Sam Armytage fires back at grey hair comments

After making headlines for reportedly going grey, Samantha Armytage shares her blunt message for those who criticise women for ageing.

In the depths of winter a few weeks back, I had a very happy, snuggly moment in our lounge room. Not with my hubby. But rather with my photogenic, sweet, spoilt labrador – when he lay down in my lap and sleepily curled up around my ugg boot.

Now, as with most “moments” these days, if it didn’t happen on Instagram, did it ever really happen? And so my sweet, snuggly husband took a photo. And I, innocently, posted it.

Sam Armytage with her labrador Banjo. (Picture: Instagram,)

What happened next surprised even me (and I’m used to attracting ridiculous headlines). “Samantha Armytage shows off her naturally white hair” screamed one tabloid. And the others followed suit, as they tend to do.

Wait, what? It was meant to be about Banjo, the cute blond dog. I’d put a filter on the photo – as almost every person of a certain age who no longer has a full hair and make-up team at their disposal does. But enough explaining. My first thought I can’t repeat in a reputable magazine.

But then, after a deep breath, my next thought was: what if I really had decided to let my hair go naturally grey? Why would they shame me for that?

US actress Andie MacDowell on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes in July. (Picture: John MacDougall / AFP)

Why are ageing men called “silver foxes” and the tabloids barely raise a laminated eyebrow? But a woman, who is still spending a fortune to be blonde, is castigated for her “mysterious” look.

I was going to ignore this episode, as I do with most of the absurd things that happen around me in the press. But then Andie MacDowell turned up on the red carpet at Cannes...

And that exquisite brunette “shocked” the media with her “natural look” – a spectacular,

softer silver flecked through her glorious mane.

And my first thought was: what a woman! How brave it is these days when a woman in the public eye allows a real wrinkle to poke through, or even some greys: the dividends

paid for a life well-lived and surviving the years.

Samantha Armytage features in this Sunday’s Stellar.

The last time I was teased about my white-blonde hair, I was 14 and at an all-girls boarding school. I rang my mother in tears.

Jump forward 30 years, this time I called my beautiful hairdresser, who confirmed my “creamy, honey and dark-blonde highlights are all finished off with a cool champagne gloss”.

And then, like mum, she said, “Don’t worry darling, it’s better to be talked about than not at all.”

A new episode of Something To Talk About with Samantha Armytage is released today. Follow or subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.