We’ve talked a lot on this show about health issues midlife women face. But what about the other people who often have a front-row seat to these changes, and can play a key supporting role? This week, a conversation about supporting a partner who’s going through menopause—with none other than Elizabeth’s own partner: Dr. Richard Shapiro (who also happens to be a pioneering breast cancer and melanoma researcher and surgeon). They talk about the ways they’ve navigated midlife changes in their relationship, common misconceptions about taking hormones, and impacts menopause can have on relationships, as well as give advice for how both partners and clinicians can better support women experiencing menopause. 

Links to resources mentioned in this episode: 

(00:01:38) Dr. Elizabeth Poynor on Rich Roll’s podcast

Menopausal Hormone Therapy and the Risk of Breast Cancer in Women with a Pathogenic Variant in BRCA1 or BRCA2

The Menopause Society

8 facts about divorce in the United States

Note: In this show, we use “women” as shorthand for people with XX chromosomes. We understand sex and gender are more complex, and acknowledge the experiences we describe reach beyond that word.

We&rsquo;ve talked a lot on this show about health issues midlife women face. But what about the other people who often have a front-row seat to these changes, and can play a key supporting role? This week, a conversation about supporting a partner who&rsquo;s going through menopause&mdash;with none other than Elizabeth&rsquo;s own partner: Dr. Richard Shapiro (who also happens to be a pioneering breast cancer and melanoma researcher and surgeon). They talk about the ways they&rsquo;ve navigated midlife changes in their relationship, common misconceptions about taking hormones, and impacts menopause can have on relationships, as well as give advice for how both partners and clinicians can better support women experiencing menopause.&nbsp;
Links to resources mentioned in this episode:&nbsp;
(00:01:38) <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decoding-womens-health-dr-elizabeth-poynor-on-midlife/id582272991?i=1000746675611">Dr. Elizabeth Poynor on Rich Roll&rsquo;s podcast</a>
<a href="https://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/21392/presentation/112">Menopausal Hormone Therapy and the Risk of Breast Cancer in Women with a Pathogenic Variant in BRCA1 or BRCA2</a>
<a href="https://portal.menopause.org/NAMS/NAMS/Directory/Menopause-Practitioner.aspx">The Menopause Society</a>
<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/10/16/8-facts-about-divorce-in-the-united-states/">8 facts about divorce in the United States</a>
Note: In this show, we use &ldquo;women&rdquo; as shorthand for people with XX chromosomes. We understand sex and gender are more complex, and acknowledge the experiences we describe reach beyond that word.

Decoding Partnership in Midlife with Dr. Richard Shapiro from Decoding Women's Health

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d0f84197-d15e-48db-8b42-b3ed0004c1c5/transcript

We visited America’s sweethearts on Manhattan’s East Side and found them as devoted and candid as ever. During a short period in the late 80’s, Michael and Tracy got married, had a son, Michael lost his father and gained a life-altering diagnosis — a lot for a young couple to navigate. How it started and how’s it going? An inspiring story you won’t want to miss.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

We visited America’s sweethearts on Manhattan’s East Side and found them as devoted and candid as ever. During a short period in the late 80’s, Michael and Tracy got married, had a son, Michael lost his father and gained a life-altering diagnosis — a lot for a young couple to navigate. How it started and how’s it going? An inspiring story you won’t want to miss. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Michael J. Fox & Tracy Pollan

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/32272e5d-92b7-4542-be46-ae32006e67f2/transcript

You can’t drop in on Rob and Michele and not expect a lively conversation and a whole lotta laughs. This clever, committed couple knows how to use the middle of the night right: arguing about the Kennedy assassination and enjoying each other as a “best friend you can have sex with.” You can reverse the order, too, and it still works!

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

You can’t drop in on Rob and Michele and not expect a lively conversation and a whole lotta laughs. This clever, committed couple knows how to use the middle of the night right: arguing about the Kennedy assassination and enjoying each other as a “best friend you can have sex with.” You can reverse the order, too, and it still works! Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Rob & Michele Reiner

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d51f0107-fb21-4673-a9ca-ae32006f3701/transcript

Two American icons of social justice, the Reverend and Jackie have trailblazed across history and endured threats — all the while raising their children and keeping their family intact.  Hear their lessons of courage through world events, infidelity, forgiveness and keeping the faith.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Two American icons of social justice, the Reverend and Jackie have trailblazed across history and endured threats — all the while raising their children and keeping their family intact.  Hear their lessons of courage through world events, infidelity, forgiveness and keeping the faith. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Reverend Jesse & Jacqueline Jackson

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/cf8ddffd-abd3-4d2b-976b-ae32006faf67/transcript

Bryan and Robin met as actors when he had to kidnap her on a TV show. Friends first, their attraction blossomed later — like a lightbulb turned on that reveals everything. He proposed in a hilarious way – in a bathtub. They are serious about their relationship, they’re funny and sweet and we learned a lot from them. 

