I wake up at night in agony from my debilitating condition, I’m 65 but I’m not dead yet, says Ulrika Jonsson

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ULRIKA Jonsson has opened up about her agonising arthritis condition that leaves her in agony at night and admitted it’s not the “sexiest” condition to have.

The TV presenter and Sun columnist revealed how the “debilitating” pain can leave her feeling “miserable” and that sleepless nights can give her brain fog.

Ulrika Jonsson revealed she wakes up at night in agony from her arthritis condition

The TV favourite said the condition can leave her feeling ‘miserable’

The Celebs Go Dating star, who took appeared on the E4 show in the bid to find her dream man, also said she’s incredibly open about her condition during dates but joked that she won’t be advertising it on her dating profile anytime soon.

Discussing how the condition impacts her dating life, Ulrika exclusively told HOAR: “I’m pretty active and I’m open about having arthritis in my hips on dates.

“I make a joke about it because I think that’s the best way of introducing it but it’s certainly not something I would bring to the table on a first date – unless I turn it into something of a joke, it’s not really what you want to put on your profile.”

The TV favourite, who has teamed up with with social venture Arthr, whose recent study found that three quarters of people with arthritis said that joint pain from the condition disrupts their sleep, said that it can also impact on your sex life. 

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She continued: “I’m not in a relationship  – when I was married, I mean sleeping next to someone is not ideal if you’re awake or if you’re in pain and that’s one of the things that I was thinking about in relation to this campaign.

“It’s bound to affect relationships and people around you and your ability to be intimate maybe.

“I’ve learnt to accept my arthritis because I had it for so long but also to try and not work against it, to try and accept it and work with it.

“I do laugh and joke about it, if it takes me a while to get out of a chair, I will say ‘oh, here’s the arthritis again’ and I think maybe people think I’m joking and just taking the mickey but it’s actually real and happening. It’s a huge part of what I am.”

Ulrika, who has is known for hosting ITV show Gladiators, and as a team captain of the BBC Two show Shooting Stars, said she has lived with the condition since her childhood and said she’s “always had the pain”.

“I just manage it and live with it the best I can, I’ve always had the pain, which is not the nicest,” she explained.

“The other night it flared up and I was lying there 3’o clock in the morning, this is so painful, it’s not every night but I would say I have pain every day, I’m so used to it as if it was a familiar pain.

“I’m on a bit of a mission to erase the image that we associate arthritis with older people – I am going to be 65 this year – but I’m not dead yet.

“When you’re younger you associate arthritis with older people but you can get it at any age. There are plenty of young people with arthritis, probably not the sexiest condition to have.

“It’s really painful for me, I can’t imagine a pillow between my knees otherwise it would cause agony to my hips if I don’t.”

The former weather presenter said that due to the lack of sleep it can result low mood and can affect people around her.

Ulrika continued: “I’m a mother of four, I first became a mum 28 years ago, I’m used to sleepless nights and disturbed sleep but that doesn’t mean that’s my preferred option and without a doubt, lack of sleep gives you kind of brain fog, you can be moody and snappy.

“It’s really debilitating, I take great pride on being an energetic and lively person and the whole idea of broken sleep, the rest of the day you feel miserable.

“It’s not nice at all and it can affect people around you and family members.”

The star, who is mum to Cameron, 27, Bo, 21, Martha, 17 and Malcolm, 13, said she struggle is daily but she has learnt to adapt to it.

“There is not a day in my life that I don’t work around the arthritis in my hips.

“Like sitting in the car for hours, it will be a struggle to get out of the car, once I start moving, I’m absolutely fine. Certain days will be more painful and if I’m spending four hours in a car that won’t bring me much joy.”

The star confessed that she is worried about the deteriorating condition and said there will come a stage that she’ll be eligible for a “good old hip replacement”.

“It’s definitely not going to get better as your body ages and deteriorates.

“For me, I’m trying to do whatever I can to counter, to remain as strong as possible, whether that is Pilates and to think of my posture and keeping active.

“It’s so funny, whenever I turn up at a meeting they go ‘can you sit down’ and I’m like ‘no please can I stand up’

“I don’t know if people think I’m being a diva, I’m like ‘no I need to stand because I’ve just sat in a car for two hours, I need to stand.’”

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Research from Arthr’s March ’22 sleep campaign shows that three quarters (74 per cent) of people with arthritis said that joint pain from the condition disrupts their sleep. 

Out of those, almost a quarter (23 per cent) of people with arthritis said their sleep is disrupted every night by joint pain, and 28.5 per cent say their sleep is disrupted 3-4 nights a week by joint pain. 

Ulrika is on a mission to erase the image that we associate arthritis with older people

She said her arthritis is not ‘something she would bring to the table on a first date’