The following article includes allegations of domestic abuse and bullying.
1 on charts in both the United Kingdom, where she lives, and in the United States.
Nevertheless, Boyle has overcome her adversaries and chooses to maintain an optimistic outlook on life.
However, Susan Boyle’s experiences at school were much different.
Not only did other children call her names, but they also physically harmed Boyle at school.
Also, little was understood about learning disabilities when Boyle went to school.
This added fuel to the bullies and their cruelties, but she was even abused by her teachers.
Boyle told theMirrorin 2009 that the teachers would tell her to “shut up.”
He showed it to me, and he hurt me.
He didn’t mean to, but I held on to this for years …
I had to let it go.
You have to accept it, that’s maturity."
“I was protected in cotton wool,” she told the Daily Mail in 2011.
“They thought they were doing the right thing.”
This even went so far as to protect Boyle from romantic relationships.
One boyfriend she had at 25 years old didn’t gain her father’s approval.
She experienced frightening seizures at school
Susan Boyle has also revealed that she has epilepsy.
This caused frequent seizures when she was a child, with some of these events leaving her unconscious.
She’s described how her seizures were erroneously labeled as problems with “mental function.”
It’s something I’ve never talked about.
People in the public eye don’t have things like that."
Causes can include brain injuries, oxygen deprivation at birth, and a family history of seizures.
This was also considered her first real romantic relationship.
It would be years before Boyle would feel like she could trust anyone romantically again.
“It made me sad, in a way,” she went on to say.
“It makes you feel unattractive; you feel that life is passing you by.
But I thought, ‘Maybe there’s something for me later.’
I was always optimistic.”
Her mother died in 2007
Susan Boyle’s mother, Bridget Boyle, died in 2007.
Boyle’s father also previously died in 1999.
“I’d lost a father, but my mother had lost a lifelong partner.
They were married in 1936 and had never been apart.
She was devastated.”
Bridget Boyle was 47 years old when Susan was born.
She was also her ninth child.
This would ultimately instill a sense of anxiety in Susan.
As for Bridget, Susan was quoted as explaining that she lived with anxiety, too.
While not everyone supported her singing aspirations, Boyle credits her mother for doing the opposite.
“Music was always my bubble, though, my safe place,” she toldThe Irish Newsin 2019.
According to the Daily Mail, she had tried out for 12 other shows before this one.
At the audition, Boyle famously sang “I Dreamed a Dream,” and subsequently became a celebrity.
However, it wasn’t just the sudden fans and media attention that made her anxious.
Boyle was also uncertain how she felt now that her life seemed to be going in a positive direction.
For one, Boyle grew suspicious of some of her new friendships.
“I don’t sleep easily if I think that.”
She also described how feelings of achievement were new to her.
“It’s hard when that’s been the pattern of your life.
It’s hard to believe those patterns have been broken.”
Ultimately, though, the dance group Diversity won Season 3, with Boyle being the runner-up.
Shortly after the season finale, Boyle collapsed and was hospitalized.
With this diagnosis also came the realization that her diagnosis of brain damage as a child was also incorrect.
Asperger’s syndrome used to be recognized as a separate condition.
Since Boyle’s diagnosis, Asperger’s syndrome is now included under the umbrella of autism spectrum disorder.
“It will not make any difference to my life,” she said.
“It’s just a condition that I have to live with and work through.
Sadly, the bullying from children hasn’t stopped.
“They have been shouting at me, taunting, saying vile things, swearing,” she said.
“And on one occasion they were throwing things at the bus I was sitting on.”
“Why would I move out because of a group of teenagers who behave like that?”
she told the Daily Mail.
She’s also pointed to the fact that she has more fans than bullies.
“I can now entertain people, make them happy.
For me, it’s about turning a negative into a positive.”
However, her attitude about having children is quite different from her thoughts on marriage.
I’ve a lovely house, why not share it?”
However, the term “minor” stroke can be a bit of a misnomer.
One of her biggest gripes with herself is her hair.
But over the years, Boyle has experimented with different looks.
In fact, she told theDaily Mailthat she wore two hairpieces.
Unlike many other stars, she hasn’t exactly had much media training.
Plus, interviewers seem to love quizzing her on uncomfortable topics.
In other words, her interviews can sometimes be, well, a little awkward.
In 2019, the singer appeared on the British show “Lorraine.”
The host, Lorraine Kelly, was insistent, asking her about her crush on Piers Morgan.
“His wife may not like this.
I do still like him a bit.
I’ve grown up a bit,” the singer finally replied (viaExpress).
Many viewers were quick to note that Kelly’s questions were a little invasive and that Boyle seemed uncomfortable.
As she explained, they had asked her for her favorite “holiday song.”
In 2020, Boyle had yet another bad interview this time on “Loose Women.”
As theMirrornoted, many viewers felt that the interviewers were being cruel and condescending to Boyle.
“I always had a fear of being alone and now I am,” she confessed.
As Boyle explained, she had always worried about having no one.
Then, her closest family members passed away.
Now, Boyle is getting used to her loneliness.
But it still makes her feel sad.
“My biggest problem is I feel lonely.
Especially at night,” she said.
The song featured pink, leopard print cover art and the names Lina Mae and Serenity Mae.
The song was removed quickly, but plenty of fans saw the embarrassing song title first.
Many fans took to X, formerly Twitter, to joke about the hacking scandal.
After enduring years of bullying, this kind of joke probably wasn’t all that funny to her.
Susan Boyle struggles with her temper
Susan Boyle usually seems like a pretty easy-going star.
After all, she’s hardly your typical diva.
In most interviews, the singer is friendly, smiley, and gracious.
Since her rise to fame, Boyle has sometimes let her temper get the better of her.
In fact, she’s earned a bit of a reputation for it.
In 2012, Piers Morgan even asked her about her temper tantrums during an interview.
“The worst flare up?”
“There’s been so many of them I’ve lost count.
I go off like a firework” (via theMirror).
