Abbie Chatfield Opens Up About Starting Her ADHD Medication While Filming The Masked Singer

Abbie Chatfield has been very open about her journey since being diagnosed with adult ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) back in May.

The 27-year-old reality TV star and podcast host says she only began taking medication for ADHD last month when filming of The Masked Singer began — a process that took some adjustment and required support from those around her.

"I actually started my ADHD medication while we were filming and I was feeling a bit weird because it's obviously brand new medication," Chatfield tells Refinery29 Australia. "You don't know — is it just the medication or am I anxious because I'm taking new medication?"

ADHD can involve difficulties with concentration and focus, forgetfulness, restlessness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness, which show up in very different ways for different people. 

Chatfield says she confided in the show's host, Osher Günsberg, who's been open about his own anxiety, ADHD and mental health struggles in the past.

"Production were fantastic but I would flag things with Osher because Osher's really running it," she explains. "He would swing by our dressing rooms on the way to his dressing room every day. I would say, 'Hey by the way, I'm feeling really weird so if you come to me and I can't talk, that's why.'"

But Chatfield says overall she "was just having fun" as as one of three new judges on the show this year.

"It's super fast," she says of the three-week filming period. "It's really exciting for the first time, but yeah, the medication starting was a bit scary."

Chatfield first spoke about her ADHD diagnosis in May, saying she had been "unable to sleep a lot" because she was constantly thinking, went through periods of "hyperactivity", and often forgot where things were.

"My whole anxiety is feeling that I’m always behind on something — you know, like on holiday, and you think you’ve forgotten something very important? That’s my feeling at all times," she told her co-host Rohan Edwards on her Hot Nights With Abbie Chatfield radio show.

"[Getting a diagnosis] it’s kind of like, I’m confirmed. There is something that’s — not wrong — but is different, that can be fixed."

This year Chatfield, former Big Brother contestant Chrissie Swan and Spice Girls star Mel B have joined The Masked Singer panel alongside original judge, Dave 'Hughesy' Hughes.

Their job is to watch mystery celebrities singing in front of them while wearing masks that conceal their identity. Using the celebrity's voices and a string of clues, the judges then need to work out who the famous faces are behind the costumes.

Being a part of the show has been a particularly positive turn in Chatfield's career after she was famously — and she thinks undeservedly — branded a "villain" by many during her Bachelor stint in 2019.

"It's amazing being on a show where I'm not a contestant," she says. "You get to enjoy [it] and this has to be one of the best gigs in TV where you to come to work and just react. There are no lines, there's no autocue."

She also admits she had some catching up to do so she could make the best possible guesses as to who's behind the masks.

"I was the youngest person [on the judging panel], and also with Hughesy and Chrissie having 20 years experience in radio, speaking to every single person from huge names to just someone who had a cameo on Neighbours, they knew everyone. And Mel B has met half of the Australian media, so I was kind of like, 'I don't know what's going on. I wasn't even born when this person was big'. It was a bit hard for me," she says.

Having said that, Chatfield has already appeared in three episodes of the show so far, and her energy and enthusiasm have proven that she's right at home behind the judges' desk.