Jools Oliver has opened up about being diagnosed with ADHD and autism later in life, admitting that years of not understanding her own brain have left her feeling exhausted.
The 51-year-old wife of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver revealed that she received her ADHD diagnosis around four years ago, before discovering she was also autistic after recognising similarities between herself and her children.
While finally having answers has brought some clarity, Jools admitted the revelations have been bittersweet, particularly when reflecting on the decades she spent struggling without knowing why.
Speaking on the Lessons From Our Mothers podcast, the mother-of-five explained that she has been prescribed medication for ADHD but has yet to take it because of her health anxiety.
‘[My ADHD diagnosis] was about four years ago. And I’ve got the medication, but I don’t want to take it because I’m scared – due to health anxiety – that something will happen; it’s just an ongoing situation,’ she explained.
It was only after learning that her children were autistic that Jools began to consider whether she might be, too.
‘But found out the children had autism. So, then I thought, “my god, that sounds like me”. So, I went for that and I’ve got that as well,’ she said.
Although receiving an explanation for lifelong difficulties can be validating, Jools admitted that coming to terms with her diagnoses has been far from straightforward.
‘It’s a little bit overwhelming to know what I actually have and what’s actually wrong with me,’ she confessed.
‘For me, I think it’s quite draining. I think it’s tiring.
‘And I think it’s actually ruined, well I’m 51, so far 45 years of my life thinking it’s something else. It’s no superpower, it’s just drain and it’s really hard work.’
Her comments offer a particularly candid perspective on the experience of receiving a neurodevelopmental diagnosis in adulthood.
While ADHD and autism are increasingly discussed in terms of neurodiversity, strengths and self-acceptance, Jools made clear that understanding her differences hasn’t suddenly erased the difficulties associated with them.
Indeed, the former model admitted she is still trying to untangle which of her experiences relate to ADHD and autism, and whether menopause might also be playing a role in how she feels.
Both conditions can go unrecognised well into adulthood, particularly among women, whose experiences have historically been less readily identified than those of boys and men.
Jools has largely kept her family life out of the spotlight despite being married to one of Britain’s most recognisable television chefs.
She and Jamie, also 51, are childhood sweethearts, having met while growing up in Essex and begun dating at 17.
The couple married in 2000 and share five children: Poppy, 24, Daisy, 23, Petal, 17, Buddy, 16, and River, 10.
And while receiving her diagnoses has helped Jools make sense of her experiences, her reflections suggest that discovering why you’ve struggled for so long doesn’t necessarily make the emotional weight of those years disappear.