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Bryan and Robin met as actors when he had to kidnap her on a TV show. Friends first, their attraction blossomed later — like a lightbulb turned on that reveals everything. He proposed in a hilarious way – in a bathtub. They are serious about their relationship, they’re funny and sweet and we learned a lot from them.  Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Bryan Cranston & Robin Dearden

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d53168a6-0f4c-4614-b7dd-ae32006fcfc9/transcript

Hey Double Date listeners. While we're off this week, we wanted to share with you a fun new show from Wondery. Rich and Daily delivers laughs and all the latest celebrity news. Hosts Brooke and Aricia are comedians, besties and the perfect guides to give you your daily dose of pop culture. They'll keep you up to speed on all the secrets, scandals, and news in the entertainment world. Is that rumor you heard about Rihanna true? If it is, you better believe Brooke and Aricia will have something to say about it. This is just a preview of Rich and Daily, but you can listen to full episodes at wondery.fm/doubledate_RD.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Hey Double Date listeners. While we're off this week, we wanted to share with you a fun new show from Wondery. Rich and Daily delivers laughs and all the latest celebrity news. Hosts Brooke and Aricia are comedians, besties and the perfect guides to give you your daily dose of pop culture. They'll keep you up to speed on all the secrets, scandals, and news in the entertainment world. Is that rumor you heard about Rihanna true? If it is, you better believe Brooke and Aricia will have something to say about it. This is just a preview of Rich and Daily, but you can listen to full episodes at <a href="http://wondery.fm/doubledate_RD">wondery.fm/doubledate_RD</a>. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

What We're Listening To: Rich and Daily

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/132927cf-2e5e-4246-9aa9-ae3200700eac/transcript

The role most people know David Boies for is not “husband.”  But our interview with this legendary litigator and his whipsmart wife showed us how tragic loss, and a few well considered compromises (involving Las Vegas), can lead to an “upward spiral of kindness” — and a marriage that any couple would envy.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

The role most people know David Boies for is not “husband.”  But our interview with this legendary litigator and his whipsmart wife showed us how tragic loss, and a few well considered compromises (involving Las Vegas), can lead to an “upward spiral of kindness” — and a marriage that any couple would envy. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

David & Mary Boies

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/19b7e71b-2040-4bc5-99db-ae320070f060/transcript

How “Mambo Mouth” found love and lived happily ever after.  New Yorkers to the core, John and Justine combined his Latin roots with her Jewish heritage, and they never met a holiday they couldn’t turn into a party for their extended family. He may need his own floor of the house in order to write, but Justine seems to keep him inspired, simply by being herself.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

How “Mambo Mouth” found love and lived happily ever after.  New Yorkers to the core, John and Justine combined his Latin roots with her Jewish heritage, and they never met a holiday they couldn’t turn into a party for their extended family. He may need his own floor of the house in order to write, but Justine seems to keep him inspired, simply by being herself. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

John & Justine Leguizamo

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/87dc8746-152c-463a-a277-ae320070de86/transcript

How often do you get to talk to a former President and First Lady — about love?  Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter explain how they’ve kept their marriage alive for — consider this — 75 years, and how the hardest thing they ever did was not surviving the White House, but writing a book together.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

How often do you get to talk to a former President and First Lady — about love?  Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter explain how they’ve kept their marriage alive for — consider this — 75 years, and how the hardest thing they ever did was not surviving the White House, but writing a book together. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

President Jimmy Carter & Rosalynn Carter

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f47ef7af-556a-405b-be53-ae320070e543/transcript

Just a couple of kids from Michigan — Sanjay and Rebecca nonetheless had deep backgrounds that were very different. But interweaving his Indian family with her Scandinavian heritage was much easier than you might expect, thanks to this smart, grounded pair whose marriage made all the sense in the world. Hear the nation’s favorite Doctor in a truly American story of love and family.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Just a couple of kids from Michigan — Sanjay and Rebecca nonetheless had deep backgrounds that were very different. But interweaving his Indian family with her Scandinavian heritage was much easier than you might expect, thanks to this smart, grounded pair whose marriage made all the sense in the world. Hear the nation’s favorite Doctor in a truly American story of love and family. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Sanjay & Rebecca Gupta

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/e906fe7c-4f8e-4a7f-84e2-ae3200715fc0/transcript

Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue fell in love on live television and wed over 40 years ago. Eavesdrop as they visit the homes of famous long-marrieds for intimate conversations about enduring love and all its challenges: family, career, conflict, addiction, illness, jealousy — everything that binds couples together or can break them apart.With lots of laughs around the coffee table, we hear private takes, internal struggles and hilarious anecdotes from the likes of Viola Davis & Julius Tennon; Sting & Trudie Styler; Neil Patrick Harris & David Burtka; Ray & Anna Romano; John McEnroe & Patty Smyth; Ten Danson & Mary Steenburgen; Kelly Ripa & Mark Consuelos; Bob Woodward & Elsa Walsh; Rodney & Holly Robinson Peete; George Stephanopoulos & Ali Wentworth; Patricia Cornwell & Staci Gruber; Judges Judy & Jerry Sheindlin; Dr. Sanjay & Rebecca Gupta; President Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter; John & Justine Leguizamo; David & Mary Boies; Bryan Cranston & Robin Dearden; Jesse & Jacqueline Jackson; Rob & Michele Reiner; and Michael J. Fox & Tracy Pollan.iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

Double Date with Marlo Thomas & Phil Donahue

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