Sophie Grégoire Trudeau reflects on her 40s being a 'painful' time in her life: 'Now, I'm getting clarity'

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau is opening up about aging as she reaches the end of her 40s. The retired Canadian TV host, who turned 49 on April 24, reflected on the past decade of her life during a recent episode of "The Mom Room."

In a video shared to Instagram on Wednesday, Grégoire Trudeau told host Renee Reina Grenon that she considered the past decade challenging.

"The path of the 40s was painful, not easy — for me," Grégoire Trudeau, who announced her split with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last August after 18 years of marriage, shared. "Lots of digging and lots of trying to figure out more confusing parts of my life, and felt a little bit like navigating through the fog. I don't know if it's because of perimenopause and losing sleep and struggling through all of that.

"Now, I'm getting clarity, a very precise alignment of my inner compass, which also feels liberating."

Grégoire Trudeau, who released her new book Tuesday, added that despite living in a society that aims to defy aging, she's choosing to embrace her natural looks.

"It's an authentic way of living, even though it feels like we're going counter current with the kind of culture that informs us and teaches us and encourages us to hate ourselves at such a young age as women," she added. "I refuse to take that in. It is damaging to our psyches and to our body."

During the episode, which was released on Thursday, the "Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other" author also spoke about raising her children, Xavier, Ella-Grace and Hadrien.

"When it comes to my kids, it's my closest love of my whole life," she said. "I know that parents understand this, whether you're a biological parent or not. When you're raising a child or guiding a child, there's a relationship where you're responsible for somebody who looks to you for safety, for comfort, for security, for validation.

"Because we see parenting more as a relationship, we forget how our unresolved insecurities and trauma — whether big or small — affects our daily relationships with our kids."

She added, quoting her therapist featured in her book, that every human enters the world needing both attachment and authenticity.

"We have to be more conscious of the process as parents," she shared. "When our children try to do that, we've got to set them free of all the emotional trauma that we carry so that they don't have to have that on their plate — they don't need it. It's our responsibility as parents to look at our own trauma.

"Mental health is not just the absence of mental illness. It's the fabric of our lives and it's our universal common denominator."

The mental health advocate also gave tips for new mothers who are trying to take care of themselves.

"When you do have the luxury, ... I think it's really important to take as much time as you can to rest after giving birth," she said. " I would say the number one key component when you take care of little one, when you become a mother, is to have a community, is to not isolate yourself.

"It's not OK to leave mothers by themselves in charge of everything. It is not how we are designed and it's making us anxious and depleted ... it's not acceptable."

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