Many female celebrities have begun speaking out about going through menopause. I really appreciate those kinds of stories. Well, now male celebrities have entered the chat. Josh Duhamel is stepping up to speak for middle-aged men.
Josh participated in a Men’s Health Lab panel last week to promote his new wellness company, Gatlan Health. Gatlan aims to help men with hormone treatments, medical weight loss, and hairline treatment. Josh, 52, shared that he recently realized that he was feeling off. He saw a doctor and discovered that he had low testosterone levels. Josh decided to take testosterone to stay “virile” for his 31-year-old wife.
Josh Duhamel, 52, said that his wife was a factor in his decision to begin hormone replacement therapy. “It’s important for her that I stay as young and virile for as long as I can,” the actor said of his wife Audra Mari, 31. Duhamel and Mari wed in 2022.
Outside of his intimate life, the actor elaborated on other facets of his personal life that the hormone replacement therapy has positively impacted. “I think that there is an overall wellness, you know, just for just for those purposes alone … ,” he said.
The actor continued, “Just having that energy, that that that desire to go out and achieve, be a better dad, be a better brother, be a better friend, be a better business owner, you don’t taper off like you would normally—and I think that that’s also one of the benefits of it, mentally and physically.”
Duhamel shares son Axl, 11, with ex-wife Fergie. The couple divorced in 2019. He shares son Shepherd, 1, with Mari.
When it came to the decision to begin taking testosterone, Duhamel revealed that he had low levels of the hormone when he was tested by a doctor. “I’d been hearing about this for a while—about testosterone replacement therapy—and it was one of those things that I didn’t want to talk about, neither did anybody I was asking about it,” he said.
The actor continued, “And I think that it was just, I took an inventory, a personal inventory, of how I was feeling, and I knew that I wasn’t quite where I was at five, 10, years before. That’s when I got myself tested, and realized my levels were low, and that’s when I decided to start doing it.”
Duhamel reflected further on how taking testosterone has positively impacted his physical strength. “It’s just one of those things that just changed my world. I literally got my mojo back. And now it’s become, not so much about the aesthetics of it, as much as it is being around for my kids and being able to roll around the dirt with them like I could have when I was younger,” he said.
Duhamel’s conversation with Men’s Health comes as he begins his journey as the co-founder of Gatlan Health. Gatlan Health works to “help men reclaim their strength, confidence, and vitality through cutting-edge solutions and a holistic approach to wellness,” per the official website.
The first thing that struck me when I read Josh’s story was just how easy it was for him, a man, to get tested and then begin hormone replacement therapy. If only it were that easy for everyone who needs HRT. I’ve heard first-hand and read a lot of stories/comments online from women who have to beg for medical intervention to help them with menopause.
That said, I have zero problems with Josh taking testosterone to treat any of the other low T symptoms he was suffering from. That’s what modern medicine is for! I did not have “Josh Duhamel starting a men’s wellness brand” on my bingo card, but here we are. I appreciate him sharing his story because we live in an era with a disturbing, renewed focus on toxic masculinity and a constant demand for men to prove that they are “real” men. If Josh can break through to even one man that’s struggling but too embarrassed to admit something’s wrong, then that’s great!
Photos credit: Olivier Huitel/Avalon, Getty
