Claire Richards of Steps reveals that the early stages of perimenopause left her housebound
Claire Richards has revealed that the early stages of perimenopause have left her housebound.
The Steps star, 45 – who is mum to Charlie, 16, and Daisy, 13 with husband Reece Hill – has admitted she felt unable to leave home as she struggled with ‘horrible’ symptoms.
In a new interview, Claire candidly confessed that she had severe anxiety, “the worst” heart palpitations, “pounding” in her neck, and felt like she was “shrinking from the inside out.”
The pop star – who was revealed in February as Knitting on The Masked Singer – also admitted it took her a long time to come to terms with what was happening to her body, with “fear and denial” preventing her from seeking treatment.
Claire is now on hormone replacement therapy and is happily starting to feel “more like herself” as it eases the symptoms.
Nightmare: Claire Richards, 45, has revealed that the early stages of perimenopause left her housebound as she struggled with ‘horrible’ symptoms
Terrible: “When I did The Masked Singer, the fear was terrible. I had the worst palpitations, pounding through my neck,” the singer admitted (pictured in February)
Claire said The mirror: ‘This past year was a strange year. I started having perimenopause symptoms and I was like, “Wait a minute, I don’t like this.”
“When I did The Masked Singer, the fear was terrible. I had the worst heart palpitations, pounding through my neck. I didn’t feel like I could give it my all.’
You feel like you are shriveling from the inside out. It took me a long time to deal with it. It’s a milestone, isn’t it? I’m not an angry person at all, but you feel it rising’
Claire confessed to the publication that “fear and denial” prevented her from seeking treatment until the symptoms got so bad that she struggled to leave her home in Surrey.
She added: “My husband knows I’m going through something and he’s been very patient. I definitely feel more like myself. It must be the HRT that kicks in.”
Last May, Claire opened up about her struggles with body image and shared her concerns about how easily photos can be heavily filtered online these days.
Speak on the Rotating plates podcast with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, the Steps singer said, “Also knowing what the kids have to do… all we had to deal with was airbrushing.
“I remember going to a meeting years ago and our record company trying to get us to do FHM.
“And the way they persuaded us, or tried to persuade us to do it, was they came and brought two pictures.
“And they said this is the picture – the airbrushed picture – but that’s what it looked like before, so see what we can do!” We can make you look like this! And that was the selling point.
“And now, that’s on your phone. So it’s even less real than then.’
The star, who added that she is both “dangerously thin” and “obese,” also shared that there is still a lack of understanding about the mental aspect of eating disorders.
Claire said, ‘I’ve gone from dangerously thin to obese and I really believe it’s all part of the same thing… if it’s an eating disorder it’s one extreme in the other.
“There’s a huge lack of understanding in general, and I’m thinking especially on the obesity side.
“I think people just look at someone who is overweight (and think) they are lazy and undisciplined. And I’m not lazy and I certainly have discipline, but I was in that position.
“…I struggle every day, and I’ve managed to keep a good size for a long time now, but it’s a struggle every day and people generally don’t understand that psychological side of it.”
Family: Claire and husband Reece Hill have been together for 25 years and share son Charlie, 16, and daughter Daisy, 13
Claire has previously spoken about the struggles she experienced with her body image while in the top band, saying, “I definitely had an eating disorder back then.
“I didn’t get a diagnosis, but at least I worked out like crazy for four years. I ate as little as possible.’
The mother of two’s weight struggles have been widely documented, with the star gaining 4 stone and rising to a size 20 after her Steps days.
In 2017, she lost six stone and revealed that she stays in shape by limiting herself to about 1,000 calories a day and snacking on small portions of yogurt and fruit.