Gigi Hadid shared some insight into her sister Bella Hadid’s struggle with Lyme disease.
On Tuesday, the model said in an Instagram Story that her younger sibling had “just finished a long and intense treatment for Lyme disease.”
She then explained that she wanted to clarify a post from last week in which she’d shared a photo of them together during a prior Fashion Week and written in a text overlay that she was excited for her younger sister’s comeback.
That post was not meant to imply that Bella would definitely be participating in the next season of Fashion Week, Gigi explained in her latest post.
“I’m so proud of her and excited for her comeback, whenever she feels ready,” she wrote.
Bella Hadid has been open about her struggles with Lyme disease over the years.
The mother of the two models, former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Yolanda Hadid, announced in 2015 that she, Bella and her son, Anwar Hadid, had been diagnosed with the disease in 2012.
“When my two youngest children, Bella and Anwar, were diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease in early 2012, watching my babies struggle in silence in order to support me in my journey struck the deepest core of hopelessness inside of me,” the reality TV star said at the 2015 inaugural Global Lyme Alliance gala, People reported.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that “most cases of Lyme disease can be cured with a 2- to 4-week course of oral antibiotics” but adds that “patients can sometimes have symptoms of pain, fatigue, or difficulty thinking that lasts for more than 6 months after they finish treatment. This condition is called Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS).”
In March, Bella Hadid shared on TikTok that a “low-grade infection underneath” her tooth had caused a Lyme disease-related flare-up.
“The Lyme is attacking the places that are suffering ie tooth, jaw, gut, brain, spine, bones, etc oh and the entire nervous system,” she wrote in the caption of that post.
She continued, “Any minor trauma to the body whether it’s physically or mentally can cause Lyme to flare up.”