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New Podcast Does the Unprecedented and Asks What Men Are Getting Wrong About Menopause - Launching For Men's Mental Health Week

The Wisdom Vault

Key Facts:

• Episode: She’s Not Angry at You: What Men Get Wrong About Menopause with Thea O’Connor
• Available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube
• Released today ahead of Men’s Mental Health Week
• Guest: Thea O’Connor — menopause educator, workplace consultant, and researcher; TEDx speaker; adviser to Senate inquiries and international standards bodies
• Study of 169 married couples found men’s attitudes toward menopause showed a significant negative correlation with the severity of their wives’ symptoms
• 1 in 5 women report menopause affects their relationships
• Thea O’Connor is conducting Australia’s first dedicated men-and-menopause survey — link available in episode show notes

Sydney, Australia | 9 June 2025

Released today just ahead of Men’s Mental Health Week, the latest episode of Don’t Let The Old Man In takes on one of the most taboo subjects in male wellbeing: what men experience when the women in their lives go through menopause, and how profoundly their response shapes the outcome.

Host Pod O’Sullivan sits down with Thea O’Connor, menopause educator, workplace consultant, and researcher who has spent years doing what almost nobody else was doing: interviewing men about their experience of women’s menopause. In 2018, O’Connor went public on national radio at considerable professional risk, describing her own disorienting perimenopause journey after it derailed what she’d planned as her “power decade.” What followed was a body of work now reaching boardrooms, Australian Senate inquiries, and international standards organisations.

The episode, titled She’s Not Angry at You: What Men Get Wrong About Menopause, explores why the way a man responds to his partner’s menopause directly affects how severe her symptoms are, how men misinterpret classic symptoms as personal rejection, and why Thea calls menopause not a breakdown, but a promotion.

Thea O’Connor is also conducting Australia’s first dedicated men-and-menopause survey. The link is available in the episode show notes.

Topics: 

• The research showing a man’s attitude toward menopause has a measurable negative correlation with the severity of his partner’s symptoms
• Why “dishwasher rage” isn’t about the dishwasher — and what it actually represents
• What men told Thea in her interviews: the confusion, helplessness, and time spent in the doghouse without knowing why
• The orca whale effect — why post-menopausal females lead their pods through tough times, and what this means for human women
• How men can be supportive without losing their own standards — and when to get professional help
• What managers need to know about menopause in the workplace

Where to listen

Don’t Let The Old Man In is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. New episodes roll out weekly, with clips available across social channels and The Wisdom Vault website. Listeners can subscribe for updates, live events, and bonus content.

“Men keep telling me they don’t have a right to be in this space. They feel helpless, scared of getting it wrong, and they end up saying nothing. But silence has a cost — for them and for their partners. This episode is about giving men the understanding and the language they need,” says Pod O’Sullivan, host of Don’t Let The Old Man In.

“We know that a woman’s attitude toward menopause affects her symptoms. But the research also shows her partner’s attitude matters. Men are not bystanders in this — they are part of the environment,” says Thea O’Connor, menopause educator and researcher.

About us:

The Wisdom Vault is an Australian platform for men in midlife. We publish practical articles, produce podcasts, and host community experiences that help men move through change with confidence. Our flagship podcast, Don’t Let The Old Man In, is at the heart of this mission. Explore our content, connect with the community, and subscribe for updates on episodes, events, and new shows.

Contact details:

Pod O’Sullivan, Co-Founder, Host
[email protected]
+61 (0)417 863 324