Michelle Heaton blames falling during Dancing On Ice training on her menopausal brain fog

Michelle Heaton has revealed that she had four falls in one day during her Dancing On Ice training and blamed it on the menopausal brain fog.

The former Liberty X star, 43, appeared on Thursday’s Loose Women to discuss her intense training ahead of the ITV contest’s premiere on Sunday.

Speaking about the physical challenges of the show, Michelle admitted that she fell four times in one day earlier this week and is suffering from ‘whiplash’.

Michelle, who is paired with figure skater Lukasz Rozycki for the show, blamed her accidents on the menopausal brain fog, saying she forgets she is standing on ice.

She explained: ‘I’ve got a bit of whiplash on my neck, I had I think four falls on Monday and do you know what it is? It’s forgetting you’re on ice! I’m calling it menopausal brain fog because I just stand there.

‘The falls usually come when I’m still and I forget that I’m not in shoes and my feet just go and I’m on my back. So I’ve got to be careful of that.’

Brain fog is a common symptom of the perimenopause and menopause and includes symptoms such as forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating and inability to think clearly.

Menopause is defined as the changes a woman goes through just before and after she stops her periods and is no longer able to get pregnant naturally.

Despite the challenges of training, Michelle went on to admit that the ice rink is a pleasant temperature for her amid the menopause, saying she normally gets hot flushes.

She said: ‘The ice is a nice temperature because I was always hot. I can sense a difference with my age compared to before everything.’

Michelle said before deciding to take part in Dancing On Ice, she had only previously skated at Christmas with her kids – Faith, 10, and AJ, eight, and husband Hugh Hanley.

The TV personality, who recently celebrated 20 months of sobriety, said she didn’t feel ready to do Dancing On Ice before, saying her body and mind wouldn’t have coped with it.

She explained: ‘It’s been such a long few years, battling addiction, hysterotomy, the reality is I might not have had this second chance at life. So it’s so special.’

‘It would have been disastrous… but my body and my mind wouldn’t have been ready for it before,’ she added of doing Dancing On Ice in years previously.

Candidly opening up about her sobriety, Michelle said she is taking ‘one day at a time’ and admitted she is ‘really proud’ of herself.

She continued: ‘It’s hard when you’re the person in recovery, take one day at a time. But when you look at it down on paper you look at the days, minutes, hours, weeks and months.

‘But I couldn’t get a day. I had no idea why I couldn’t stop. Now it’s not like that, I’m really proud of the 20 months.’

Last month, Michelle took to Instagram to mark 19 months of sobriety, sharing throwback pictures of herself in hospital amid her battle with addiction in a bid to raise awareness and help others.

The singer shared some heartbreaking snaps showing herself with a bruised face after ‘collapsing in active addiction,’ before encouraging her followers to reach out to those who might be suffering to help them turn their lives around.

‘Two years ago this was me… I was admitted to hospital, not for the first or the last time. I had collapsed in active addiction,’ her post began.

‘I left the hospital the next day, I walked over to the off-licence and bought more vodka.

‘Seems insane? It is! But it was the only way I knew how to live. So I thought.

‘I swore to my peers, family and doctors I was on the mend. I meant it. But my mind of an addict had a different plan.’

Michelle then encouraged her followers to reach out to others who might be suffering.

‘New year is a time we all make goals, and resolutions. Why don’t you make your goal to reach out to someone like me?’ she said.

‘I turned it down so many times, so don’t be discouraged if they say no. The day will come when they’ve just had enough.’

She added: ‘If you or anyone you know is struggling help is out there. Visit www.aa.org there is a solution… one day at a time your life can be filled with hope faith & courage. ❤️’

For advice about drugs and alcohol visit www.talktofrank.com.