Australian TV personality breaks down as she reveals her ‘sadness’ at learning she needs a hysterectomy despite being ‘proudly child-free’

Shelley Horton has shared the shock and heartbreak she felt when her doctor told her she had to have a hysterectomy.

The Talking Married host requires a surgical procedure to remove a woman’s uterus due to severe perimenopausal symptoms and heavy bleeding.

“I’m shocked at how overwhelmed and tearful I feel about it,” the 50-year-old wrote in her column Nine honey this week.

Shelly says that although she never wanted children, she still feels “sadness” over the loss of the reproductive organ.

“I’m proud to be childfree, so I’m furious that this organ I never needed is causing me so much misery,” she wrote.

‘I’ve joked to friends that I want to sell my uterus on eBay: ‘One uterus. Never used. Still in the box!’ But just as I laugh, I also feel a mix of anger, sadness and a sense of betrayal by my own body,” she writes.

Shelly emphasized that “a uterus does not define a woman” and added that her story is a “call to action for all of us to redefine womanhood beyond biological functions.”

The TV star also shared the news of her upcoming surgery on Instagram in recent weeks.

‘A bit emotional about booking a hysterectomy. I know many of you say this is the best thing you’ve ever done. BUT I’m terrified of the recovery period,” she wrote in her caption alongside an emotional video.

‘A bit in flux, so I’d like some advice!’ she added, revealing that the surgery was scheduled for April.

In the clip, Shelly cried as she broke the news: “I’m having a hysterectomy…I don’t even know why I’m upset about that.

“I know this is the right thing to do. And for heaven’s sake, I never even used my uterus. “I never had children, I never wanted children.”

Shelly went on to say that she was concerned about the estimated recovery time of six to eight weeks and the pain she might be in before asking her followers for advice.

The television personality later said she received “a huge love bomb from my followers” after sharing her plans for surgery.

Horton has been open in the past about why she doesn’t want to have children with her husband, and they are perfectly content raising a family with two dogs instead.

But the Australian journalist admitted she was upset by an email from a troll labeling Horton as an “obese feminist” who he would like to see “off TV”.

The full email read: ‘I’m so glad you don’t have kids, just getting you off the TV would be the best Christmas present a man could ask for. Being an obese feminist is nothing to be proud of.”

‘Trolls don’t normally worry me. I get a lot of messages like this, as do most women in the media,” she said the next day.

‘But I’ve been working really long hours on some big new projects (plus a great night at the Logies), so I was tired and it got under my skin.’

Shelly recently spoke about her anxiety and bouts of “extreme emotions” due to perimenopause.

Perimenopause refers to the time when your body transitions to menopause, which marks the end of the reproductive years.

In May, the usually cheerful and bubbly personality took to Instagram with a tearful video in which she admitted that she felt overwhelmed and couldn’t “bounce back” like she used to.

Horton revealed that when she first started experiencing symptoms of perimenopause, she turned into a completely different person.

Her personality and “go get ’em” attitude gave way to waves of sadness and even the inability to get out of bed.

“I had a day yesterday and even though I’ve been on hormone replacement therapy and antidepressants for a year, maybe even longer, I was just overwhelmed,” she said recently.

“I have a lot of work to do and I find myself not jumping from project to project like I used to,” the self-confessed workaholic added.

Shelly and her husband Darren Robinson have been together for more than a decade and married in 2015.

She says the couple, who have two dogs but don’t want children, keep their relationship healthy by never going to bed angry.

“When I married Darren, I realized I loved him more than being right or winning,” Shelly said 9Honey.

‘By saying sorry and meaning it, you can diffuse the situation. It takes the emotion out of the fight and the sting out of the unkind words.

“We even apologized to each other, said we still disagree, but we love each other, and we will discuss it again in a few days to find a solution.”

Shelly said arguments with her ex-husband during their marriage would “last for days” because neither would let the other win, which isn’t healthy in a relationship.

And although she and Darren still bicker today, they know how to handle the situation.