@leocg this is the thing, i genuinely do not remember setting up 2fa for my account. I think there was maybe a code displayed on google that hasn't popped up since but there is literally nothing else. There's no sign of 2fa for opera in any email or any app. The irritating thing is that every account saved on the browser (like YouTube for example) that uses the same email address is fine. its all been remembered.

@leocg where could i find a backup code? also, what would an email with the 2fa look like?

I'm not entirely sure what happened but when I opened my laptop today, it had completely crashed, to the point that it pretty much reset everything. So, I reinstalled Opera GX and it's asking me for a verification code to get into my account (I've started a new one in order to type this). The problem is, I don't know it and didn't receive one via email (my account is through gmail if that's relevant). Apparently it can be found in an "authenticator app" but I don't remember ever setting one up. The backup code was no use either because I can't get onto my profile page. What can I do to get my account back?