Bella Hadid was 16 years old when she was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2012. The model went public about her battle against the condition on her Instagram Stories.
In February 2021, she posted a series of photos showing her hooked up to an IV. "Living with a few chronic autoimmune disease = always finding time for my IVs," she wrote in the caption.
In a 2016 interview with People, she opened up about looking healthy on the outside (and working as a model) while struggling with health issues behind closed doors. "Life isn't always what it looks like on the outside, and the hardest part of this journey is to be judged by the way you look instead of the way you feel," she shared.
More recently, Hadid posted a series of treatment photos with the caption, "I'm sorry I always go MIA I love you guys." While she didn't confirm it was a Lyme disease setback, her mother Yolanda Hadid elaborated on her daughter's health status after a flurry of social media posts questioned the legitimacy of Bella's condition. "As you you will understand watching my Bella struggle in silence, has cut the deepest core of hopelessness inside me. The invisible disability of chronic neurological Lyme disease is hard to explain or understand for anyone," she wrote in the Instagram post.
