Halle Berry, 57, details herpes scare caused by perimenopause symptoms

Halle Berry once thought she had herpes – only to discover it was perimenopause.

The “Catwoman” star made the revelation while speaking about women’s health with First Lady Jill Biden at Monday’s A Day of Unreasonable Conversation summit at the Getty Center in Los Angeles.

Berry, 57, recalled experiencing “extreme pain” after being intimate with boyfriend Van Hunt. When she went to the doctor, they initially thought she had the “worst case of herpes” they’d ever seen.

The “Monster’s Ball” actress got tested for herpes after having “extreme pain” from sex with partner Van Hunt. halleberry/Instagram The duo both tested negative for the viral infection. WireImage

However, negative tests showed that neither Berry nor Hunt, 54, had the sexually transmitted infection.

“I realized after the fact that is a symptom of perimenopause,” the actress explained to Biden, 72, and guests, per The Hollywood Reporter.

“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 also admitted that, at the time, her “ego” told her that she “was going to skip” menopause altogether.

“I realized after the fact that is a symptom of perimenopause,” she said at the Day of Unreasonable Conversation summit alongside First Lady Jill Biden. Getty Images Berry admitted her doctor “didn’t prepare” her for the outcome. Getty Images

“I’m very safe, I’m healthy, I managed to get myself off of insulin and manage my diabetes since [I was] 20 years old,” she explained.

Perimenopause is the “transitional time around menopause” and can include several symptoms that are “caused by the changing levels of hormones in the body” –– including mood changes, night sweats and vaginal dryness –– according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Despite a woman’s health habits, every woman will go through menopause –– unless a woman got their ovaries “removed before puberty,” according to HealthPartners.

The Oscar winner wants to help “change the way culture views women at this stage of our lives.” Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival “We are not done. We’re just getting started in our next act,” Berry said. Getty Images for Fast Company

The “Monster’s Ball” actress told the story in front of fellow A-Listers like Kerry Washington, Jane Fonda and Paris Hilton. She said she wanted to raise awareness because she needs help to “change the way culture views women” at this stage of their lives.

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“And we’re not exactly at the end. We’re sitting up here, two women who are clearly down the path of life, we are not done. We’re just getting started in our next act,” Berry continued.

Berry went on to call menopause a “glorious” time in women’s lives. Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival Berry and Hunt have been dating since 2020.

Berry ended her story by telling the audience, “Changing the way women and men feel about women during their midlife and how they feel about this — which used to be a dirty little word — menopause, perimenopause, and we in this room have to change that… it can’t just be the doom and gloom story. This is a glorious time of life.”

Berry has been in a relationship with Hunt since 2020 when they bonded over quarantine. The two do not share any children together, but the actress co-parents two kids with two of her exes.

She shares daughter Nahla Ariela Aubry, 16, with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry and son Maceo-Robert Martinez, 10, with ex-husband Olivier Martinez.