Jamie Oliver's wife Jools has revealed that she was diagnosed with autism and ADHD in her 40s, as she opened up about her "draining" experience of living undiagnosed.
Jools, 51, shares children Poppy, 24, Daisy, 23, Petal, 17, Buddy, 16, and River, 10 with the TV chef, 51. Last year, Jamie spoke about there being various diagnoses of dyslexia, ADHD and ASD (autism spectrum disorder) in his "very neurodiverse family".
In a new interview with Cressida Bonas's Lessons From Our Mothers podcast, Jools, 51, revealed that she was diagnosed with ADHD roughly four years ago, with her children's diagnoses leading her to get an autism diagnosis too.
"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 one ongoing situation," she said.
Jools (centre) with children Buddy and Poppy
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"But we found out a couple of our children had autism. So then I thought, my god, that sounds like me. So I went for that. I've got that as well."
Jools then spoke candidly about the negative impact ADHD had had on her life, explaining that she felt things "so deeply" and that it had made the menopause a "double nightmare")
"I just think it's quite draining," she said. "I think it's tiring. I think actually it's ruined, so far, 45 years of my life, thinking it's something else. It's no superpower. It's just a drain and it's just really hard work."
Despite this, Jools said that receiving her autism diagnosis had allowed her to understand her children better.
The pair have five children together
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"There's such a bond in understanding with the ones that do have autism because I can go, 'Yeah, I get you. I got it. I understand completely.'"
Last year, Jamie alluded to his wife's neurodivergence in an interview where he explained that they "made her life really interesting and really challenging".
Opening up about his family's mental health struggles in a later interview, the cookbook author joked that their home life was "bonkers".
"Imagine four neurodiverse people at the dinner table trying to get their point across," he said.