Bella Hadid Says 'Still Nothing Helping' in Raw Lyme Disease Update

Bella Hadid has given her followers an unflinching look at life during a Lyme disease flare-up, posting a series of emotional Instagram Stories in which she described being unable to shake debilitating fatigue, brain fog and pain — and celebrated not fainting in the shower as a personal victory.

The 29-year-old supermodel shared the candid updates on Thursday 25 June, accompanied by a tearful selfie, telling her followers she had slept 11 hours and still felt no relief.

Despite the raw honesty of the post, Hadid managed to find some wry humour in her situation, noting that she had taken a shower without fainting — and suggested someone might want to send her a cookie in recognition of the achievement. It was a moment of levity that will resonate deeply with anyone who has experienced chronic illness and the strange calculus of small wins on difficult days.

In the same run of Stories, Hadid painted a stark picture of how severely the flare-up had affected her physically, writing that she was "out of breath walking to the kitchen" and that she didn't think there was "a singular brain cell in there working." She also described waking up with anxiety already present in her body, and physical pain before her feet had even touched the floor — a relentless cycle she said made it extraordinarily difficult to move through the day.

Hadid has spoken before about how hard it is to articulate the experience of chronic illness to those who haven't lived it. In a May 2025 interview with Vogue, she reflected on the emotional toll of the condition, saying she has many days where she feels down on herself for being "so sensitive," adding: "I think nobody really understands chronic illness."

She was first diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2012, alongside her mother Yolanda and her brother Anwar. The condition, caused by bacteria transmitted through infected tick bites, can produce a wide range of symptoms including severe joint and muscle pain, fatigue, and cognitive difficulties such as memory lapses and brain fog. Other well-known figures who have spoken publicly about living with Lyme disease include Shania Twain, Justin Bieber and comedian Miranda Hart.

The following day, Hadid returned to Instagram to apologise to followers who had been worried by her posts — while being clear that the vulnerability they had seen was simply her everyday reality.

She also offered words of encouragement to others navigating similar struggles, writing that "there is light, even if you can't see it today" and that healing is not linear. She described believing there is a deeper purpose to the challenges life presents, even when that purpose isn't immediately clear.

It is not the first time Hadid has spoken with such openness about her health. In August 2023 she announced she was "finally healthy" after more than 100 days of intensive treatment, describing what had come before as "15 years of invisible suffering." The latest flare-up is a reminder of how unpredictable and punishing chronic Lyme disease can be — and of how important it is for those who live with it to feel seen.

For the many celebrities and public figures who have chosen to speak openly about long-term health conditions in recent years, Hadid's posts stand out for their lack of polish. There are no carefully worded statements, no publicist-approved messaging — just a young woman in a Star Wars poncho, crying into her phone, trying to find the strength to get through another difficult day.