Turning 50 has brought a lot of struggles for TV presenter, newsreader and journalist Naga Munchetty, who has opened up about her adenomyosis diagnosis and a rift with her mother over her not having children – but she’s also come to an important realisation after celebrating her milestone birthday.
In a candid and raw interview on HELLO!‘s Second Act podcast, Naga revealed that her and her husband’s ‘conscious’ decision not to have children was something that had caused a rift between her and her mum.
“My mum was devastated; she was from a different generation,” she shared. But she “gets it now,” Naga added, saying that her mum is happy that her and her husband James Haggar are living fulfilled lives without kids.
Naga said, “She is so proud of me and so happy to see me happy and thriving. It was a conscious [decision] and I am doing lots of other things and living a very fulfilling life. She doesn’t think I’ve wasted an opportunity. My mum has evolved in that sense.”
Adenomyosis diagnosis
Elsewhere in the interview, she revealed that she was left ‘exhausted’ and in crippling pain as she struggled to get a diagnosis for the debilitating womb condition adenomyosis, which she described as the ‘evil twin of endometriosis.’
It is thought, according to Circle Health Group, that one in 10 women may suffer from the condition, which causes the womb lining to grow within the muscular wall of the womb. It can cause severe symptoms, including extremely heavy and painful periods, a bloated tummy and pain during sex or when going to the toilet.
Naga was eventually diagnosed back in 2023, saying she “was just exhausted,” after going back and forth to doctors. Since then, she has also shared the sentence to say in a GP appointment for better help so others can get help faster than she did.
Speaking about the pain on the podcast, Naga said, “I thought it was normal, but there is a real distinction. If something is common, it doesn’t mean it’s normal.”
Revealing her diagnosis back in 2023 while live on BBC Radio 5 Live, she shared the details of a flare-up she experienced. “The pain was so terrible I couldn’t move, turn over, sit up. I screamed non-stop for 45 minutes,” she said.
“Right now as I sit here talking to you: I am in pain. Constant, nagging pain. In my uterus. Around my pelvis. Sometimes it runs down my thighs. And I’ll have some level of pain for the entire show and for the rest of the day until I go to sleep.”
Speaking on the podcast, Naga added that she felt a little ashamed over the pain she felt and wondered why she couldn’t push through the symptoms when it seemed that other women could.
“I thought all the other women in the world are coping and thriving” she said. “If I’ve dared to bring it up I am (perceived as) weak, so you push yourself even harder.”
But, after celebrating her 50th birthday in February earlier this year, her outlook has changed and she revealed that she is now working at “being a bit kinder to myself.”
She said, “It’s ok, you are doing your best and you are doing ok. Some people bash you just because they want to. And I realised they were fools.”
