Downton Abbey star Tuppence Middleton reveals her OCD causes fear of illness

Tuppence Middleton has opened up about life’s struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder, which she’s writing about in a new book.

The actress, who is best known for playing Lucy Smith in period drama Downton Abbey, also said she was “lucky” her pregnancy wasn’t accompanied by morning sickness – because she suffers from emetophobia, a fear of vomiting, due to OCD.

Talk frankly with The protectorthe mother of one child, 36, from Bristol, said the condition is often ridiculed and associated with obsessive cleaning and tidying, but it’s different for everyone.

Her “structured routines” include mental counting and tapping on various objects, such as light switches.

“You make agreements with yourself — if I don’t do this, something bad will happen to someone I love, which is pretty normal,” she said.

The star added that it was reassuring to hear her experiences were similar to other people’s while working on a BBC Radio 4 series on the subject last year.

First, she learned that her emetophobia — which made her nervous while carrying her first child, who she gave birth last year — was a common symptom.

And while Tuppence is proud of how much she’s been able to “push herself” — she’s currently playing Elizabeth Taylor in a production of The Motive and the Cue at the National Theater — she wishes she could “turn off completely the way other people seem to” . ‘.

The actress admits that while it’s important for her to emphasize that OCD is something you can live with, and doesn’t make her a “liability” in her career, the condition means she’s always watching and observing.

A good day for Tuppence, she explained, is leaving her house with “a minimal routine.”

She has taken medication for her OCD, but says talk therapy has been very helpful.

The star first spoke about OCD and anxiety in 2021, explaining at the time that she developed the former as a child and found ways to cope into adulthood.

The actress also said she was “lucky” that her pregnancy wasn’t accompanied by morning sickness – as she suffers from emetophobia, a fear of vomiting, due to OCD. Pictured in April 2022

Last August, Tuppence welcomed a baby with Swedish film director Mans Marlind, who is 18 years his senior. Both photographed in April 2022

Tuppence is currently starring alongside actor Johnny Flynn as Elizabeth’s on-off husband Richard Burton in the production, which was written by playwright Jack Thorne and directed by multiple Oscar winner Sam Mendes.

Speaking about the new role – and Elizabeth herself – in April, the star made some comparisons to the lives of the two actors.

‘Liz was a total romantic and I totally identify with that,” she said Tatler.

“Most actors, because we love the idea of ​​dipping our toes into other people’s lives, are, ‘What if I had been born there, or had lived during that period?'”

She added, “I’ve always found it terrifying to appear in public as myself — on the red carpet or presenting an award. But playing Liz? Well, come on.’

Last August, Tuppence, who also played the illegitimate daughter of Queen Mary’s lady-in-waiting in the film A New Era, welcomed a baby to Swedish film director Mans Marlind, who is 18 years her senior.

The couple’s relationship was first revealed in March 2022 when Tuppence revealed her pregnancy while attending the Downton premiere a month later.