife and left nothing in the tank to make sure I was healthy and well,” Ali tells us.
It was a dark time, and the 56-year-old says she needed more than therapy to “lift me out” of what she describes as a time where she was “incredibly challenged”.
“I really started to prioritise the small needs that I felt I’d overlooked,” Ali explains. “Reading a book outside in the sun, asking for a hug, not watching the news, listening to uplifting music and watching funny movies.”
As the seismic shift that comes with entering menopause is finally starting to get the attention it deserves in the public consciousness, the podcaster and author of Queen Menopause says even she was shocked by some of the mixed emotions and identity shifts that this life change brought with it.
“It was more around my fertility – which really surprised me because I was well past wanting to have a fourth child,” the mum to Lotus, 30, River, 26, and Bodhi, 20, with actor husband Cameron Daddo, says. “But then all of a sudden never being able to have a child again really put an end to this idea of fertility and motherhood in this weird way for me.”
Ali, who also launched Australia’s very first perimenopause and menopause app, Aviiana, has made it her mission to help fellow Aussies of all ages, not just women, put their health and wellness first.
This week, her show Gen Well will launch Season 2 on Binge. It follows 10 multigenerational Australian families as host Ali helps them discover the secrets to feeling well and keeping healthy at any age.
Cameron showed his support for season two recently, saying that Ali brought her “heart and love” to the show.
“He’s very cute,” she tells us with a smile. “He’s very sweet and says that about who I am as a mum as well.”
To other women approaching perimenopause and menopause, Ali stresses the importance of looking out for “the signs” in case they end up in a similar situation to her.
“If you’ve noticed changes in your mental health, go to your GP to see if there’s something that you’re lacking or something that might physically be going on.” She also can’t recommend therapy enough.
“I had to go through a couple of therapists before I found the right one,” Ali explains. “Just don’t ignore the signals.”
