Is It Your Partner or Your Hormones? How Perimenopause Affects Relationships

Perimenopause can place enormous pressure on relationships, even those that have always felt strong. In this episode, Women’s Health Physiotherapist and Menopause Mentor Roberta Bass explores how fluctuating hormones influence mood, patience, libido, confidence, communication, and emotional regulation — and why so many midlife couples find this stage unexpectedly challenging.Roberta explains how hormonal shifts can change the way women react to everyday situations, why irritability can seem to appear from nowhere, and how sleep disturbance, anxiety, and fatigue can amplify tension at home. She also discusses how partners may misinterpret symptoms, why intimacy can change during perimenopause, and how to recognise when your reactions are hormonal rather than relationship-based.This episode offers reassurance, clarity, and practical strategies to help couples stay connected through a turbulent phase. Whether you're feeling more sensitive, disconnected, or overwhelmed — or whether your partner doesn’t fully understand what you’re going through — this conversation will help you make sense of it.Find support:Send us Fan Mailwww.thriveandshinewomenswellness.co.ukFree Masterclass: Is Perimenopause Causing Your Symptoms? → Click here to watchSupporting women’s health transitions with physiotherapy, menopause mentoring, Pilates and subconscious mindset tools.Follow, subscribe and share the Making Sense of Menopause podcast to help more women access the support they deserve.