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When Kate Walsh starred in Grey’s Anatomy as Addison Montgomery-Shepherd, fans fell in love with her. The positive reviews over Addison’s character prompted Shonda Rhimes to pursue a spinoff with Walsh as the star. Private Practice was born in September of 2007 and attracted more viewers than Grey’s Anatomy’s third season.

Let’s take a look at Walsh’s difficult transition from being an actor on one show to being the star of a new hit-drama. 

Kate Walsh
Kate Walsh | Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Hollywood Reporter

Kate Walsh got married and then divorced within a span of 18 months

In April 2007, Walsh began dating 20th Century Fox executive Alex Young. The relationship escalated quickly. Young proposed to Walsh during a trip to San Francisco, California. Then the couple married on September 1, 2007, at the Ojai Presbyterian Church in Ojai, California.

During their dating months, the actress began filming her new series, Private Practice. The series premiered on September 26, 2007, just weeks after marrying Young.

Next, On December 11, 2008, just a little over one year from the start of their marriage, Young filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.

“I don’t think anyone gets married thinking that they will get divorced,” Walsh told Redbook in an interview that was published on February 23, 2009. 

The star continued, “We certainly did not. Alex and I still care for each other, and I wish him nothing but the best. The silver lining to this, however, is that I have a wonderful family and a great group of friends who really showed their support and encouragement, and for that, I am truly grateful.”

 The actress vowed not to let the divorce get her down. However, it had something to do with the rough transition from one show to the next. 

Walsh recently revealed that she entered menopause just as ‘Private Practice’ premiered

Fans of the show would not know from her on-screen personality that Walsh was struggling personally at the time of Private Practice‘s premiere. Walsh revealed in a November 6, 2019, interview with Pop Culture that she entered menopause at the age of 39 right around the premiere of Private Practice, “it was a real crazy, crazy time.”

She continued to say, “My body started changing, hot flashes and night sweats and mood swings, and sudden tears and ‘Oh my God!’ And I was just working, I was transitioning from Grey’s Anatomy to having my own show on Private Practice, [and] newly married.”

She was not expecting everything, and it made her transition very difficult. The star also said, “It was really scary to be honest, because there was a lot of information in the culture, [but] there wasn’t a lot of support for it. And there was a lot of fear around it, and I hated that. I had to sort of learn by just asking random older women like, ‘Hey, did you have to do this? What are you doing? How are you doing it?'”

Looking back on the difficult time in her life, she wishes there was more information out there to help women going through the same thing.

Walsh partnered with a company to help other women 

Now that the actress has gone through this period in her life and come out on the other side, she feels that she can help other women. She has partnered with EQUELLE, which is a company that provides all-natural, plant-based supplements to women suffering through menopause. 

Walsh would like to raise awareness about this un-talked about topic. She hopes to save women from going through the same trials and tribulations she did.

She explained, “”I think one of the things that freaks women out is like, ‘Oh, I either have to do hormone replacement or nothing and so it’s a choice between, you know, one fear or another.”

The 13 Reasons Why actress is taking a stand to help women realize there are other options. 

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