I’ve accepted myself at 52 after a health kick… here’s how I achieved my body confidence & glow, says Tamzin Outhwaite
WHILE many find the menopause one of the most challenging periods in life, it’s fair to say that Tamzin Outhwaite, 52, has never felt – or looked – better.
So what’s the secret behind her amazing body confidence and glow?
While many celebs use a host of expensive beauty products and have their plastic surgeon on speed dial, Tamzin tells us that for her it’s much more simple. It’s about self-acceptance.
“I’m now at a stage in my life where I have become really comfortable in my own skin and really like myself,” says the former EastEnders actress.
“I’m very realistic about the fact this body isn’t the same as it was when I was in my twenties.
“But I do know I now have the best body I’ve probably ever had — even when I was 40, doing eight shows a week dancing in the West End.”
‘We laugh an awful lot, laughter is important’
Tamzin explains that completely over-hauling her lifestyle in the past two years has helped her reach a contentment that many younger women could only dream of, and she finds it “liberating” to talk openly about the menopause.
She says: “When I hit 50, I started looking after myself more than ever before.
“I held back on alcohol and started a real health kick.
“Now I’m on the other side of 50 — turning 53 this year — and it’s like I have a new lease of life.
“I know exactly who I am, what I’m doing and I’m confident physically and mentally with that.”
She adds: “When you hit the menopause, there’s a lot of questions you ask yourself, like, ‘Who am I?’ and ‘What am I doing?’
“As women, you are conditioned to look after everyone else before ourselves, and so I started looking after myself so I could become a better person.
“I got on the right HRT, changed my diet and learnt what exercise worked for me.”
Tamzin — who has also starred in the likes of New Tricks and Hotel Babylon — has lived her life in the spotlight for more than 25 years and explains that reconnecting with nature has been a huge help when it comes to gaining perspective.
She says: “I learnt about self-care things to do that are completely free, such as nature, walking and meditation.
“Spending time in nature is the saving grace — it brings you back to where you are meant to be.
“You realise that the world or the bubble that so many of us live in is kind of pointless.”
And talking about how her new relationship with alcohol has helped her mental health, Tamzin says: “I’m ‘sober-curious’.
“I didn’t drink at all for six months last year, and then I introduced mindful drinking — which is basically drinking on special occasions but never getting drunk.
“It helped with anxiety. I have enough of that going through the menopause and I didn’t need any more.”
Being in love almost certainly adds to her glow too, and Tamzin, who has children Flo, 15, and Marnie, ten, with ex-husband Tom Ellis, 44, has been in a happy relationship with personal trainer Tom Child, 32, for the past five years.
She tells us the spark is definitely still there with him, and that humour is one of the things that keeps them bonded.
She says: “We laugh an awful lot, laughter is important — and he is a wonderful stepfather as well. I am very lucky to have him.”
Much has been made over the years of their 20-year age gap but, if anything, Tamzin thinks it works in their favour.
She says: “The age gap is not an issue. After we realised that then actually we were just going to go for it, because we didn’t want to be apart, and it became something that wasn’t an issue.”
Tamzin explains that the fact Tom has no desire to have children of his own also makes their relationship less complicated than it would otherwise be.
She says: “What also helps is Tom not wanting kids, and me already having them.
“There’s no pressure, we are not getting married so we have a lovely time. There is no clock ticking, which is very liberating.”
‘Cold water swimming is my therapy’
Tamzin, who starred in BBC show Freeze The Fear with Wim Hoff last year, alongside the likes of Gabby Logan and Alfie Boe, is now a firm believer in the health benefits of submerging herself in cold water on a regular basis.
But she is yet to convert Tom.
She says: “I take a cold shower every day and have invested in an ice bath.
“Tom doesn’t do the cold water yet – but I will get him into the ice bath with me one day.”
In 2018, Tamzin opened up about her heartbreak over losing mum Anna – who she described as her “best friend” – when the older woman died suddenly from an aneurysm.
Describing her death as the “worst thing ever”, it’s clear that since that loss she has found solace in pursuits such as cold-water swimming.
She says: “Some people see cold water as torture, but it’s therapy to deal with the rest of the world.
“The cold makes you feel like you can tackle a lot of other things.
“You’re able to handle things differently. All those things that used to bother you, like sitting in traffic or wearing something itchy, pass.
“It reframes things, and your mindset.
“We have learned to catastrophise every feeling we have, when really the bottom line is, you are alright.”
While Tamzin is keen to do everything she can to look and feel good, she is adamant she will not have any surgical procedures.
She says: “I don’t want Botox because I want to be able to move my face, and especially with my work – I want to be able to still get certain parts because I can express myself.”
And as for her skincare regime, the star admits she is pretty low-maintenance and that drinking water is her main beauty tip.
She says: “My skin products change all the time, I don’t have any facial products that I stick to every morning and night.
“I am a bit wild with these sorts of things – I just do what feels right with my skin.”
Tamzin is so passionate about her new regime of self-care and the positive impact it’s had on her life that in March this year, she launched a non-profit organisation called We Free Women.
Keen to give something back, the actress uses her home in the Cotswolds to provide fully funded wellness retreats and experiences for women who really deserve a break and a chance to recharge.
She says: “I wanted to do something for women who are really the pillar of the community, who hold so much for everyone else.
“Now, because we are having kids later on in life, we are looking after elderly parents at the same time as young children – as well as dealing with menopause hormones.
“And women need a break, to reset ourselves.
“I had the idea of turning my place in the Cotswolds into a retreat, with Pilates teachers, menopause speakers and healers.
“My aim is to give women the tools to put their own versions of self-care into their lives.”
But her side-venture doesn’t mean Tamzin, who is currently starring in the Britbox TV drama The Tower, is retiring from acting any time soon.
She says: “I’m not slowing down, I am just more attracted to a slower way of life.
“I don’t see myself retiring as an actress ever. It’s too much fun, and fun is what I want to be having right now.”