Love Is Blind star Alex Henderson once answered to a very different name and the reason behind the switch is as emotional as it gets.
Alex, 32, is one half of seven engaged couples in the latest series of the Netflix hit.
But long before the pods and proposals, he was known by another name.
The romantic hopeful, who is paired with Ashley Carpenter, had his moniker changed when he was just a toddler.
So what happened?
Love Is Blind’s Alex Henderson: What was his old name?
Although he was born Alex Henderson, his mum Kristen married another man when he was two years old.
His biological father was not present in his life and had no involvement in his upbringing.
After marrying Kristen, Alex’s stepdad wanted to adopt him officially.
As part of that legal process, he requested a name change. Alex became Alec Ferrell.
The marriage, however, was deeply troubled.
Kristen has said she felt in “fight or fight” throughout the marriage, while Alex has claimed his stepdad would ‘lock him in the basement’.
Speaking on Alex’s podcast Play Life Beautifully, Kristen told her son: “When you were adopted… worst day of your life, I’m sure… that’s when you became Alec Ferrell.”
She explained that the decision came through the courts.
“He was adopting you to make it official. I remember when you had that, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m not his biological son’,” she continued.
“But the whole time through the adoption process, I said to you, ‘John is not your dad but we’re going to go through a legal ceremony to become a Ferrell.’”
Kristen and Alex’s stepdad later divorced, bringing that chapter to a close.
Yet it was not until six years ago that the Love Is Blind star made the decision to return to his birth name.
‘I want to reclaim what I had’
“Obviously I do reclaim my birth name, it’s more important for me,” Alex said to listeners.
“It’s not even about reclaiming Henderson for my father’s biological last name. It’s what I was born as.
“This is what I want to build my name off of.
“I don’t want the Ferrell name attached to me. I don’t want something I’ve changed into. I want to reclaim what I had.”
He legally changed his name back to Alex Henderson in 2020.
Viewers will know Alex often speaks about his former passion for football on Love Is Blind.
He once hoped to go professional but a serious knee injury ended those ambitions.
Because his name did not legally revert until six years ago, all of his sporting records sit under Alec Ferrell.
That has made tracing his football career slightly complicated. Thankfully, ED! has done the legwork.
You can find out exactly what football team Alex played for here.
- Love Is Blind, episodes 1-6, are available to stream on Netflix now.
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