Opening up.

If you’ve been keeping up with Bachelor Nation star Demi Burnett, you know that a little over a year ago, she got candid about her autism diagnosis on social media.

Since then, Demi has continued to discuss autism openly online and share educational videos about autism, pathological demand avoidance, and ADHD.

Now, Demi sat down for an interview with PopSugar, where she got vulnerable about her diagnosis and how it helped her figure out who she is.

Demi discussed the misconceptions and stigma surrounding neurodivergent people, saying, “People on Instagram are so funny because they’re like, ‘You don’t look autistic.’ And I’m like, ‘You don’t know what I look like. You know what I want you to think I look like.’”

The Bachelor Nation star shared that the on-screen and online personality fans have gotten to know is not the full Demi.

She describes that version of herself as masking, which according to the outlet is “a term that’s often used by people with autism to describe the behaviors they adopt in order to avoid stigma, such as suppressing stimming or other aspects of their identity.”

Demi shared that her outspoken reality star persona is a “safety armor that I created. I love being that mask. Honestly, it feels really happy and it feels really good because I know how to nail it.”

But off-screen, Demi shared that she often struggled, and before her diagnosis, she couldn’t figure out why.

She said, “The biggest thing for me is something that I’d always kept hidden, and it was this gut feeling of dread. Every time I got invited anywhere, anytime I had to leave the house and socially interact with people — it’s this feeling of doom.”

During these struggles, Demi said it has been hard to complete day-to-day tasks like showering or brushing her teeth.

The Bachelor Nation star shared, “I don’t take care of myself,” and admitted that she has also struggled to feed herself.

Demi said, “It’s so hard for me to eat because [there are] so many demands that come with eating, like deciding what to eat, preparing the food, sitting down, eating the food, cleaning it all up. No one would believe what I look like… I haven’t showered in three days.”

After several “emotional breakdowns,” Demi shared that she reached a breaking point last year and sought help to figure out what was going on.

Demi was diagnosed with autism after doing her own research and discussing her symptoms with her neuropsychologist.

She explained that her diagnosis helped her make sense of her life and past experiences, saying, “It made everything click 100 percent. Like [once I knew] I was autistic, I was like, ‘Yes, this makes sense. But also I don’t understand it, and it kind of doesn't.’ Everything aligned with it.”

Today, Demi told the outlet that she “gives herself grace and focuses on accommodations to make life easier.”

And while Demi said she was fortunate to get a formal autism diagnosis, she said she knows they can be extremely expensive and inaccessible.

Demi said, “It cost me thousands of dollars. There’s a lot of people who will probably try to brush you off or diminish what you think your mental health issues are [without a formal diagnosis]. There will be people who dismiss labels and will make you feel stupid for getting into all of this. But just know that there is a community of people that will believe you and support you.”

Demi hopes that in continuing to share her experience, others feel less alone.