Have a friend, colleague or family member that has recently lost of lot of weight, despite having struggled to slim down in the past? Perhaps they are now working out and eating healthily, and it’s great to see their new lease of life?
Chances are they might be one of the estimated 2 million midlife women in the UK who have turned to weight loss injections like Mounjaro (tirzepatide) or Wegovy (semaglutide). The drugs harness the power of GLP-1 antagonists to release of insulin and lower blood sugar levels, slow down digestion, reduce appetite and leave those taking it feeling fuller for longer after eating. Positive side effects might include more energy and a renewed interest in having fun! So, you’d be happy for them, right?
© Vanessa HolburnBut when I spoke to Joanna (55), Margaret (61) and Louise (51), who are all taking Mounjaro and together have lost a combined weight of over 16 stone, it seems that people have a lot of opinions, and they’re often not positive.
"It’s openly painted by some as cheating’ says Margaret. "And there’s a degree of envy by some, because the drugs are expensive."
"I continue to lie [about taking the jabs] and say my weight loss is purely down to a mix of willpower and lifestyle changes," says Margaret, admitting one reason she keeps her secret is embarrassment that she "needed the drug to finally conquer my life-long weight problem".
Part of her reluctance is also the generation that Margaret is part of. "Being a child of the ‘60s, I am a feminist and so I think I shouldn’t care if my hair is grey and I’m fat".
Joanna’s upbringing has also impacted how she views her weight. She was a teenage model, but the successful long-distance runner and javelin thrower had a muscular frame and was classed as ‘plus size’ as she wore a size 14 in clothes. During her sporting days, her weight was measured and controlled.
"I battled with my weight after I had my son at 18 and I have gone to slimming clubs." says Joanna, adding that "shaming experiences at those weight loss clubs have made me uncomfortable with feeling judged. I’d feel I’d done something wrong if I’d not lost weight each week".
Fear of failure is one thing that stops Joanna from sharing her secret: "If you don’t succeed on these jabs, you open yourself up to everyone offering advice you don’t want."
She says: "I don’t want to be bothered about getting into arguments with people about my decision."
Both Margaret and Joanna’s professional lives are also one element to their hidden lives. Margaret is a barrister and as such bound my strict rules by The Bar not to bring her profession into disrepute.
"I’m not saying taking a weight-loss drug in secret is a breach of the code [of conduct] but if my name or image were associated commercially with Juniper then I think it would raise eyebrows," she reveals. "I don’t want to take that risk."
Joanna is a psychiatric nurse and thinks her career means she is subject to extra scrutiny from sceptics. "The medical profession can be quite judgemental," she says. "There’s an assumption you’re overweight because you are eating too much, and have takeaways every night, that you eat junk food, sweets and cake."
Ironically it was her working life that made Louise confront her weight gain and gave her the opportunity to use the jabs. One particular physically demanding team event left Louise feeling humiliated and guilty that she couldn’t keep up. Her job was part of the problem however, as it required a lot of travelling, with exhaustion and time restrictions leading her to eat takeaways. Taking a career break, however, has given Louise the time and privacy she needed to start the drugs.
© Kathryn FellBut that doesn’t mean Louise is open about her use of the jabs. "I’m lying…, but I don’t want to go through that conversation about whether I’m doing it the right or wrong way," she admits.
And it’s a judgement Louise feels is unique to the jabs. "Nobody would ever question me taking blood pressure medication, and no one would ever suggest you just use willpower to stop smoking if you were using patches to help curb cravings," she points out.
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But keeping secrets can be an isolating experience. Louise has found a solution to that with the discreet Juniper community online though. "With the Facebook community group, you’ve got thousands of people on the same journey as you, cheering you on." she says. "There’s an unspoken agreement in the group… you don’t mention who you’ve seen to anyone else."
In the UK Facebook group Louise is part of there are already 20,000 people, and a second group started in June 2025 had already garnered a further 1,500 members by August. With these pages only representing those that take one of the hundreds of suppliers of weight-loss jabs, this means they are tens of thousands of people out there also using GLP-1. And perhaps, like these midlife women, taking them in secret.
Secret Women: What We Hide and Why by Vanessa Holburn, published by River Light Press, is out now. Follow Vanessa on Instagram: @vanessaholburnwriter
