Adrienne Houghton (née Bailon) has been one of the longtime hosts of the Emmy award-winning daytime talk show The Real, which is currently on its eighth season.
During one of the most recent airings of the show, Bailon revealed a secret that stunned her co-hosts and viewers alike.
In their segment, “I’ve Always Wanted to Know,” the ladies were tasked with the duty of asking one another questions that they’ve always wondered, and Jeannie Mai Jenkins pointed her question toward Bailon.
She said, “I’ve always wanted to ask you because you’re super open, but I do know that there is a side of you where you keep sacred things to yourself. What is the deepest secret that you have not spoken about on the show?”
Bailon responded, “I think there was a season — I don’t know which season it was, I feel like it was probably two or three years ago — [where] I was dealing with anxiety on a level that like, I think probably Sonia noticed, because one, I had to have Sonia call the medic a few times. And I would feel so stupid that like — you guys know, when they would rush me off and you would be like, ‘What’s happening?’ — and it would be that I was having, like, panic attacks.”
She continued, “Really, really, really bad panic attacks. … And I know this sounds crazy, but for anybody that’s ever experienced a real anxiety disorder or anything like that, there are certain things that if you have a panic attack in a certain situation and you’re back in that same place, it will trigger another one. So because I had had one while taping the show, every time we walked out … for an entire season, I would hear the song and literally be like, … ‘Read the prompter. Just do it.’ And I could barely sometimes see — my hands would go numb. … And it would be live TV, so [it was like] ‘Where am I going to go?'”
Bailon explained that in order to get through that difficult time, she had to constantly remind herself that it was “mind over matter.” And if her mind could convince her that there was something wrong or harmful about a situation, then it could also convince her that she was safe as well.
Jeannie Mai Jenkins and Garcelle Beauvais were absolutely stunned, replying that they “never knew.” Loni Love, who sat next to Bailon during that time period of the show, revealed that she could feel Adrienne’s anxiety throwing off her energy.
Bailon also shared that she still has anxiety, but will definitely be opening up with her co-hosts about it more in the future.