A source close to Bella Hadid says she has made the brave decision to step away from her busy schedule to focus on her health. The 26-year-old is currently on an extended “medical leave” as she seeks treatment for Lyme disease, a condition she has been battling since her diagnosis in 2012.
Some tabloid reports have claimed that the model had checked into rehab, but sources close to her are saying that is fake news. “Bella Hadid is in daily treatment for Lyme disease. Nine months ago, Bella decided she wanted to stop drinking, so she stopped. She has been sober for nine months and has never had an alcohol or drug problem. Bella is not in rehab,” a source told Entertainment Tonight this week. “Bella is taking some much-deserved time off to treat her Lyme disease. She is not in rehab and has never had an alcohol or drug problem.”
Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness that can lead to a range of symptoms, such as an irregular heartbeat, joint pain, and breathing difficulties. Bella has been vocal in the past about the disease and the challenges it poses to her daily life.
Chronic Symptoms
In April, Hadid shared with TikTok followers that the disease had been taking a toll on her physically and mentally. “Most of my pictures /selfies look like this on a normal basis when I’m flaring up. (When I’m working a lot, FW, stressed etc., (aka always) my skin changes color, I break out randomly, I get (what feels like) lesions, lethargy, chronic anxiety, zero motivation or purpose, leaky gut, adrenals, depressed,” she told fans. “You can only wonder why my face changes the way it does and this is why. End of story.”
“That’s why I hate looking in the mirror or taking pictures especially lately, truly wanting to throw up at the sight of myself constantly,” she went on to say. “Years and years of this. If I’m all dolled up maybe I’ll try for the girls, but man is it hard to do this as your profession while also feeling/looking sick like this’.”
Bella Hadid’s mother Yolanda and brother Anwar have also been diagnosed with Lyme disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 300,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease each year in the United States. While most cases of Lyme disease can be successfully treated with antibiotics, a subset of individuals may develop lingering symptoms despite completing the standard treatment. However, there is no universally accepted definition of chronic Lyme disease.
