Elle King is talking about her autism diagnosis for the very first time because she literally just found out about it.
The “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” singer says a panic attack ahead of a TV show appearance set things in motion to being diagnosed with autism in her mid-30s.
- King was a pop star with hits like “Ex’s and Oh’s” before releasing her acclaimed Come Get Your Wife country album in 2023.
- “Drunk” is a duet with Miranda Lambert that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.
- In early 2024 she hit a career low when she performed drunk at the Grand Ole Opry for Dolly Parton‘s birthday party.
The TV show is Nation’s Dumbest on Fox (July 15). It’s a celebrity game show where contestant’s compete to avoid finishing last, thus earning the “Nation’s Dumbest” title. Carmen Electra, Ice-T and NFL quarterback Matt Leinart are on board.
King was really worried about losing. ““I did an IQ test, and it was rather high (132), and I didn’t even trust it, so I took another one, and I got the same score on a different website,” she tells US Weekly.
That put her down a path to discovering the diagnosis.
“I’ve had a lot of not my proudest moments, and so especially with my autism diagnosis, I am putting new kinds of safety barricades, and I just want to be around people that I feel safe around, and I just want to do things that bring me joy,” she tells the magazine.
King actually revealed her diagnosis in May with a Facebook video captioned “good news is, I’m autistic.” That video shared no details beyond the caption.
“I actually found out right after the show that I’m autistic,” she tells US, “and so I was like, ‘Everything makes so much sense now.’ But I didn’t even know.”
Elle King’s Family
King and tattoo artist Dan Tooker have two sons, named Lucky and Royal. The couple are not married but did get engaged in 2020. In 2024 they broke up but reunited in time for Royal’s birth in early 2025.
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She’s also the daughter of comedian and actor Rob Schneider, with whom she admits she has a complicated relationship with.
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Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
