Bella Hadid Opens Up About Her Ongoing Health Struggles: ‘I’ll Be Back When I’m Ready’

Over the past year, many fans have noticed that Bella Hadid has been absent from some of the year’s most high-profile events, including the Met Gala, Paris Fashion Week, and Cannes Film Festival. Some have also speculated that Hadid’s decision to forgo these high-profile outings may have been due to illness, a possibility supported by a TikTok posted in April in which Hadid explained that a root canal surgery had prompted a “flare-up” of her Lyme disease diagnosis. 

Today, Hadid confirmed the news with a lengthy Instagram post providing an update on her health. “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 wrote in the caption, which accompanied a carousel of images charting various medical records from across the years, as well as photos of the model during periods of recovery. “To be that sad and sick with the most blessings/privilege/opportunity/love around me was quite possibly the most confusing thing ever.”

What Hadid did confirm is that she had returned to a place of good health after extensive treatment throughout the year. “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,” she added. “It made me who I am today. The universe works in the most painful and beautiful ways but I need to say that if you are struggling—it will get better. I promise.”

The update comes after her sister, Gigi Hadid, shared a post to her Instagram stories in July featuring a throwback picture of the pair backstage at a fashion show with the caption: “Can’t wait 4 the comebaccckkkkkk.” On Tuesday, August 2, Gigi posted again to clarify that this wasn’t intended to serve as a confirmation Bella would be returning to the runways for the spring 2024 fashion shows, which begin in New York in September. “Just wanna touch on this post from last week,” Gigi wrote. “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. I’m so proud of her and excited for her comeback whenever she feels ready.”

Hadid was first diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2012, along with her brother, Anwar, and her mother, Yolanda. In her April 2022 cover story for Vogue, she opened up about her struggles with the bacterial infection, as well as periods of depression and anxiety. “For three years while I was working, I would wake up every morning hysterical, in tears, alone,” she recalls. “I wouldn’t show anybody that. I would go to work, cry at lunch in my little greenroom, finish my day, go to whatever random little hotel I was in for the night, cry again, wake up in the morning, and do the same thing.” In late July, the model also confirmed that she is 10 months sober, stating that she was “so proud of anyone discovering their sobriety.”

In her post today, Hadid also emphasized that the difficult journey she has been on to improve her health has ultimately been a positive one. “I tried to pick the most positive pictures I could because as painful as this experience was, the outcome was the most enlightening experience of my life filled with new friends, new visions, and a new brain,” she wrote. “Thank you for the patience of the incredible companies that I work for, my supporters, and the people who continued to check in.” As for a possible return to the runway? “I’ll be back when I’m ready,” she added. “I miss you all so much. I love you all so much.”