Oscar-winning actress Naomi Watts has revealed a touching moment she shared with husband Billy Crudup when the pair first started dating. The 57-year-old was speaking at The Swell’s fourth annual Menopause Symposium on October 4 2025 in New York City. In conversation with Maria Shriver and Alisa Volkman, she shared: "The real thing that gave me the courage [to write the book and open up] was my husband. I met him in my late 40s and I had to excuse myself quickly at the [first] moment we were getting down to business to remove my estrogen patch, as it would be awful for him to see, of course!
"So I slipped away, and came out flushed and he asked if everything was ok, so I just said, 'um you know, well, um, I have this thing on me and it left a mark, and its estrogen because I'm old and should I just leave?!' And he said, 'honey thanks for telling me, it’s great you take your health into your hands, and tell me how I can help'."
The actress added: "It was the most intimate moment I have ever had with a human being. That gave me permission and confidence to own my story." Naomi's book, Dare I Say It: Everything I Wish I’d Known About Menopause was released earlier this year and chronicles her personal experiences with fertility and aging. At 36, when trying to start a family with then-partner Liev Schreiber, she was told that she was on the brink of menopause.
Naomi and Billy tied the knot in June 2023 in Manhattan in a low-key ceremony. The private pair confirmed their relationship in 2017 while filming Netflix’s psychosexual drama Gypsy together. Naomi and ex-partner Liev have two children together from their 11-year union, and Billy has a son, William, with ex Mary-Louise Parker.
At the symposium, Naomi has spoken frankly about her life and how she raises her two children, as well as her hopes and dreams for them. "I have two teenagers, I have sent one off to college and he is 18 and very much in the place he wants to be, and it's a good feeling," she shared.
"Then I have another child who is already launching herself into her career at 16, and I hope for so much for my kids, but most of all I want them to be content, and healthy and kind and compassionate people."
The actress also shared how she has a different parenting approach compared to the way she was raised. "I think I was parented very differently to how I parent - the jury is out on the terms of how [my parenting] will show up - but I am not a model for how well my parents did," the Mulholland Drive star said. "I lost my father when I was young and my mum was very young… I had a messy childhood… but … it formed who I am. Although I may have wanted things to go differently, it is who I am."
"I try to infuse structure in their lives, have them in fewer schools than I went to - and I am doing well with that - and communication," Naomi shared at the Symposium. "I just really want them to not be hiding things from me… that is my main goal, and I am here for them as a support system and role model, hopefully, but I never want to force things. I am learning on the job… how to be a parent."