It’s often customary these days for those in the public eye to tout the joys of ageing. But if you had asked Jeanette Thomas a year ago how she intended to spend her 50th birthday, she would’ve bluntly replied, “Under a rock!”
In the throes of menopause leading up to the big milestone, the usually upbeat broadcaster reveals she wasn’t living her best life.
Plus, she had already received the only gifts she needed at the time: a hand-held fan given by her breakfast co-host on The Breeze Robert Rakete, followed up by a neck fan from her husband Dave.
“All summer long, I just sat there with my two fans to get me through my hot flushes,” she recalls with a wry smile.
But there were other “crazy symptoms” too. Jeanette barely slept for six months – not ideal when she found herself watching the clock tick until 3.30am, when she had to get up for work and then try
