Martine McCutcheon has confessed she was "in denial" about her recent medical diagnosis.
The actress, best known for playing Natalie in Love Actually, has recently come back into the spotlight thanks to her promotional work for supermarket Lidl. However, it was due to personal tragedies and discoveries that the star took time away from the public eye.
Martine, 48, lost her dear brother Laurence John in 2022, when he was aged just 31. Following her brother's sudden passing, which doctors said there was "no medical explanation for", Martine admitted she was hit hard - and had struggled to get out of bed.
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But it was during this personal tragedy where she was told more about herself by medical professionals. Previously, Martine had been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, making it hard for her to keep up with the fast-paced life of celebrity.
However, the actress has now revealed that in the midst of her brother's passing, she had been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD). The disorder, similar to that of ADHD, is a neurological condition where people can find it particularly hard to concentrate.
Opening up about her experience in being diagnosed, Martine said that she first saw signs of the disorder when she noticed there were "different things I struggled with compared to other people". However, after being diagnosed with the differing neurological function, she did not initially want to believe it.
She explained in an interview with The Sun that she "spent so much time trying to be a square in a round circle, and it was exhausting". She added: "I think that if I'd have known before those four years ago that I had ADD, I don't know if I would have been able to have coped with it the way that I do now."
After coming to terms with her diagnosis, Martine is thrilled to be neurodivergent, and has thanked society for becoming more tolerant of conditions such as ADD and ADHD. "I think we've always been around but we all blossom in different ways, and we need different things to blossom - and it all made sense.
"At first I went into I went into denial, completely into denial, because my brother had passed away. I've been diagnosed with ME, and I just thought, 'I can't take this diagnosis on and whatever it means; I need to just keep going at life the way that I am.'"
Talking about her current lifestyle, Martine confessed she does live a much slower-paced life than she had previously. It comes after she made the painful decision to split from husband Jack McManus after 18 years together.
The pair had been going strong, but earlier this year the couple decided to call time on their marriage. Whilst she remains reeling from the breakdown of the relationship, she explained that she believes the right things are coming her way.
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