During Season 1 of the “RHOBH,” Yolanda Hadid got some life-changing news. The former model discovered she had Lyme disease, a type of bacterial infection spread to humans after being bitten by a deer tick, according to Penn Medicine. As per the CDC, 5% to 10% of cases can have chronic effects, ones Hadid has been battling ever since she was diagnosed over a decade ago in 2012. “I kind of stayed on [the show] because I thought, ‘OK, I’ll be better next season.’ I didn’t know Lyme disease was a life sentence. And now, here we are 10, 12 years, later I’m still struggling with it,” she told People.
There is no cure for chronic Lyme disease, and symptoms can include brain fog, tiredness, anxiety, headaches, and muscle soreness. All of which Hadid admitted to experiencing before she was diagnosed. She called her journey with the disease an “absolute nightmare” in her Vogue interview, revealing she can’t pinpoint a time or place she contracted the condition but spent a lot of her time growing up on a farm. “I fought tooth and nail to keep things together in front of my family and friends, but as things got progressively worse, there was no hiding from the truth anymore,” she recalled of finding out her condition.
Hadid is finding the positive in her diagnosis, however, and hopes to spread awareness of what she calls her “invisible disability.” “By sharing the more uncomfortable parts of our lives, we have the power to raise awareness,” she shared.
