When TV presenter Gabby Logan started to experience brain fog in her late 40s, struggling to recall the correct word or name on live TV, she initially put it down to tiredness.
“I couldn’t quite get that name or articulate in the way I had previously been able to, so I was concerned, but it coincided with lockdown and not doing any telly for a while. I remember feeling quite nervous going back to live telly.”
The former international gymnast soon realised that it was a symptom of perimenopause and promptly went on to HRT, which she says has balanced her hormones.
Logan, 51, has now written The Midpoint Plan, inspired by her eponymous podcast, in which she shares a wealth of advice from guest experts on the show about aspects of reaching middle age, from mental health and hormones, to midlife crises, love, sex and loss, and the importance of exercise and sleep.
In the book, she details the difficulties experienced entering middle age, stopping short of saying she had her own midlife meltdown. But she admits: “There were definitely points of feeling, ‘Oh my gosh, this is a huge maelstrom of things going on, I’m not sure how I’m equipped to navigate all this’.”
That melting pot of feelings reached a peak in lockdown and in 2021, she recalls, when she experienced both physical changes and anxiety about the Covid-induced state of the wider world, which is when she started her podcast.
Talking to well-known faces about their own midlife challenges – including actor Jill Halfpenny, DJ Adele Roberts and former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond – as well as expert guests on the podcast definitely helped her own mental health, she agrees.
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She doesn’t worry about growing older or ageism in the world of live TV, she says.
“Nowadays it’s a very different place for older women on TV than it was 20 or 30 years ago. I’m fortunate to be in a time where it’s a different landscape. I think it would be very hard to be ageist against a woman on TV now because of women who’ve gone before.”
She cites Sir David Attenborough and Dame Mary Berry as examples of older TV icons who are still working, and how people value their wisdom, experience and warmth, and notes that the landscape of sexism has also changed.
“It’s the idea that women have got a shelf life which we don’t see on TV as much,” she observes. “Years ago you had that old trope where the male was always in his 50s and the woman co-presenter was always in her 20s. Things have changed. You look at the new This Morning pairing of Cat (Deeley) and Ben (Shephard) – they are similar ages, which is more normal to see.”
“Sexism and misogyny manifest themselves in different ways,” she continues. “There is definitely some disparity in terms of wages, in terms of what people are valued as, but I think that’s societal, not just broadcasting.”
She’s been married to former rugby star Kenny Logan for 23 years, with whom she has 18-year-old twins Reuben and Lois. What’s the secret of their happy marriage?
“You have your ups and downs and times when things are more tricky and more challenging, but you want to get through those situations because it makes it better at the other side, rather than running away from from problems and starting again with somebody else, or doing something else. It’s worth it because when you get through you are stronger on the other side.”
Indeed, she supported Logan through prostate cancer in 2022, diagnosed after she encouraged him to get a well-man check. He went on to have a radical prostatectomy at the age of 50 and it took him a good eight to 10 months to get his mojo back, she recalls.
He has to go back every year for tests – and so far so good.
“It’s made us much more mindful of little things that you might previously have said, ‘Oh, don’t worry about that’, to say, ‘Get that checked out’ and I don’t just mean regarding cancer, but anything. There’s lots of ways your body can go wrong.”
Logan, who oozes positivity and confidence, says in her book that you’re never to old to try new things and take up new challenges – and she practices what she preaches.
“You don’t always know what those challenges are going to be. Even saying yes to a show like Freeze The Fear With Wim Hof (she took part in a BBC reality show in which celebrities take on challenges in sub-zero temperatures) was something that was different.”
Would she do any more reality shows?
“There’s nothing I want to do specifically but the beauty of those shows is that you get to do something amazing with the best, whether it’s Strictly, dancing with the best dancers, or cold water therapy with Wim Hof. They’re always the masters of what they do.
“One thing I’d love to do is Race Across The World. It’s such an amazing experience to live by your wits and Kenny’s always saying ‘Oh, I’d be brilliant at that’. But it doesn’t mean you have to do it on telly.”
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So, what have been her biggest hurdles in the ‘midpoint’?
“Getting used to the idea of those changes is quite hard, when you first experience some of the symptoms of perimenopause but don’t know what it is,” she reflects.
“Family situations changing (are hard). I talk about empty nest in the book, and children leaving home and your changing dynamic in the family and the potential changing dynamic with your partnership and how you deal with that, how you look into the future and get your head around that. Your freedom and your time becomes more abundant.”
In the book, Logan recalls looking in the mirror and seeing somebody much older than she was feeling inside but she follows an active health regime to address that, working out four to five times a week, doing gentler exercise such as golf or walking on the other two days.
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“I’m enjoying certain types of exercise more. I was really getting into Pilates and I’ve done a lot of cycling and things that I did before, but I’ve just come back to running recently.
“The message that has come through from all the experts is that you’ve got to do more, you’ve got to train, keep up the exercise and add more. There’s no excuse to slow down on that front and it gives me a lot of energy as well.
“All the experts I speak to say that it is one of the big predicators of healthy old age. The motivation for me is to keep being active. Understanding gut health has been a big revelation. Trying to eat 30 different types of vegetables a week and that kind of stuff has been game-changing and I see such benefits from it that I don’t feel it’s a chore. I’m much healthier now than I was in my 30s.”
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She’ll be part of the BBC’s commentary team covering the Olympics in Paris – another opportunity grabbed with both hands at her midpoint.
How old does she feel when she looks in the mirror now?
“I read that Piers Morgan says he still feels 30 and I think I’m somewhere in my mid-30s, probably. I know I don’t look it but that’s where I feel I am. I just ran a half marathon and I did it in almost the same time as the one I did in my early 30s. I don’t feel that different.”
The Midpoint Plan by Gabby Logan is published by Piatkus. Available now.
