Bella Hadid shared positive news about her ongoing health struggles on Sunday. The 26-year-old model took to Instagram to share an update about her battle with Lyme disease, saying that she’s “finally healthy” after a decade. Hadid was first diagnosed with the disease in 2012 (her brother Anwar and mom Yolanda have also struggled with the illness).
“The little me that suffered would be so proud of grown me for not giving up on myself,” Hadid wrote on Instagram. “Thankful to my mommy for keeping all of my medical records, sticking by me, never leaving my side, protecting, supporting, but most of all, believing me through all of this.”
In the post, the model shared images of medical documents (dating back to 2014) and photos of herself undergoing treatment. Hadid has been open about living with chronic disease in the past and further detailed the ways in which working in the fashion industry while chronically ill took its toll.
“Living in this state, worsening with time and work while trying to make myself, my family and the people who support me, proud, had taken a toll on me in ways I can’t really explain,” she said. “To be that sad and sick with the most blessings/privilege/opportunity/love around me was quite possibly the most confusing thing ever.”
Hadid has been noticeably absent from modeling over recent months. In a March TikTok she detailed experiencing a “flare-up” of Lyme disease after wisdom teeth removal. In her most recent post, though, Hadid reiterated that she is “okay” and “healthy” after undergoing months-long treatment.
“One thing I want to express to you all is that 1: I am okay and you do not have to worry, and 2: I wouldn’t change anything for the world,” she wrote. “If I had to go through all of this again, to get here, to this exact moment I’m in right now, with all of you, finally healthy, I would do it all again. It made me who I am today.”
Though she is on the mend, Bella is taking her time to return to the runway. “I’ll be back when I’m ready, I miss you all so much, I love you all so much,” she said.
Last week, Bella’s sister Gigi posted a throwback Instagram story of the pair backstage where she teased “Can’t wait 4 the comebaccckkkkkk.” In a later post, Gigi clarified that she wasn’t putting a timeline on Bella’s return.
“Just wanna touch on this post from last week,” she noted. “Bella just finished a long and intense treatment for Lyme disease. Didn’t want some to take my post as a promise she’ll be back for shows this next season…)”
Bella finished her message off by emphasizing the intense struggles her illness, but also expressed thanks for the support of her agents, family, caregivers, and dog Beans: “And God Bless my Angel Glizzy P. Beans aka Petunia aka Beans for never leaving my side not for one second.”
