Politics
Katie Price’s ex Alex Reid is diagnosed with autism at 45 after being ‘horrifically bullied’ his whole life
KATIE Price’s ex Alex Reid has been diagnosed with autism aged 45 after being “horrifically bullied” his whole life.
The former MMA fighter and Celebrity Big Brother winner opened up about how the diagnosis “explained so much” after many years of struggling.
Katie Price’s ex husband Alex Reid has been diagnosed with Autism[/caption]
Alex, who is expecting a baby with his fiancée Nikki Manashe, said he discovered he had Asperger’s when his friends who were raising an autistic child noticed similarities in their behaviour.
He explained: “The parents started to notice so many traits in me. They saw that in interviews I can sometimes be so together and then I can completely fall apart.
“They said they thought I was autistic.
“I’ve always thought of autism being like Rain Man and thought that wasn’t me, but understanding it more now it makes so much sense.
“My friends, the Boyce family, suggested I had an autism test and I came up significantly autistic.”
“It’s a relief in many ways but it’s a bit unnerving because it’s coming to terms with new things, but it also explains so much,” he added to the Mirror.
Alex recalled times at school and in the army when his condition left him vulnerable to bullies.
He said: “I’ve achieved so much and I felt like I could cope with anything.
“I’ve been so horrifically bullied throughout my whole life. I was the kid in school who asked the questions no one else would and I’d be laughed at, I was the kid that the teachers would say had to try harder and they didn’t understand it.
“Even in the army I’ve been bullied and I’ve been bullied for being different. This has kind of made sense of why.”
Alex has been learning to live with his diagnosis[/caption]
He added: “Although I felt like I could cope with anything and I’m big and tough and strong, actually deep down there’s a little boy crying.
“I’ve put on all of these masks to cope and protect myself and created all these different personalities – I’m an actor and I’m great at acting because I can pretend to be these different people.”
Alex, who wed Katie in Las Vegas in February 2010 after seven months of dating, said he is learning to manage his condition.
He added: “It’s not like I haven’t got a filter, it’s innocence and naivety more than anything.”
“I have to learn in social situations how to shut up sometimes.
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“My problem in the celebrity world is I’ve overshared and I’ve started to realise why.
“I’ve realised that you don’t need to overshare as I’ve got older, and I’ve suffered enough pain and torment.
“I’ve been thrown to the lions on many occasion and it’s made me tough on many occasions, but I still slip up.”
In 2019 Katie was ordered to pay Alex £140,000 in legal costs after allegedly sharing a sex tape of him with a TV studio audience while she filmed Celebrity Big Brother’s Bit On The Side in January 2018.
