BGT's Jonathan Antoine on his autism diagnosis after incredible transformation
Jonathan Antoine, who shot to fame on Britain's Got Talent, has been making headlines with his incredible weight loss transformation and recent health diagnosis. The classical singer, who became a household name after his stint on the Simon Cowell show, is back in the limelight as the 17th series of the popular talent show is back on air.
The star-studded judging panel, including Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden, Simon, and new addition Bruno Tonioli, is currently hoping to discover the next star to shine at the Royal Variety Show.
It's been over 10 years since Jonathan, then just 17, won the nation's heart alongside his partner Charlotte Jaconelli on the sixth season of BGT. Their breathtaking rendition of 'The Prayer' during the auditions earned them immediate acclaim, with Simon comparing Jonathan's voice to that of Luciano Pavarotti.
Despite their impressive journey on the show, Jonathan and Charlotte ended up as runners-up, losing to the adorable dog act Ashleigh and Pudsey. Jonathan recently opened up about the emotional impact of their loss on the show, telling Mirror Online: "I remember the feeling of the organs sinking. I didn't cry on stage.", reports the Mirror.
Since the show, Jonathan's solo career has taken off spectacularly, with his debut album 'Tenore' soaring to the number one spot on the Classical Artist Album chart, leading to tours across the UK and the US. Now at 29, he keeps his fans in the loop with regular updates on his Instagram.
Earlier this month, on Autism Awareness Day, Jonathan took to Instagram to share a personal revelation he was diagnosed with autism two years ago. He posted: "I got my diagnosis in 2022, not long after my 27th birthday, and for a short while fell into it like a daydream. The recontextualisation of a life already lived is a scary thing to reckon with, but those things done are already set - there is no going back from here! ".
He continued: "I still don't know what exactly I have to contribute to the broader discussion, I'm in the process of finding out what it all means to me in the first place, but perhaps the naiveties of that process are novel enough to write down, so I try regardless.
"Much as in our ideological tendencies I would wager that the vast majority of people lie somewhere away from the most extreme ends of a given spectrum, and indeed that those 'ends' really blur together in strange and interesting ways and loop back around through hidden channels -though I only have anecdotal evidence backing my opinion."
"I have met many people who are 'normal', but I don't know that I've ever met someone totally 'neurotypical'. Our inner and outer worlds are so vastly different, and by 'our' here I mean people in general. We cultivate inner spaces that twist our outer material world and then expect that outer world to conform to our personal interpretations of it. The filter of our perception generates necessary atypicalities, divergences from 'base reality'."
"We all get our own little 'Matrix' hidden just behind our eyes, and we each see a different tint over the real world. It's good practice to try and imagine just what kind of lens someone else is viewing the world through. Something to bring yourself closer to others, a little way to love yourself. So be kind, look a while through someone else's glasses, and revel in how beautifully different we each are to one another."
Jonathan also revealed he was feeling "stronger and healthier" than he had been for a decade, and was making an "active choice" to change his lifestyle, especally while living in fast-food loving America.
"When I was out in America it's fast food everywhere," he shared. "I was in a terrible state in the start of the year and I've been able to claw my way back doing light exercise. I'm a very big fella so heavy exercise would just tear me up. I'm working my way up, thinking about what I eat because that is important."
