Alex Reid reveals autism diagnosis that 'explains so much'

Alex Reid has shared that he's been diagnosed with autism at the age of 45.

The former MMA fighter, who is expecting a baby with partner Nikki Manashe, has said receiving the diagnosis was "unnerving" but has "explained so much".

In an interview with The Mirror, Reid explained the discovery was triggered by a chance encounter he had with a young boy with autism and his family.

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After being tripped up by the boy at a park and chatting to his parents, the Celebrity Big Brother winner befriended the family and as time went on the parents informed Reid he could be autistic.

"I was so friendly with the children and the parents started to notice so many traits in me. They saw that in interviews I can sometimes be so together and then I can completely fall apart.

"They said they thought I was autistic. I've always thought of autism being like Rain Man and thought that wasn't me, but understanding it more now it makes so much sense.

"My friends, the Boyce family, suggested I had an autism test and I came up significantly autistic," he shared to the publication.

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Reid went on to say he had been "horrifically bullied" throughout his life, including in school and in the army, and that learning he is autistic had "made sense of why".

He added he felt like he had often been "misconstrued" in interviews and the diagnosis has made him recognise why he may have overshared.

Watch: Alex Reid turns up to pantomime dressed as a cow