An English woman who woke up with a Welsh accent despite never visiting the country has got her old accent back - a year later.
Zoe Coles, 36, from Stamford in Lincolnshire, developed the new twang overnight in June 2023, but thought it would eventually wear off.
However when it didn't, the mother-of-two was diagnosed with foreign accent syndrome (FAS). The Welsh inflection stayed for more than a year until Zoe woke up on July 2 with her old voice back.
Zoe said she is 'disorientated' and doesn't know if her English accent - which Zoe describes as 'Kentish' - will stay or if her Welsh accent will come back.
She said: 'It has been four days. I am not sure what is going to happen going forward. [I don't know] if it's going to stay as the English accent or whether the Welsh is going to come back.
Zoe Coles , 36, from Stamford in Lincolnshire, who woke up with a Welsh accent despite never visiting the country has got her old accent back - a year later
'I feel the best word to describe how I am feeling is disorientated. I really don't know what to think of it.
'Watching videos of me speak in this new accent is really difficult, and now it is difficult to watch myself with a Welsh accent.
'It is really very strange for me. I thought with it being a year since my accent changed the Welsh accent would be permanent. Who knows what is going to happen.'
Zoe was diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND), a condition where there is a problem with how the brain sends and receives signals in January 2022.
This is thought to be behind the later change in her accent and Zoe often experiences ticks, memory problems, slurred speech and pain in her legs.
Speaking previously, before her accent returned, she said: 'I was a full-time working mum, I could get up and clean the house in two hours, have a shower, get ready, go shopping, go to work and come home.
'Now I have to be assisted in the shower in case my legs go on me, I can't do the house work in two hours it is more like two days.
'I get so tired so quickly, I can do the shopping because I can hold the trolley but I can't do much more. It completely wipes me out.'
Zoe developed the new accent overnight in June 2023, but thought it would eventually wear off
Zoe said she is 'disorientated' and doesn't know if her English accent - which Zoe describes as 'Kentish' - will stay or if her Welsh accent will come back
The mother-of-two was diagnosed with foreign accent syndrome (pictured with her daughter Brooke and son Zak)
Zoe was diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND), a condition where there is a problem with how the brain sends and receives signals in January 2022 (Zoe pictured with her fiance Lee)
She said: 'I want to raise awareness and show that this is real life. I am speaking out because I want people to see that these things really do happen.
'This is a reality for me as much as I don't like it, I love the accent and I have adapted to it.
'However it still causes problems for me, I still get head pains and tingling in the face. It isn't just the accent, it is so hard for me.'
In videos shared on her TikTok account @zoecoles1, she revealed that she is sometimes left in chronic pain which can make it impossible to talk and walk.
FAS is usually the result of a head or brain injury, with strokes being the most common cause. It can also occur after trauma to the brain, bleeding in the brain or a brain tumour.
Other causes reported in medical journals include multiple sclerosis and conversion disorder.
Zoe, who originally developed a German accent before it morphed into Welsh, previously opened up about her struggle with the disorder.
The Welsh accent stayed for more than a year until Zoe woke up on July 2 with her old voice back
In videos shared on her TikTok account @zoecoles1, she revealed that FND leaves her in chronic pain and sometimes makes it impossible to talk and walk
Zoe, who has been dealing with the accent changes, has seen a neurologist and has been told there is nothing they can do
In March, she said: 'I am struggling a lot, you are born with a voice, you grow up and develop a way of speaking. That has been taken away from me.
'Even though it has given me a confidence boost, I would love everything to go away and life to go back to normal.'
Zoe has seen a neurologist and has been told there is nothing they can do.
She said: 'I want to raise awareness and show that this is real life. I am speaking out because I want people to see that these things really do happen.
'This is a reality for me as much as I don't like it, I love the accent and I have adapted to it.
'However it still causes problems for me, I still get head pains and tingling in the face. It isn't just the accent, it is so hard for me.'
