ROBBIE Williams says she is going through “manopause” – struggling with thinning hair, reduced sex drive, insomnia and lethargy.
Ahead of his 50th birthday in February, the superstar singer believes his years of dating have left him “weary” – and, crucially, starved of essential hormones.
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Robbie Williams says he is going through ‘manopause’Credit: Instagram
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The 1996 star reveals she struggles with thinning hair, low sex drive and insomniaCredit: Getty
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Robbie is married to actress Ayda FieldCredit: Getty
The dad-of-four says in an exclusive interview with The Sun: “Hair is thinning, testosterone has left the building, serotonin isn’t really there and dopamine has long since said goodbye.
“I used up all the natural good stuff. I got menopause.
“My daughter tells me ‘daddy is lazy’. I don’t like the term ‘lazy’ because that’s how I was described when I was younger.
“The reality is, I’m fucking exhausted by what I did to myself in the 90s and partly in the 2000s.”
READ MORE ABOUT Robbie Williams
Robbie, married to actress Ayda Field, has previously spoken about his declining sex drive.
And it opened up again in typically candid fashion ahead of Netflix’s new four-part documentary.
He overcame an addiction to Zopiclone sleeping pills, but reveals: “I have a different sleep pattern than other people.
“I’m magnetically attracted to 4 in the morning and fall asleep at 6 and there’s nothing I can do about it.
“I go to bed at 11pm and just lay there wide awake and wide awake until 5am.
“One of the downsides of Ayda’s existence is that she doesn’t get me before 1 p.m.”
Male menopause – or andropause – can develop in men in their late 40s and early 50s, according to the NHS.
Typical symptoms include mood swings, loss of sex drive and muscle mass, difficulty sleeping and poor short-term memory.
A slowly declining testosterone level may be one contributing factor, while another may be hypogonadism, where the testicles produce little or no hormone.
Let’s move on from Robbie’s testicles.
He says watching his new documentary — titled Robbie Williams — was like witnessing “a traumatic car accident in slow motion. . . unreal”.
It is truly captivating – and sometimes difficult to watch.
Hours of never-before-seen footage includes clips of him drinking and drugging during his Take That days, recounted in candid fashion.
Despite his global fame, multi-millions in the bank, beautiful family, international homes and famous friends, his demons are still clear.
When I tell him that he’s “the most insecure person I know, who still thinks he’s a bit s,” he pauses before replying, “Yeah, I’m comfortable with that summary.”
But he’s also, arguably, the most fun celebrity to interview – and adorably transparent.
You can ask Robbie absolutely anything and he doesn’t bat an eyelid. “Have you ever cuddled with one of Take That?” (“Not”).
“Who is the most famous woman you’ve slept with?” (“I’ll tell you later”). “Have you ever had an eating disorder?” (“I had all the ‘rexie, yeah”).
And so on.
While filming the Netflix series, the producers forbade him to take botox, in case it spoils the continuity.
It’s an understatement to say that there’s a lot going on right now.
Next stop? A 20,000 pound door lift and some “turkey teeth”. “I got Botox,” he says, not moving a muscle.
“I can’t be angry now. And Ayda tells me that I could do a little more. And I will.
“I think people’s image of plastic surgery or having work done is based on bad examples.
“They don’t realize that most people in the entertainment industry have made it, but you wouldn’t know it — 90 percent are pretty decent.
“I also get my teeth done in Turkey – I look for people who do the best teeth. I want to see examples where you say, ‘Oh, I didn’t know you were going to do that…’ I don’t want TV teeth.
“I’ll do it and I’ll get a neck lift too. I’m giving myself that next year.
“Just needs a little help, that’s all,” he says as he lifts his jaws and pinches a tiny patch of loose skin.
“I go in for a consultation around Christmas — my 50th birthday present to myself.”
Today, despite years of therapy and self-help groups, Robbie’s self-esteem remains disconcertingly low.
He recently launched an influencer account on Instagram with a hilarious parody of “shitty content,” but he won’t read social media comments and neither will Google itself.
Sitting on his huge bed (I’m over Zoom, not next to him), he recalls, “There was a time when I was receiving all forms of information about myself.
“If I were a therapist, I would say I’m looking for evidence to prove who I am as a person. I was looking for bad things. And I found it.
“But one day I was reading about how I was the worst person to ever exist in the whole world, and I thought, ‘I’ve got to make it right somehow.’
“So I decided to go and read the comments section from some people who I know are real people in the entertainment industry.
“I knew Ant and Dec were quality people, so when I started scrolling down I got to the second or third comment and read, ‘I hate these two almost as much as I hate that fat ass Robbie Williams’. So that’s was nice.”
In the documentary, Robbie admits he lived the life of a rock star – drinking a bottle of vodka a day, taking “all the drugs I could find” and sleeping with groupies.
So, how many women has he had sex with, I ask him, unable to make eye contact and wanting to work for, say, the political department of this newspaper.
He replies, “He’s probably taller than the average man, but shorter than you’d expect.”
Then he makes me guess.
“This one, 65?”
“Oh! Well, it’s more than that!”
“110?”
“Yeah, let’s go with it.”
Today, he is blissfully happy with Ayda, whom a mutual friend put him together with during one of Robbie’s drug relapses.
At one point during their first date, Ayda recalls her husband-to-be clucking like a chicken before he got sick.
They divorced briefly while Robbie got sober again, but married in 2010.
Their eight dogs acted as bridesmaids, which is exactly the kind of luxury they can indulge in.
Regardless of his reduced testosterone levels, Robbie is clearly devoted to the mother of his children, Teddy, Charlie, Coco and Beau.
And the only action he gets outside the family home is “women playing with their bits” via direct message on Instagram. Which is nice.
He laughs: “The first thing I do is point to Ayda and say: ‘Whoah look at this!!’
“We are disgustingly caustic to each other. I’m happy, Ayda is amazing.
“I know I have a great life and I feel lucky to have my family. At the moment I would describe myself as a very happy hermit… I am a coca-cola-lite agoraphobic. And that turns me on.”
- ROBBIE Williams is available to stream on Netflix from November 8. Day two of our interview with Robbie comes out tomorrow.
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Robbie beat addiction to sleeping pills ZopicloneCredit: Louis Wood – The Sun
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The father of four said watching his new Netflix doc was like witnessing a ‘traumatic car crash in slow motion’Credit: Rex
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The documentary includes clips of him drinking and using drugs during his Take That days. Credit: Getty
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