Halle Berry's Doctor Mistook Her Perimenopause Symptoms for the 'Worse Case of Herpes' They'd Ever Seen

Halle Berry wants to be an advocate for women's health.

The actress was one of the speakers at the Monday, March 25, A Day of Unreasonable Conversation summit, where she was joined by notables like Kerry Washington and First Lady Jill Biden to talk about everything from culture to fitness.

The mother-of-two, 57, explained she wants to change "the way women and men feel about women during their midlife."

The Oscar winner also hopes people stop seeing menopause as a "dirty little word," explaining, "it can’t just be the doom and gloom story. This is a glorious time of life."

During the chat, Berry recalled when she found out she was in perimenopause, joking that years ago, "my ego told me that I was going to skip it" since she was in good shape.

"I was so [uneducated] at that time. I wish I knew then what I know now," she admitted.

The actress revealed that the morning after getting intimate with current boyfriend Van Hunt — whom she called the "man of my dreams" — she was experiencing "terrible pain," so she went to the doctor.

Berry was shocked when the physician told her, "You have the worst case of herpes I have ever seen."

The movie star was taken aback by her doctor's diagnosis since both herself and Hunt, 54, had been tested previously.

"I realized after the fact that is a symptom of perimenopause," she said. "My doctor had no knowledge and didn’t prepare me, that’s when I knew, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve got to use my platform, I have to use all of who I am and I have to start making a change and a difference for other women.'”

Berry and the singer confirmed they were dating in the fall of 2020 and have been going strong ever since.

In 2022, the two-time divorcee revealed she and Hunt had a special gathering with one of her kids to honor their relationship.

"I really believe I've found my person," she insisted in a past interview. "My son Maceo on his own did this little commitment ceremony for us in the back seat of the car. I think he finally sees me happy, and it's infectious. It was his way of saying, 'This is good. This makes me happy.'"

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"It was a very real moment for all of us. I teared up, Van was fighting back tears," the Extant lead recalled. "Even Maceo knew he'd said something poignant. I have two children. Van has a son. As a mom living this modern, blended family, all I care about is that my kids are okay with my decisions."

The Hollywood Reporter dished on Berry's conversation.