EXCL: Love Island star Dr Alex George opened up about experiencing grief, anger and relief after being diagnosed with OCD, ADHD and autism later in life17:15, 15 Aug 2026Love Island star Alex George has opened up how his life completely changed after he was diagnosed with ADHD, OCD and autism.‌The 35-year-old doctor is most known for his efforts to find romance on the third season of the ITV2 dating show, but returned to the medical profession shortly after.‌After struggling since his school days, he took matters into his own hands and recently decided to pay for private assessments. Speaking to the Mirror about his health and wellness journey - as part of a Holland & Barrett campaign - he shared his belief that he’s had OCD since his teenage years. Faced with huge NHS waiting lists, he forked out around £3,000 and eventually received a diagnosis for ADHD in 2022, and autism just a few months ago.‌Alex noted that he is in a ‘privileged position’ where he’s able to pay for private tests when others in the same position might not be able to. After his official diagnosis, everything fell into place. He explained that his experience of the former is more with obsessional thoughts and rumination ‘to an extreme extent’.“OCD is a very cruel illness, terrible,” he told us. “It's awful because it hides in your darkness, so people on average - I think it's like 10-15 years it takes to be diagnosed - people think that there's fundamentally something wrong with them as a person, rather than suffering from an illness.‌“If you're very low and you feel depressed, eventually you realise that you feel depressed … whereas OCD hangs onto that belief that if I just fix this, then I'll be better, or there's some flaw with me. Having everything unlocked in that way has really helped.”Alex has been in the spotlight since stepping foot in the Love Island villa in 2018 but has had a tough few years since his stint. He faced heartache six years ago when his younger brother, Llŷr, died by suicide at the age of 19.In June, he announced his engagement to his fiancée, but has made sure to keep her identity private, and has rarely spoken about their relationship publicly.‌“The last few years have been a lot,” he reflected. “I've had ups and downs in my mental health a lot in my life, and I think probably it's because I was a boy growing up who was autistic and ADHD, undiagnosed, and had a load of friction at school, lots of challenges.“My brother died six years ago by suicide and I've worked in hospitals during the pandemic, that was pretty rough. Being in the public eye is not always easy, it's got ups and downs, and my job has a lot of pressure, as lots of people's do.‌“In a way, everything came to a head a few years ago. It's why I stopped drinking four years ago, because I was like, I need to get better and heal. But you can't really do that without all the missing pieces, and I think, now that I've been diagnosed with autism and OCD, I actually really understand myself so much better, and I'm probably happier and healthier than I've been in a long time.“It's not perfect - I am suffering, I'm someone who takes medication for mental illness, I'm clearly someone who's going to have ups and downs, it is what it is. But in terms of being in a better place, I certainly am better than I've been for a long time.”Alex explained that there has been a huge change in the awareness of neurodivergence in schools, and in the media, which has led to more people getting tested later in life, and being diagnosed in their 30s and beyond. Touching on his own experience, he shared that others may go through relief, grief and anger - which are similar to some of the stages of grief.‌“It's tough and I think it's hard for people - what people go through is first they have a relief, they realise that they're not a fundamentally flawed, bad person,” the reality star reflected. “Then they experience grief, because they realise how different life could have been.“I had so many issues at school, teachers kicked me out of class, I was told I'd never amount to anything, I had so many challenges - even with alcohol, all sorts of different things in my life and relationship. Even with friendships, issues in my life that were avoidable, and I think you feel grief.‌“Then I think you feel anger. There's a period of time that you feel angry that you were let down as a child. Why didn’t anyone look at this little boy and think, ‘Oh actually, we can help this person by recognizing what they have, and let's support them?’ But it is what it is, I can't change the past. So you just hope for future children that it's better.”Dr Alex teamed up with Holland & Barrett to promote staying healthy and safe against summer burnout, amid the current heatwave. He also appeared at The Wellness Tap, the brand’s take on a pub, where they swapped beer pumps for electrolyte taps.Shedding light on his tips to dispel summer burnout in 30+ degrees, he added: “I think that has a cumulative fatigue effect on people because you're not sleeping as well, you're not able to feel like you can relax.‌“When it's hot, things like our heart rate raises, your blood vessels dilate trying to cool your body down, and all of that is a stress on the body. That's why you can feel so knackered after being hot all day, because your body is working harder to stay cool. That has other knock-on effects - I've never used electrolytes so much in my life as I have this summer.“Sometimes you get thirsty, but not just for water, and often that's because your body is craving electrolytes. Holland & Barrett have got their hydration range, which has been useful to use. I actually went to the Wellness Tap and they had all electrolyte drinks on tap, and as someone who doesn't drink anymore, I was like, this is actually heaven for me.”Holland & Barrett and Dr Alex George are working together to help people back their bodies so they can make the most of summer. For expert advice and products to support everything from energy and hydration to sleep and gut health, visit your local Holland & Barrett store.Article continues belowIf you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branchLike this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.