Former Celeb Big Brother star reveals shock diagnosis after bankruptcy
FORMER Celebrity Big Brother star Jermaine Pennant has revealed he received a shock diagnosis after going bankrupt.
Th ex Arsenal footballer, 39, has opened up about being diagnosed with ADHD which caused him to ‘forget’ he owned a house and lose his £10million fortune.
Jermaine who is due to appear on Channel 4 show SAS: Who Dares Wins, revealed he was diagnosed with the condition after he was declared bankrupt.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which is often diagnosed in childhood, often sparks symptoms of inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness.
Jermaine – who is now a footie pundit on talkSPORT — revealed he was diagnosed last year along with complex PTSD, which is linked to childhood trauma.
He has now revealed that the condition caused him to “forget he had a house” as he would “bury his head in the sand”.
At one point, things got so bad the star blew his fortune and lost his three houses before losing more money going through a divorce.
He told The Sun: “Because of my ADHD, I would just ignore things and bury my head in the sand, even forgetting I owned a house.”
Jermaine added: “In all honesty, I could have been a billionaire and still f***ed it up.
“I have made so many mistakes, but I did not know how to deal with things and would not think of the consequences of my actions.
“I have been labelled a bad-boy but, in reality, I was just an insecure kid who did not know what he was doing.”
Jermaine had owned a home in Cheshire after moving from Liverpool to Spanish side Real Zaragoza.
He bought the six-bedroom home in Hale for £1.2million on the advice of a “fixer”.
When moved to Spain he left the pad empty — and it was later occupied by a drugs’ gang who caused a fire at the property.
The footballer said: ”I bought houses but never spoke to an estate agent and had mortgages that I did not know about.
“I would also go out and spend money on tables at nightclubs and not worry about it.
“We did two trips to Las Vegas; and on the first one I picked up a bar bill of $30,000 (£25,000) for my mates — I did not even know what was being ordered.
“I invested in horses and properties and have lost all the money. I dread to think what the total would be but I guess it would be more than £10million.”
It comes after Jermaine was declared bankrupt earlier this year after racking up debts of more than £1million.
Elsewhere, Jermaine was forced to pull out of the new series of SAS: Who Dares Wins after suffering an injury.
The show was thrown into chaos as SIX stars were sent to the hospital within three days of filming.
Insiders said the punishing regime saw the six stars struggle in the new run of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in Thailand.
The former footballer joined The Wanted singer Siva Kaneswaran and Paralympic cyclist Jon-Allan Butterworth in being attended to by staff.
The trio were forced to walk in the heat by the SAS team — led by former US Navy Recon Marine Rudy Reyes — while carrying heavy bags.
All three, who fell at different times, were then forced to leave the show after doctors ruled they could not carry on.