Gabrielle Union, 53, on the ‘Severe’ Hot Flash That Left Her Sweating During a Love Scene (Exclusive)
Find out what she says finally helped her take control of her menopause symptoms
Key Takeaways
- Gabrielle Union reveals the ‘severe’ on-set hot flash that led her to call her doctor.
- Hot flashes affect about 80 percent of women and can continue past menopause.
- Staying hydrated and cutting caffeine may help ease bothersome hot flashes.
Whether playing an ambitious broadcast journalist juggling career, family, love and the pursuit of motherhood in Being Mary Jane or the fashionable and confident captain of an East Compton high school cheer team in Bring It On, award-winning actress Gabrielle Union, 53, is no stranger to playing empowering characters. And she’s living life just as boldly off screen, especially when it comes to spreading awareness about menopause through her partnership with Bayer’s “Life Doesn’t Stop for a Hot Flash” campaign. In an exclusive interview with Woman’s World, Union opened up about the disruptive hot flash that led to a conversation with her doctor and what she celebrates about aging.
Why hot flashes can be so disruptive
First, a quick refresher: “Hot flashes are feelings of warmth in the face, the neck, the chest or sudden intense feelings of heat and a lot of sweating,” explains Barbara Dehn, RN, MS, NP, FAANP, NCMP, also known as “Nurse Barb,” a television health expert, board-certified women’s health nurse practitioner and certified menopause practitioner. “It could be Niagara Falls coming from under your arms or it could be lots of sweat on your face. Every woman is different. But hot flashes can last from one to five minutes.”
Gabrielle Union’s ‘severe’ on-set hot flash
Union shared she’s had “many” experiences with disruptive hot flashes, but one that sticks out to her happened recently on set. “I was filming a movie last year in Rome with this love interest who was like a good 20 plus years younger than me,” Union told Woman’s World. “I started off the day very confident. I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m sexy. This is about to go down.’ I’ve done 1,001 love scenes, so it’s like old hat at this point, and it kicks in. A very severe hot flash overtakes me. It is one of those full-sweat hot flashes where there was nothing I could do, and I just had to try to wait it out.”
“The way it looked to the production was like I was nervous. It was bad,” Union continued. “And I felt myself shrinking, and I’m not a shrinking violet. And I was like, ‘Okay, we have to find a solution.’”
How Gabrielle Union took control of her menopausal hot flashes
Union told Woman’s World she wasted no time reaching out to her doctor after the awkward on-set hot flash moment.
“Immediately, I called my doctor, explained to him everything that was going on. I was like, ‘What are our options?’ Because this can’t be it. There has to be something that we can do about this, and that’s how we came to decide on Lynkuet.”
“Lynkuet, or elinzanetant, is one of the newer FDA-approved neurokinin receptor antagonists, along with Veozah,” says Bruce Dorr, MD, a board-certified ob-gyn with a subspecialty in urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery and a senior medical advisor for Biote. “It was approved in October 2025 as a once-daily oral capsule to treat moderate to severe hot flashes due to menopause.”
Dr. Dorr adds that Lynkuet is not a hormone, so a conversation with your doctor can help you figure out whether medications like Lynkuet or even menopausal hormonal therapy (MHT) make sense for you and your body.
‘Super flashers’ can have symptoms for decades
Dehn says hot flashes can happen across different age groups. “They can start as early as your late 30s, they can progress through your 40s [or] 50s and there are some women who are known as ‘super flashers,’ [meaning] they continue having hot flashes in their 60s, 70s and beyond,” adds Dehn.
While there are a number of reasons you could experience a hot flash, Dehn says a big cause is menopause, the life stage when you’ve gone a year without a period. Dehn shared she often works with patients who didn’t realize their symptoms were hot flashes.
“And here’s the thing: Yes, everyone’s different, but hot flashes are the most common symptom of menopause and they impact about 80 percent of women at some point in their lives,” adds Dehn.
Why does menopause cause hot flashes in the first place? “The body’s temperature regulation happens in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which acts as the body’s thermostat,” explains Dr. Dorr. “As estrogen falls during perimenopause and menopause, it destabilizes the nerve cells that handle that job and the thermostat becomes far more sensitive than it used to be.”
Lifestyle tips to help manage menopausal hot flashes
Aside from prescription medications like Union turned to, there are also lifestyle changes that can help. A few tips Dr. Dorr suggests include:
- Watch the air conditioning as much as the heat: “Even though it seems counterintuitive, the abrupt swing between outdoor heat and cold indoor air can set off a hot flash even when stepping into the cool feels like relief,” says Dr. Dorr.
- Stay hydrated: Try regularly consuming fluids like water instead of waiting until you’re thirsty, recommends Dr. Dorr. “Dehydration disrupts the body’s ability to regulate temperature which triggers vasomotor symptoms in the first place,” he explains.
- Cut your caffeine intake: “Research has linked caffeine with worsening vasomotor symptoms, including more severe hot flashes and night sweats,” says Dr. Dorr.
How Gabrielle Union celebrates aging
Yes, entering menopause and navigating midlife can mean figuring out how to deal with health changes like disruptive hot flashes, but it also brings many things worth celebrating. Union shared that one thing she’s celebrating is the wisdom that comes with aging.
“I’m not as impulsive. I think before I speak—it probably shouldn’t have taken into my 50s to come to that conclusion—and I’m way more empathetic. I’m not gonna let an irritation take over my whole day,” Union shared.
Another thing Union now prioritizes? “Offering grace to my parents and realizing they’re not superheroes,” she revealed. “They’re just people trying to figure it out at every stage and every age, just like we are. And all the things that you want from someone else, make sure you’re providing, so we’re all a little bit more realistic about what is and isn’t reasonable. We [sometimes] demand something that we’ve never offered, or we’re asking for grace when we don’t offer it.”
Ready for more inspiration? Subscribe to our YouTube channel for video podcasts, health tips and uplifting stories designed for women 40, 50, 60 and beyond.
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Woman's World does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.
