Bella Hadid revealed her struggle maintaining a work-life balance amid her 14-year battle with chronic neurological Lyme disease.
‘The way that I worked for many years was not sustainable. I think that, you know, even during COVID I continued to work,’ the 29-year-old IMG Model told Vogue Italia on Tuesday.
‘Being able to be in Texas with my horses and my dog, having a real life, and then going back to work makes it more fulfilling.’
Hadid now knows that she is able to say “no” to jobs that aren’t with the people she loves, trusts, supports and respects.
‘Now I know that if I’m able to say “No,” even going through my [Lyme disease] treatment last year and having to say no to every job for almost a year, which I cried about,’ the Beauty guest star recalled.
‘I was emotional because you feel disposable.’
On September 18, The DC-born, Malibu-raised beauty’s mother Yolanda Hadid posted an Instagram tribute of her ‘bada** warrior’ daughter in the hospital.
‘I admire your bravery and your willingness to keep fighting for health despite the failing protocols and countless setbacks you have faced,’ the 62-year-old RHOBH alum wrote.
‘There simply aren’t words big enough for the darkness, the pain, and the unknown hell you’ve lived through since your diagnosis. You didn’t really live, you learned how to exist inside the jail of your own paralyzed brain. I am so proud of the fighter that you are. You are not alone, I promise to have your back every step of the way, no matter how long this takes.’
Hadid (born van den Herik) continued: ‘You have fought through another month of treatment and I know god is good, miracles do happen every day. I pray for your speedy recovery my love. This disease has brought us to our knees, but we always get back up. We will continue to fight for better days, together. You are a survivor… I love you so much.’
Like Hadid and her younger brother Anwar Hadid, the Dutch-born grandmother contracted the tickborne illness in 2012 but stopped sharing her personal story because she wanted to stop ‘absorbing other people’s opinions about my journey.’
Yolanda is ‘still determined to find a cure affordable for all’ eight years after writing about seeing ‘106 doctors’ and undergoing a Stem Cell transplant, Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, Chelation therapy, colon hydrotherapy, among other treatments in her book Believe Me.
Back in 2023, the Abolish ICE activist curiously declared she was ‘finally healthy’ and that she was ‘so proud’ of ‘not giving up on’ herself.
‘One thing I want to express to you all is that 1: I am okay and you do not have to worry,’ Hadid – who boasts 74.2 million social media followers – wrote at the time.
‘And 2: I wouldn’t change anything for the world. 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. 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.’
Other celebrities plagued with the condition include Justin Timberlake, Shania Twain, Justin Bieber, Avril Lavigne, Alec Baldwin, Amy Schumer, Ben Stiller, Riley Keough, Daryl Hall, Debbie Gibson, Alexis Ohanian Sr., Kelly Osbourne, Ryan Sutter, and Ramona Singer.
The half-Dutch, half-Palestinian stunner was pictured stumbling out of a party at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood on Saturday – four days after being pictured leaving marijuana dispensary The Artist Tree in Beverly Hills.
Aside from her career on camera, Hadid also keeps busy running her alcohol-free fragrance company, Ôr?bella, which she launched in 2024.