Jess Impiazzi has revealed how she encouraged her boyfriend Jermaine Pennant to get tested for ADHD as she realized “something wasn’t right”.
The actress and former reality star, 33, said the former soccer player’s recent diagnosis has “changed his whole life” and that he now listens to her more, instead of being “irrational or impulsive.”
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline at the Inspiration For Women Awards just a week after the 40-year-old’s announcement, she said: “He was actually diagnosed in July because I noticed something wasn’t right with him.”
EXCLUSIVE: Jess Impiazzi has revealed how she encouraged her boyfriend Jermaine Pennant to get tested for ADHD as she realized “something wasn’t right” (pictured Friday)
“Obviously, with his behavior in the past… I was like, ‘Let’s check ourselves out. There’s something not quite right.'”
In 2005, Jermaine was jailed for three months for drink driving while disqualified after crashing his friend’s Mercedes into a utility pole.
After 30 days in prison, he was released and his club Birmingham City supported him. He became the first player to play in the Premier League with an electronic ankle tag.
He also admitted that he squandered his fortune on dubious investments, lost three houses and declared bankruptcy due to his money problems and forgot he owned a £1.2m house in Cheshire.
Couple: The actress and former reality star, 33, claimed the former footballer’s recent diagnosis has “changed his whole life” (pictured December 2022)
Jess continued: ‘I have a family member who has it and he was noticing things. “I was like, ‘Okay, let’s talk to the therapist and the doctor.'”
However, his life changed when he received the diagnosis. He was able to concentrate, he discovered the reasons why he had done things in the past.
‘As soon as you can realize that, you can stop because you don’t know what you don’t know, right? So now he’s, he’s focusing.
“The moment you think about being irrational or impulsive, you may say, ‘Wait, that’s my ADHD.'” He’s got his medicine and he’ll listen to me more, I’ll say, “Jermaine, this is a little bit of your ADHD here, so let’s talk first,” and he’s like, “Okay, yeah, okay.”
Candid: Jermaine recently revealed that he felt like a “lunatic” for making a series of destructive decisions before being diagnosed (pictured Friday)
But it has changed his whole life. His work is going great, his approach is much better and I’ll let him play in his F1 game when he needs a bit of head space.”
Jermaine recently revealed that he felt like a “lunatic” for making a series of destructive decisions before being diagnosed.
He appeared on Friday’s Good Morning Britain show to discuss his “life-changing” diagnosis, admitting it helped him make sense of his past decisions.
While he insisted he could not “make excuses” for his behavior, he shared his sadness that he has not been diagnosed until now because it would have made his relationships, work and life easier, noting that he is now “happier than ever.” ‘
ADHD is a behavioral condition defined by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
Speaking about his diagnosis, Jermaine said: ‘It’s life-changing because I’ve asked myself so many questions over the years. “Why do I leave destruction in my path?” Or “how have I gotten myself into certain situations?”
“I just thought it was because he was a lunatic or just not well and had serious problems, but I couldn’t really put my finger on what they were.”
‘I was going round and round in circles, making the same mistakes and saying to myself ‘I know I’m not a bad person, but why am I doing this?’
He went on to explain that he believed his “troubled childhood” was to blame for developing the condition.
Jermaine added: ‘If you go to the beginning, you develop ADHD in two ways. Whether genetically from the family or as a child, you develop it through trauma and your environment.
“I had a very troubled childhood, so my ADHD was a form of survival as a child. I developed ADHD and it made me survive.
‘You can tune out when you have ADHD or you can focus. My survival mode was to focus on soccer because that’s what I loved and that’s what saved me.
Career setbacks: He shared his sadness at not being diagnosed so far as it would have made his relationships, work and life easier, noting he is now “happier than ever” (pictured playing for Stoke in 2011)
“But as an adult, on the other hand, it becomes a negative and destructive thing if you don’t get diagnosed or you’re not aware of it.”
Thinking about how different things might have been if he had known earlier, Jermaine added: “I’ve now been diagnosed with everything I’ve done in my career I understand, all the things I’ve been through, the mistakes I’ve made. he had.
“I understand why I fell out with managers and TV bosses didn’t approach me because I couldn’t be trusted, I wasn’t trustworthy.
“But if people knew that I have ADHD, they would understand because you take risks, you don’t consider the danger, the consequences for other people, you are forgetful. When things get stressful or you can’t cope, you’ll look for any validation.’
Struggles: Jermaine revealed that he almost cost him his relationship with Ex On The Beach star Jess, who he has been dating for almost two years (pictured November 2022)
Jermaine went on to reveal that he almost cost him his relationship with Ex On The Beach star Jess, who he has been dating for almost two years.
“If it wasn’t for the fact that I was diagnosed, we would have separated because it is very difficult to live with him,” he explained.
‘I have to take melatonin at night because I can’t sleep. It’s like trying to manage eight screens, it’s a very busy active brain.
The Nottingham-born Jermaine burst onto the scene as a teenager and became a £2m signing aged just 15, making his Arsenal debut as a 16-year-old.
He scored a hat-trick on his full Premier League debut aged 20. He later admitted that he partyed until 6 am on game day and won the match to his team’s hangover.
Despite his extraordinary start, he only made five full starts for Arsenal in seven years and was loaned out to various clubs where his personal problems continued.
Despite his stint in prison, his football career continued with a big-money transfer to Liverpool, earning him even more money and even a Champions League winners’ medal before falling out of favor.
After retiring from football, he earned cash on the latest series of Celebrity Big Brother and media engagements, including one occasion when he was accused of being drunk on Sky Sports News.
Past: Jermaine has previously said his biggest regret was being jailed for three months in 2005 for drink driving (pictured at Aylesbury Magistrates Court)