Melinda French Gates has opened up about her harrowing experience with perimenopause, revealing that despite being 'unbelievably privileged' it took three different doctors to get the right treatment.

The billionaire philanthropist, 61, spoke out about her health journey during an appearance on Norah O'Donnell's Healthful podcast.

The episode will premiere in full on Wednesday, but in a sneak peek posted to Healthful's YouTube channel on Tuesday morning, French Gates recalled how she started going through perimenopause in her early 40s.

But according to the mother-of-three, despite having access to 'some of the best health care' on the globe, doctors struggled to diagnose her with perimenopause when her symptoms first arose.

'I started perimenopause in my early 40s ... And it was kind of unbelievable to me that even in this unbelievably privileged situation I'm in, where I feel like I can get some of the best health care, it took me three doctors to really diagnose what I was going through and to get the right treatments for [me],' she said.

French Gates added that she was grateful that she had a bunch of 'older friends' who had warned her about the symptoms to look out for.

'Thank goodness I have older friends, we would walk every Monday and hearing their stories kind of eight or nine years ahead of mine, I knew what to watch for,' she explained.

She admitted that when she finally learned it was perimenopause, she was surprised because she had just finished having her last child.

Melinda French Gates has opened up about her harrowing experience with perimenopause, revealing that despite being 'unbelievably privileged' it took three different doctors to get the right treatment

She shares three children with her ex-husband, Microsoft founder Bill Gates , 70: son Rory, 27, and daughters Jennifer, 30, and Phoebe, 23. The two split in 2021

She shares three children with her ex-husband, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, 70: son Rory, 27, and daughters Jennifer, 30, and Phoebe, 23. The two split in 2021.

'I couldn't believe it because I had just finished having my last child in my late 30s,' she shared. 'I thought, "Are you kidding me?"'

Host O'Donnell was shocked by French Gates' story, saying: 'Even Melinda Gates couldn't get the right treatment.'

'Right. And it wasn't because anybody was doing the wrong thing,' French Gates added.

'It's because only one-third of OB/GYNs in this country are trained in menopause.'

The mother-of-three theorized that it may be one of the things 'holding women back' from 'senior leadership roles.'

'We know that one in 10 women step back from the workforce during their years of perimenopause or menopause because of severe symptoms that they're experiencing,' she added.

Back in June, French Gates called for a 'menopause revolution' in an op-ed she wrote for the New York Times.

The billionaire philanthropist, 61, spoke out about her health journey during an appearance on Norah O'Donnell's Healthful podcast

Despite having access to 'some of the best health care' on the globe, she said doctors struggled to diagnose her with perimenopause when her symptoms first arose in her early 40s

She admitted that when she finally learned it was perimenopause, she was surprised because she had just finished having her last child. She's seen with her ex, Bill, in 2006 at age 41

In the piece, which was titled Women, We Deserve Better Than This, French Gates said that 'women's rights are under attack' and argued that women have long been an 'afterthought' when it comes to health.

She revealed that she had committed an additional $215 million to the cause through her Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation, bringing her funding for women’s health over the past two years to more than $600 million.

'Here's a scene that regularly plays out across the country: A woman walks into her doctor's office with an increasingly debilitating set of symptoms - her sleep destroyed, joints aching, heart racing, memory slipping - and walks out with no diagnosis, no treatment and no plan,' she penned in the piece.

'Our society's approach to menopause and perimenopause reflects the deep flaws of a health system that has long treated women as an afterthought.'

French Gates said society needs to change its 'assumptions about whose bodies are worth understanding.'

'We need a menopause revolution in this country,' she continued.