‘IT WAS TERRIBLE’

Halle Berry: A Doctor Told Me I Had Herpes. It Was Perimenopause.

The actress says searing pain after sex led to the misdiagnosis.

Halle Berry is making good on her promise to demystify menopause, revealing that an uninformed doctor once told her her vaginal pain was from herpes when it was really a symptom of perimenopause. Speaking to Dr. Jill Biden at an event this week, the 57-year-old actress said it happened after sex early in her relationship with musician Van Hunt, People reports. “I feel like I have razor blades in my vagina. I run to my gynecologist and I say, ‘Oh my God, what's happening?’ It was terrible. He said, ‘You have the worst case of herpes I’ve ever seen.’ I’m like, ‘Herpes? I don’t have herpes!’” Berry said she and Hunt tested negative and “I realize after the fact, that is a symptom of perimenopause.” The experience made her realize: “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.”