Olympian Michelle Griffith Robinson: The Domestic Abuse, Misdiagnosis & Shame No One Saw

As women of colour, we often look in the mirror and see a much younger woman looking back but what’s really going on underneath? And we’re not the only ones who see it.

Healthcare professionals see it too. Add the “strong Black woman” trope into the mix, and you get delayed diagnoses, dismissed symptoms, and research that shows women of colour are consistently under-treated for the same conditions.

In this week’s episode of Hormones & Heroines, we sit down with Olympian and midlife icon Michelle Griffith Robinson; life coach, mentor, mother, and one of the most honest voices in the menopause space. We have the conversation about what, as women, we hide in the name of shame.

Michelle talks about what it was like to be the athlete the world saw, Nike and Lucozade-sponsored, an Olympic triple jumper at the top of her game, while behind the scenes, she was in an abusive relationship she didn’t dare tell her own family about. She opens up about the first time she went to the doctor, convinced something wasn’t right as she entered perimenopause, and was told, without a single test, “you’re too fit to be diabetic.” She was, in fact, pre-diabetic.

More than anything, Michelle has a way of talking to you like the best friend you never met, one who pushes you to advocate for yourself, whatever you’re hiding behind closed doors, symptomatic or otherwise. Because pride is the antidote to shame.

She talks about: Being sponsored by Nike and Lucozade while privately in an abusive relationship The doctor who dismissed her pre-diabetes because she “looked too fit” Why she believes pride is the antidote to shame The red flags of coercive control - and the moment at her 30th birthday that made her leave Why she’s now an ambassador for Women’s Aid Rebuilding her identity, her finances, and her voice after leaving The importance of advocating for yourself Follow Michelle Griffith Robinson: Website Instagram YouTube - Subscribe: Apple Podcast: Spotify: m_source=copy-link IG: Site: .uk Host - Sarah-Jane Crawford :