Lioness Lucy Bronze talks getting autism diagnosis at 29: 'I was misunderstood'

Daily Mirror

6 days ago

A fractured tibia isn't the only health diagnosis Lucy Bronze has been playing through after being diagnosed with autism and ADHD
Following her match-winning penalty in Sunday's Euro 2025 final triumph over Spain, Lucy Bronze revealed she had competed throughout the entire tournament with a fractured tibia, though "no one knew". However, that wasn't the only medical revelation the England defender has shared this year.
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Prior to travelling to Switzerland for the competition, Lucy opened up during a conversation with former teammate Alex Scott about receiving diagnoses of ADHD and autism just four years ago. The news didn't come as a bombshell to those closest to her, as she recounted on BBC Sport: "I remember Demi (Stokes)... when I said it to her she was like 'obviously'. I got that reaction off everyone, my mum, my family."
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Lucy confessed she had spotted the indicators herself before undergoing assessment, yet still felt misunderstood. "I remember when I was younger being treated a bit differently because of how I was acting," she said. "Growing up as a child that was misunderstood, I don't want that for anybody else."
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The 33-year-old now serves as an ambassador for the National Autistic Society, campaigning to boost understanding and challenge prejudice surrounding the condition. Although she was originally offered the option of medication for her ADHD, she declined after some thought, dubbing it her "superpower" on the pitch.
She said: "Everyone's like 'you're so passionate about football'. I don't know if I'd say I'm passionate, I'm just obsessed and that's my autism. I think it has made me so successful at football especially.
"Something that's really good for ADHD is exercise. Training every day is amazing for me. The girls are like 'are you sure you're 33? You just don't stop' and I'm like, 'That's my superpower'."
However, Lucy does still battle with other symptoms of the conditions, especially with sleep as her "brain's just at 100 miles per hour all the time". She's also concerned that people view her as a know-it-all, but explained that it's only because her brain works "10 steps ahead all the time".
She said she has has learned to control her symptoms and behaviour mostly by simply mimicking people around her. Looking back on her early days with the England team, she confessed there were only a handful of players she felt at ease with and found it difficult speaking to anyone else.
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Then she spotted Jill Scott: "I'd watch Jill's behaviours, like; 'ah she speaks to everyone' and copy that a bit. Obviously I'm better at it now but it's still a bit uncomfortable sometimes.
"Hugging people, eye contact when you speak - those are two things I've had to learn because I think they're seen as like the norm and the two things that make me so uncomfortable."
Lucy is still learning about the conditions and how they affect her personally, though she says she's self-aware enough now to recognise one of her most frequent unconscious habits is "messing with my hair" as a self-soothing mechanism. Since her diagnosis, Lucy has stopped worrying about making others feel at ease with it.
She stated: "I'm just going to do what makes me feel comfortable. I guess it is uncomfortable to talk about because it's new and different and not everybody understands but I think it's something amazing.
"Now that I know so much more, I've learnt more, I can see these traits in other players and I think that's why they're good at football. Cause I think it's such a good thing."