Sad truth behind Abbie Chatfield’s $2k airport blunder

Abbie Chatfield has shared a clip breaking down in tears after she explained the reason she had to fork out almost $2,000 on a new flight.

Abbie Chatfield has broken down about her struggles with ADHD, revealing how it caused her to miss her flight, forcing her to fork out almost $2,000 for a new ticket.

In May this year, the 27-year-old media personality told her almost half a million Instagram followers she has “finally” been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The influencer and former The Bachelor star confirmed the news on her Hot Nights with Abbie radio show at the time and has since been forthcoming about her struggles with the disorder.

In an interview with news.com.au, Abbie explained the reason she was reduced to tears at Brisbane airport on Sunday, after sharing a snippet about it from her latest ‘itsalot’ podcast to Instagram.

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Abbie was brought to tears when she gave an update on the symptoms and consequences of her ADHD diagnosis on the latest episode of her ‘itsalot’ podcast. Picture: Instagram/abbiechatfield

She said her “ADHD is f**king with her life” and recalled how she was forced to fork out an extra $1,740 on a new flight after misreading her boarding pass.

“Because it was daylight savings, my calander was completely f**ked and obviously having ADHD I am very reliant on my calendar being correct,” she told news.com.au in her role as KAYAK ambassador.

“So my calendar said the flight was 2pm, but it was 2pm Sydney time — which was 1pm Brisbane time.

“I booked the flight that morning and I didn’t look at the boarding pass because I was like ‘I know it’s at 2.05pm’.”

Abbie said she had to pay $1740 at Brisbane airport on Sunday after missing her flight. Picture: Instagram/abbiechatfield

She was in Brisbane for her sister's birthday and even left the lunch early to make the flight, but realised the time error when she got to the airport. Picture: Instagram/abbiechatfield

Abbie, who was in Brisbane to see her family, had even left her sister’s birthday lunch early to make her flight, but when she got to the airport, she realised the error.

“I thought it would be fine because there is a flight every hour from Brisbane to Sydney, but it was in the school holidays and there weren’t any seats left so the only flight I could get was $1741 — Brisbane to Sydney economy.”

“It was just very frustrating because all week I had missed things — I almost missed rehearsals for upfronts I hosted because of same thing again, my calendar was an hour different and I had been texted the night before but I didn’t absorb it — it’s just been a bit of a hard week.”

Abbie, 27, was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at age 26. Picture: Instagram/abbiechatfield

Abbie, who is also a The Masked Singer panellist, said the boarding pass blunder made her feel “silly” and revealed that while people often dismiss these situations as Abbie being “classic Abbie” — it was more serious than that.

“I have a f**king brain issue that prevents me from doing that,” she said in her podcast after people told her “you should have just checked your boarding pass”.

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects one in 20 people and results in poor impulse control and focus, according to Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital.

Abbie said when it comes to travelling, particularly overseas, she tends to check things “five million times” because of her ADHD.

“It’s more because it causes anxiety around forgetting things or missing a flight and double checking everything is right. That’s why KAYAK is so great because you can see everything in one spot, like hotels and flights.”

The 27-year-old said while her ADHD doesn’t affect her desire to travel, it does however, make her more vigilant.

She also said that following the pandemic, her view of travelling has shifted.

“The slogan with this campaign I am doing with KAYAK is ‘main character energy’ and I think that summarises how people are approaching travelling now,” Abbie said.

“It’s about doing what you want to do because we realise how valuable travel is now — if that’s laying by the pool seven hours a day, then I am going to do it.”

The leading travel search engine released new research that revealed Aussies are prioritising flexibility, experiences, and getting exactly what they want, with 78 per cent saying the TikTok “main character energy” trend is influencing their travel plans.

The ‘Now You’re Travelling’ research of more than 1,000 Aussies found 81 per cent are feeling more empowered to travel ‘their way’ post-pandemic’, which means taking an uncompromising approach to living their best holiday selves.

Meanwhile, over half (55 per cent) agree that they are done settling when it comes to travel and are less likely to compromise on their dream itineraries than they were pre-pandemic.

Abbie said she is heading to Cairns in December to see her family and will feel zero guilt taking in the sunshine and laying around on her much-needed break.