Married At First Sight UK star Sophie Brown reveals she was diagnosed with ADHD during filming

Married At First Sight UK star Sophie Brown has spoken out about her recent diagnosis with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The E4 show star received her diagnosis while filming for the series, in which she married Jonathan Wileman after first meeting him at the altar.

Sophie explained her symptoms and the diagnosis process in a candid Instagram video last week, explaining how she first noticed symptoms while working from home during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

Sophie said she wanted to express her diagnosis in order to “break the stigma”, pointing out that as adults, and especially women, we are “very good at masking it.”

She said she first decided to talk to her doctor after finding herself easily distracted while working remotely from her flat in Manchester.

‘I found it very difficult, I thought: how do people do this? How are they not distracted all the time? How do they get tasks done?’

“I spoke to my doctor and said, ‘Look, I never thought I’d have this as a kid, but a few people have told me they thought I’d have it. I’m showing you some of the signs, the way where I work”.

“I said, ‘I’m really having a hard time,’ she added. After completing an online test, Sophie explained how she had to wait two years for a follow-up appointment due to NHS waiting lists.

While filming Married At First Sight in May 2022, she received a call from Manchester’s mental health department inviting her for an initial consultation.

The consultation helped Sophie realize that she had been showing some of the symptoms of ADHD for years, but they were well masked.

“If you’re a competent person at school or at work, you don’t always feel like you have ADHD because you’re still functioning, that’s called high functioning and that’s me,” she explained.

“You live your daily life, but you have an internal battle with the things that are going on, so lack of focus, I get distracted very easily, I get big brain fog.”

‘When I try to organize tasks, I procrastinate a lot. I’m still getting things done, but I have to fight it.’

“As an adult and as a woman, it can show itself in different ways.”

A few months after her consultation, Sophie was diagnosed and now she relies on medication and self-help strategies to help her manage the condition.

This week in the final episodes of Married At First Sight, viewers watched Sophie describe how her marriage to Jonathan broke down in the weeks after the vow renewals were filmed.

Sophie acknowledged on the show that “we had our ups and downs, but we’re very different people.”

She later told her ex during tense scenes at the dinner party that she didn’t think he appreciated her. “I knew I couldn’t give Sophie what she wanted,” Jonathan told fellow castmate Lara.