Jules Robinson, star of Married at First Sight, has said that she felt ‘another level of sadness’ before being diagnosed with a health problem after the birth of her son.
Jules, 41, featured in the sixth season of the Australian reality show in 2019, when she was paired with Cameron Merchant.
Four years later, the pair is officially married and has a son, who was born in 2020.
Jules has recently revealed that when her period came after Oliver was born, she began experiencing “the most intense emotions and feelings.”
This week, she described how she ‘knew something was wrong’ right away.
‘It was about three months in, and obviously because you’ve got so many hormones going on [post-partum], you don’t really know if you’re coming or going,’ she said.
‘But I’d stopped breastfeeding and I’d just got my period [again] and it was just the most intense emotions and feelings.’
She continued: ‘I am so emotional [when I’m menstruating]. I actually feel like I can’t get through – you almost feel like you can’t deal with life.’
‘I can only explain it as you just feel like you can’t function with life, and I think I cut myself [off] from the world,’ she added when speaking on The Juggling Act podcast.
During a trip to Bali, Jules reported having’really dark, dreadful thoughts’ that made her understand something was severely wrong.
The former reality star later disclosed that she had been diagnosed with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a more severe variant of the more common premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
While dealing with the whirlwind of emotions and symptoms was difficult for Jules, she said it felt ‘really good’ to talk about it.
Jules said it was ‘a little overwhelming’ to share the news publicly, but she hoped she might help others going through the same ‘vicious cycle’.
She added she was ‘learning to accept it’ and find ‘natural resources to keep it under control’.
What is premenstrual dysphoric disorder?
A small number of women may experience more severe symptoms of PMS known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).
Symptoms of PMDD are similar to PMS but are much more intense and can have a much greater negative impact on your daily activities and quality of life.
As explained by the NHS, symptoms can include physical ones such as cramps, headaches and joint and muscle pain, behavioural symptoms such as binge eating and problems sleeping and mental and emotional symptoms, such as feeling very anxious, angry, depressed or, in some cases, even suicidal.
The exact causes of PMDD are unknown but it has been linked to sensitivity to changes in hormones or certain genetic variations.
PMDD can cause severe physical and mental symptoms that begin seven to 10 days before menstruation and can continue for the first few days of a period.
Married at First Sight is streaming on Channel 4.
