Country artist Elle King of Ex's and Oh's has opened up about her diagnosis, and how it changed her life.
Per Whiskey Riff, she had first cancelled all her shows following her hosting of Nashville's 2024 New Year's Eve Bash, and her performing at a Dolly Parton Tribute. She revealed she was drunk at both, calling back to that part of her life as "rock bottom."
Following her retraction from public life for a while, she decided to go to therapy. That was a life-changing decision - she did a lot of introspection.
And one of the things she learned was that she was autistic. She first revealed her diagnosis on social media back in May, with the caption "Good news is, I'm autistic."
She also shared a song which had lyrics possibly pertaining to her diagnosis:
"What if no one understands me? / Will I always be this way? / What's the price to pay for a broken soul? / Would I rather die than try to change? / I wish I could show you how it feels, but every time I try I'm still so empty."
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She Opened Up About Her Autism Diagnosis
In an interview with US Weekly, her autism diagnosis actually came following a FOX game show.
The country star had took an IQ test in order to compete in Nation's Dumbest, but the score came back with 132. In case you're not aware, that's a pretty exceptional score. According to Mensa, that means she's classed as gifted.
"Right before the show, I was like, 'Oh my gosh.' I was starting to panic. 'There is a scenario that you could be the nation's dumbest'."
"I love games, I love game shows, I'm extremely competitive, and I love puzzles and everything. I actually found out right after the show that I'm autistic, so I was like, 'Everything makes so much sense now.' But I didn't even know."
She added, "I've ha da lot of not my proudest moments, and so especially with my autism diagnosis, I am putting new kinds of safety barricades. And I just want to be around people that I feel safe around, and I just want to do things that bring me joy."
"I keep telling myself whatever this next chapter is, I really want to be present and enjoy it. That's what I'm trying to do."
