Celebrity5 min(s) read
Published 10:39 26 Jun 2026 GMT
Bella Hadid has shared an emotional update after being diagnosed with Lyme disease.
The 29-year-old model took to Instagram Stories on Thursday (June 25) to open up about the reality of living with the bacterial infection, which is spread through tick bites.
Hadid was diagnosed in 2012, joining several celebrities who have also spoken publicly about the condition, including Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake, Ben Stiller, Kelly Osbourne, and more.
The supermodel shared a lengthy message, talking about how it can be "intimidating" trying to explain the pain, exhaustion, fatigue, anxiety, brain fog, infections, and trauma that come with the illness.
She said the symptoms often lead "to severe isolation and depression, especially over long periods of time."
"Especially when you try anything you can," she continued. "You demand answers that no one can find. You fight. You finally have a few good days. You think you've found the right protocol, the right routine, the right treatment... and then a flare-up comes back and all of a sudden nothing feels certain again."
Hadid explained that the unpredictable nature of her symptoms frequently forces her to cancel plans because she "never" knows how she'll feel from one day to the next.
"You wake up with anxiety already living in your body," she wrote. "Physical pain before your feet even touch the floor....And somehow, still have to find the strength to move through another day in a body and mind that are completely exhausted."
She also reflected on how she's become used to hiding what she's going through.
"Sometimes it feels like unless you've lived something like this, or loved someone who has, it's impossible to fully understand," she penned.
Despite describing the struggles of living with chronic illness, Hadid offered words of encouragement to others facing similar challenges.
"There is light, even if you can't see it today... There is hope," she wrote. "As so many have said..I have to remind myself that healing isn't linear...I believe God puts before us, somehow, only what we are capable of carrying, even when we don't understand why at the time," adding that there's a "deeper purpose to all things in life."
The model wrote that she believes every setback has something to teach.
"It leads us to the places and people and experience we have now.. I have so much gratitude for life, but without living in a body that has more rough days than good," she continued. "It's hard to find joy or purpose or reason to even go outside...but we will keep trying! always!"
She concluded her post with a heartfelt message for anyone struggling.
"You are loved. You are needed. Your life has purpose. And you will make it through every season life puts you through...love you and hold you deeply."
The model later shared a tearful selfie as she revealed she still couldn't "shake off" the flare-up.
She explained she'd slept for 11 hours and was continuing to nap throughout the day.
"Took every protocol from any and every doctor I've seen. Still nothing helping," she wrote, before joking that she'd "diagnosed myself with 12 other things, so that's good."
She added that she "was out of breath walking to the kitchen."
"I don't think there's a singular brain cell in there working and my last two are beefing with each other," she continued. "I took a shower without fainting tho... so again, if you know you know....that felt like a really big accomplishment for me today."
She rounded off her Stories by sharing two Instagram Reels from content creator Oliver George, who uses humour to show the daily realities of living with chronic illness.
After receiving an outpouring of concern from followers, Hadid reassured fans that while her previous posts had been emotional, they reflected the reality she has been living with for years.
"I'm sorry if I worried anyone," she wrote. "I know it sounds jarring, but in full truth, it's my reality, so it's something I'm able to cope with to a capacity now. I'm sorry if I startled anyone. This truly is an everyday ebb and flow, for me, for the past 15 years.
"I just had an overwhelming amount of emotion over not being able to do the things my mind is capable of setting, but my body is not capable of doing."
"Every day is a new day, and tomorrow I'm hoping for God willing a better one. I love you guys so much. Thank you for all of your support. I wasn't expecting it, but I'm truly grateful. Love you guys so much," she concluded.
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