50 Shades Star Jamie Dornan Was Hospitalized With ‘Heart Attack Symptoms’… Due To A ‘Caterpillar’?!

What a freak accident!

Jamie Dornan was hospitalized last year while on vacation with a pal, thinking he thought he was having a heart attack — only to realize he’d actually had an unfortunate run-in with a nasty bug! And we don’t mean the flu — a bug bug!

In an episode of BBC‘s podcast The Good, the Bad and the Unexpected out earlier this month, the Fifty Shades of Grey star’s friend Gordon Smart revealed the incident that led them both to seek medical attention. The buddies were on a golf trip in Portugal which, per his Instagram, occurred in March 2023. They each thought they’d had one too many as they started to feel unwell just one day into the trip! Turns out it was way more serious than a hangover, though!!

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Gordon felt a “tingling in his left hand and tickling in his left arm” that made him think it was “the sign of the start of a heart attack.” Of course he panicked, adding:

“Now, I’m a fairly healthy guy but once you start thinking, you’re having a heart attack, you’re pretty sure that you’re convincing yourself that you are having one.”

So true! LOLz!

After getting looked at by doctors and nurses, he was discharged from the hospital (where one of his friends was also receiving treatment) — only to get back to his hotel to see his famous pal in trouble! He explained:

“Jamie said, ‘Dear me. Gordon, about 20 minutes after you left, my left arm went numb, my left leg went numb, my right leg went numb, and I found myself in the back of an ambulance.’”

Yikes!!

Jamie was also reportedly rushed in for medical attention and eventually treated. His friend added:

“Anyway, as he left the hospital, the paramedics asked them for a selfie, which is really what you want when you’re being wheeled out of a hospital room.”

Oof. Bad timing!

Sooo, how does a caterpillar play into all of this?! Well, they were told all their symptoms were caused by a toxic bug! Smart continued:

“And it turns out that there are caterpillars on golf courses in the south of Portugal that have been killing people’s dogs and giving men in their 40s heart attacks. It turns out we’d brushed up against hairy processionary caterpillars and have been very lucky to come out of that one alive.”

Per Forest Research, pine processionary moth caterpillars have tiny hairs that contain irritating protein which can be painful to the skin, eyes, and throat. In rare cases, they can cause allergic reactions. Who knew?! Certainly not Gordon and Jamie! Concluding the wild story, the podcast guest teased:

“So there’s my story; the good news is it wasn’t a caffeine overdose, it wasn’t a hangover — it was a poisonous, toxic caterpillar.”

While Jamie hasn’t discussed the medical scare, a source close to him played down Gordon’s anecdote, telling People on Monday:

“He never went into the hospital — he even played a game of golf the next day and won.”

Hmm. Well, either way we’re still glad they’re both okay! Reaction, Perezcious readers?! Have you heard of this scary critter?? Let us know (below)!

[Image via MEGA/WENN]