Bella Hadid says chronic illness has made it ‘hard to take a shower most days’
The 28-year-old was diagnosed with Lyme Disease in the early 2010s.
Model Bella Hadid has said her chronic illness has made it “hard to take a shower most days”.
The 28-year-old was diagnosed with chronic Lyme Disease in the early 2010s, a bacterial infection carried by ticks, which can cause tiredness and a loss of energy, according to the NHS.
Speaking about living with the condition, Hadid said in an interview with British Vogue: “I think nobody really understands chronic illness.
“It’s hard to take a shower most days, which I promise, guys, if you’re reading this, I shower every day.
“But sometimes, if I have one day off, if I can get in the shower and make myself breakfast, I see that as an accomplishment.
“Our interview today was at 3pm. I was in excruciating pain until 11am and had a very tough morning. Can you make this all sound a little bit prettier and less dramatic?”
Hadid, who will grace the cover of the magazine’s June issue, was diagnosed with the disease along with her mother Yolanda, who starred in US reality TV show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and her brother.
According to the NHS, most people who are diagnosed with the condition will recover – however, a small proportion will continue to have symptoms, such as tiredness, aches and loss of energy, which can last for several years.
Hadid went on to explain that she went to visit her mother and stepfather in Texas after her condition improved, where she met her boyfriend, equestrian Adan Banuelos.
She told Vogue: “So I go, I’m with my stepdad. We move cows, we’re on trail rides, and I’m starting to feel a little better, but just still dealing with my own stuff. Then, the next day, I meet my boyfriend.
“I saw him walk in (to a horse show) and it was like a gust of fresh air. So he basically came in, walked into the exhibit hall, which is where we do all of the show stuff. I was getting a cowboy hat fitted.
“I just saw him and I always wanted the cowboy, and he’s pretty gorgeous, let me tell you something.”
She explained that Banuelos did not know who she was when he met her, and added she “can’t wait to be a mom” saying that “family is on my mind”.
In her modelling career Hadid has made tens of appearances on the cover of Vogue, and was voted model of the year by the British Fashion Council in 2022, in 2023 she was named in Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.
Her 30-year-old sister Gigi is also a model, who herself was voted model of the year by the British Fashion Council in 2016.
The full feature with Hadid can be read in the June issue of British Vogue, available via digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday May 20.
