Ruth Jones, 58, reveals devastating menopause battle left her struggling with mood swings and becoming a 'different person' - following split from husband David Peet after 26-years
It comes after the Gavin and Stacey star, 58, announced on Wednesday that her and husband David Peet's 26-year marriage was over, claiming they split 18 months ago and are now 'legally separated'.
The Mirror reports Ruth shared insight into her health woes at the Bath Literary Festival last month where she was promoting her latest novel By Your Side.
She said: 'When I started the menopause I was amazed by how it affected my moods. I'd be on the phone with one of my best friends and weep: "I don't know what's wrong, I'm a different person"'.
Before adding: 'I started HRT and almost over night it kind of went away'.
The new novel's main character Linda is also a divorced woman in her 50s - who the actress said was loosely based on herself - and admitted she'd love to play the role in a rumoured TV adaptation.
But Ruth insisted she would not be planning a new sitcom based on the menopause to follow Gavin and Stacey, after her own experiences with the condition.
Confessing: 'I just don't know how I'd write about it in a funny way'.
Ruth's former husband has left his life behind in the UK to relocate to a small village in Canada to be with his new girlfriend.
And the pair have already gone social media official after she posted a new picture of the pair kissing on Facebook.
MailOnline revealed the TV executive has moved to Port Hardy, located on the northern tip of Vancouver Island in British Columbia.
Home to just 4,000 people, David has chosen to start afresh with Jayne Charity Cook, a 46-year-old digital creator, despite having three children and businesses back home.
And now Jayne has posted her first snap of the couple since their relationship was revealed by MailOnline on Thursday morning, sparking a flurry of supportive comments from pals.
One wrote: 'I'm so glad you found someone that makes you absolutely happy, you are glowing so bright.'
She also shared snaps of the couple on her Threads page around the same time, writing 'spent the weekend with my love and had an amazing time.'
She describes herself as 'a MommaBear and being a great Friend, Lover, Partner, Daughter, Sister' and has two adult children – Alexander and Isabella – plus she is a doting grandmother to Alexander's son and Isabella's two girls.
She has worked as an Education Assistant at the Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw School on the Tsulquate Reserve since 2016.
Meanwhile national treasure Ruth is stepmother to David's three children from a previous relationship - Fiona, 35, Louise, 33 and Alex, 31 - and is believed to be close to them, taking on the role of grandmother to their children.
The former couple used to split their time between their two properties in Cardiff and the Scottish Highlands, where they own a holiday home.
In recent months, Ruth has made a string of appearances without her wedding ring, including on stage in Bath.
She told her audience that the literary character Linda had recently abandoned a long marriage after realising she had become 'friends' with her husband, but triggered a break up after he had an affair with a work colleague.
The star added: 'The other thing I really love about her is that she (Linda) was married and she got divorced and she gets on fine with her ex-husband.
'It was never a really great big romantic marriage. They got on fine. They had a good sex life but that was kind of it.
'They were good friends. When he (the husband) went off with Denise at his place of work, and ran off to run a cafe in Spain called Doolallies, she was quite happy to see him go.'
Their split comes after Ruth's iconic character Nessa finally married on-off lover Smithy, played by co-writer James Corden, in the 2024 Christmas Special of Gavin & Stacey, watched by 12.3million viewers.
The episode, titled The Finale, was the last ever instalment of the comedy classic, which first aired in 2007. She previously worked with her husband on the 2009 Gavin & Stacey Christmas Special.
Her performance as the no-nonsense Welsh fantasist earned Ruth a BAFTA for best female performance in a comedy last month, where she was seen wearing her wedding ring.
However Ruth omitted David from her acceptance speech after collecting her BAFTA in May, in which she paid a huge tribute to the cast and crew of Gavin & Stacey, namely her writing partner James whom she said: 'I love you James, I love writing with you and long may it continue.'
Ruth and David first met while filming a pilot episode of a BBC comedy, and the actress once admitted he was in a relationship at the time.
Getting together then sparked his divorce from the mother of his three children, who are all now in their 30s.
She said: 'Affairs cause a lot of pain, they're not something one aspires to do. You don't aspire to cause pain to people in their life.'
They married in 1999 and went onto work with each other again, co-creating her Sky comedy Stella, in which she plays the title character - a struggling single mother - which ran for 58 episodes from 2012.
In 2008, they co-founded production company Tidy Productions - named after Ruth's Gavin & Stacey catchphrase - which made Stella, plus they also co-produced the comedy star's Radio Wales show Sunday Brunch in the same year.
WHAT IS THE MENOPAUSE?
Menopause is when a woman stops having periods, and is no longer able to get pregnant naturally.
It usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55.
It is a normal part of ageing and caused by levels of the sex hormone oestrogen dropping.
Some women go through this time with few, if any, symptoms.
Others suffer from hot flushes, sleeping difficulties, mood swings and brain fog, which can last for months or years and might change over time.
HRT replaces the hormones and is the main treatment used to treat symptoms — which can be severe and disrupt day-to-day life.
Menopause happens when your ovaries stop producing as much of the hormone oestrogen and no longer release an egg each month.
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