Suzanne Somers sheds light on surviving perimenopause
Actress turned health guru discusses difficult subject
LOS ANGELES – Former Three’s Company star Suzanne Somers has joined the new cast of "Dancing with the Stars," but the splashy gig might not have happened if the veteran star hadn’t found out toxic mold in her home was making her ill.
Somers, who has written the book "TOX-SICK: From Toxic to Not Sick' about her and husband Alan Hamel’s ordeal, told FOX411: “It’s very personal. Our [Malibu] house burned down a few years ago and we had to move into a rental that was very beautiful -- but unbeknownst to us, there was an unfinished room downstairs that had black mold and it was standing water that got into the drywall, got into the heating and air conditioning ducts, and I noticed over the four years that I lived there that my husband was getting sick and he’s [usually] so healthy.”
“And then I was getting sick," the 68-year-old actress known for the sitcoms "Three’s Company" and "Step by Step revealed. "My stomach would explode every day, and I eat perfectly, so I found out the black mold had gotten into my intestines and black mold had gotten into [Alan’s] sinuses and then my granddaughters both had ADD. One had ADHD and OCD, and then my daughter got Lyme disease, and so [my family suffered] all these new mystery diseases.
“So I used my platform to get to the best and brightest environmental doctors in the country to find the solutions to what do you do when you have a kid with ADD or ADHD?" she said. "What do you do when you’ve got black mold in your brain or in your sinuses? Why is everybody getting auto-immune diseases?”
Luckily, the star recovered after she and Hamel, 78, fled the house of horrors.
“When we found out what it was, we had to leave that house like bandits,” she shuddered.
Sadly, however, Somers and her husband couldn’t take their things with them. The star said she’d already lost all her personal belongings in the house fire and for the rental home, “I replenished and then when you have mold, you have to leave pretty much everything behind. You can’t take it with you or you take the mold with you.”
After her long ordeal, Somers is thrilled to compete on the hit ABC dancing reality show.
“I thought what a privilege to have this opportunity to have a viewing audience of 15 million people every week," she said. "Part of my job is to make sure I stay in front of the public eye, to stay viable."
“My strength is I like to win and I always try 100 percent. I never do anything half-ass.”
Somers, who has previously written a book about replacing lost hormones, said although she’s in her 60s, she should do absolutely fine physically on "DWTS."
“I have no bone loss, no brain loss, I have a lot of energy and a lot of strength," she said. "My heart is perfect so I think I’m more ready than I would have been in my 20s, honest to God.”
Somers, who has often talked about her sex life with her husband, confirmed to FOX411 that dancing should work more wonders.
“It’s gotta be great for all those special muscles!” she winked.
Meanwhile, Fox News fans can expect to see her on the channel again soon. “I’m a regular on Fox," Somers noted. "I think that network is the greatest showcase for beautiful, intelligent smart women.”
Trending
Who's making headlines in television, music, movies and more from Hollywood to the Heartland.