In a recent conversation that ranged from fight training to Hollywood stories, veteran martial arts instructor and celebrity trainer Cameron Shayne made a surprising claim about modern relationships: birth control may be contributing to the epidemic of divorces in America.
Shayne, who has worked with A-list celebrities including Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, and Charlie Sheen, shared a scientific finding during a recent podcast appearance. He explained how hormonal birth control fundamentally alters women’s attraction patterns and mate selection in ways most couples never consider.
According to Shayne, researchers conducted experiments where women smelled clothing worn by different men to determine attraction levels. The results were startling. Women on birth control selected certain men as attractive matches.
However, when those same women went off birth control and their natural hormone levels returned, their preferences completely reversed. Men they found appealing while on contraceptives suddenly became unappealing.
“They smell the things and they’re like, ‘Yeah, this is a yes. This is a yes,'” Shayne explained. “Then they take them off their birth control and their hormones level out and they go back to normal and they go, ‘No.'”
The implications are profound for modern relationships. Shayne suggests that many women meet and fall in love with their partners while on hormonal birth control, only to experience a dramatic shift in attraction after going off it—often when trying to conceive or after having children.
“So many people don’t even know that a lot of the reason that a woman will be done with a guy who she’s in love with is that she was on birth control the whole time,” he said. This hormonal interference affects women’s natural ability to sense their ideal biological match through pheromones and other chemical signals.
Shayne pointed to another critical life stage that supports his theory: menopause. “The most prevalent age for divorce is when they’re in menopause,” he noted, explaining how hormonal changes can make women unable to tolerate husbands they’ve loved for decades. The same phenomenon occurs with postpartum depression, where dramatic hormonal shifts can fundamentally alter a woman’s feelings and perceptions.
The trainer, who has spent over 25 years working with elite athletes and celebrities, emphasized that this isn’t about blaming anyone. “Hormones f**k ruin women for sure,” he said bluntly, while acknowledging that these are biological realities people should understand.
For men in relationships, Shayne offered sobering advice: “If you’re dating a girl on birth control, you do not know for sure if she really likes you.” While emotional love and compatibility can certainly exist, the chemical attraction component remains uncertain until natural hormone levels are restored.
Shayne’s insights come from his position bridging Hollywood celebrity culture and the world of professional athletics. His training methodology, called Mixed Movement Arts, emphasizes holistic wellness and understanding how the body actually functions—including hormonal health.
As Shayne suggests, the solution may lie in women getting comprehensive bloodwork done and understanding how hormonal interventions affect not just their bodies, but their relationships and life choices.