MAFS star breaks down in tears over ‘taboo illness’ as she opens up on tough family health battle
MARRIED At First Sight star Adrienne Naylor broke down in tears as she opened up about her mum’s multiple sclerosis – saying it is a “taboo illness” that needs more awareness.
The project support officer, 27, said it’s been an emotional rollercoaster watching her mother battle the condition.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) can affect the brain and spinal cord, causing a wide range of potential symptoms, including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance.
Adrienne fought back tears as she explained that her mum is now being cared for in a nursing home.
Sharing a clip filmed from her car, the TV star sobbed: “I use my platform to be real and obviously with the show, I touched on how my mum has MS and for me it’s quite a taboo illness, people know about it but they don’t know the severity of what it can do to some people.
“I suppose I’m putting this out there to be like it’s normal to hurt, it’s not you who’s directly ill but it hurts to watch people be ill.
“I think when you go from seeing the person that they were to who they are now.
“This time of year especially I find really difficult because I love Christmas, but watching everybody and families and stuff, I do find it really hard.
“And I am not asking for sympathy at all, this is just my life, I am just normal and I do hurt and when you have someone who is ill in your family, I’ve just been to see my mum and she’s not very well, which is why I’m more upset.”
The Cumbria-based star continued: “Sometimes it does just make me upset in general and trying to explain that to people who don’t have ill parents, or even a lot of people who have messaged me to say they have ill siblings – it’s a full family dynamic and it’s a lot.
“I can’t just go and see my mum in her house because she’s not there, she’s in a care home.
“Sometimes we see somebody who has a bit of a following online and you look at their lives and think ‘wow, I would love that’, but I’m just a normal girl from a normal background and this is me.”
The NHS website said MS is a “a lifelong condition that can sometimes cause serious disability, although it can occasionally be mild.”
Symptoms may include fatigue, difficulty walking, vision problems, such as blurred vision, problems controlling the bladder, muscle stiffness and spasms, numbness and problems with balance.
Adrienne has had a tough time since filming the E4 dating show.
Last week she revealed her secret breakdown and has been forced to seek therapy after filming the “awful” reunion show.
Adrienne joined the show as a latecomer and viewers saw her tie the knot with Matt Pilmoor.
Although the pair got off to a great start, it soon became apparent that they weren’t meant to be.
Adrienne and Matt decided to give things a proper go at their final vows, but viewers were left stunned when Adrienne returned to the reunion party ALONE.
Speaking about the scenes, Adrienne said: “The reunion was horrendous, I can’t even put it into words.
“I broke down in tears when I walked in, and that wasn’t because I was happy to see everybody, it was because I was so overwhelmed.
“My anxiety was through the roof, as soon as that was finished, I went straight to the psych.”
Adrienne added to OK!: “Me and Matt ended on really mutual terms and were really good when we split, so that’s why I was so confused at the reunion.
“I was so shocked at his mannerisms towards me, because I was like, ‘hang on, you also agreed that it wasn’t working’.
“So, maybe because he was hurting, I don’t know, maybe that was his way of offloading and his closure.”
Adrienne’s ex Matt is now dating co-star Brad Skelly‘s former on-screen wife Shona Manderson.