In a culture that often penalizes women for aging publicly, Alyssa Milano is choosing honesty over perfection. At 53, the actress and activist recently made the decision to remove her breast implants, and she speaks candidly about her experiences with cosmetic procedures, body changes, and the emotional challenges of aging.
“This is the first time I’m aging,” Milano told Yahoo’s Unapologetically series. “Let me figure it out.”
Having spent nearly four decades in the public eye, Milano has witnessed firsthand how quickly women are expected to adapt to societal standards — and how rarely they’re given space to simply be. “Gain weight, you’re slammed. Take [GLP-1] medication, you’re slammed,” she said. “The internet makes it easy to speak behind someone’s back while speaking directly to them.”
Now, Milano is using her platform to confront these pressures openly, not just by discussing beauty standards but by highlighting the physical and emotional realities women often endure in silence. Her advocacy extends to her role as executive producer of Balance: A Perimenopause Journey, a new docuseries exploring one of the least discussed transitions in a woman’s life, now streaming on all platforms.
“If you search for perimenopause symptoms, I had every single one: frozen shoulder, brain fog, mustache, decreased libido, exhaustion, inflammation,” Milano revealed. For years, she says, these changes went unnamed or were dismissed entirely.
Perimenopause and Misconceptions
Milano admits she initially misunderstood the early stages of perimenopause. “I had my daughter when I was 41, so what doctors called postpartum depression was likely perimenopause. My anxiety started around 38,” she said. Despite decades of medical advancements, she notes that both women and many healthcare providers remain undereducated about this life stage.
“Every other phase of a woman’s life — puberty, pregnancy, postpartum — has a narrative,” she explained. “But perimenopause and menopause? People whisper about it. We’re so uneducated, not just as women, but within the medical community. The focus has been on fixing women instead of listening to their bodies.”
The Emotional Toll of Aging
The physical and emotional effects of perimenopause, Milano says, can be intense. “Every part of my body, down to the bone, hurt,” she recalled. “Losing estrogen, the dominant hormone in our bodies, feels almost violent.”
Yet she also emphasizes that life after perimenopause brings relief. “Most content focuses on getting women ‘back to normal,’ but I’ve never felt more normal than when I entered menopause. I feel grounded in my power, even, and free from the insecurities and mood swings of the past.”
Public Scrutiny and Gender Double Standards
For a woman in the public eye, aging can be particularly scrutinized. “Women are not allowed to age and change publicly the way men do,” Milano said. Men go gray and are praised as “distinguished,” while women are pressured to cover roots or maintain a youthful appearance. She believes that today’s generation of women entering perimenopause are redefining what it means to age, leveraging public platforms and economic independence to resist disappearing quietly.
Transparency About Cosmetic Choices
Milano recently shared a no-filter, no-makeup selfie on her birthday, speaking openly about her cosmetic choices. “Being honest is important for younger generations, so they don’t think everyone ages without wrinkles. Keeping it quiet doesn’t fool anyone,” she said. After removing her breast implants, Milano reports both physical and emotional relief. “My neck and back don’t hurt as much. I can breathe. Those implants were tied to a version of myself that was sexualized in my 20s. Letting go of that felt incredibly important.”
Rediscovering Identity in Her 50s
Reflecting on her 50s, Milano says the decade has allowed her to let go of outdated expectations and embrace her true self. “Women in their 50s are often labeled unstable, but it’s not instability. It’s a loss of tolerance,” she explained. “It’s about sitting in your power and realizing who you would’ve been all along. I don’t ever want to go back.”
Through her candid discussions of perimenopause, cosmetic choices, and societal pressures, Alyssa Milano is redefining what it means to age unapologetically, encouraging women everywhere to navigate this stage of life on their own terms.
