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Gigi Hadid on Watching Yolanda Hadid and Siblings Battle Lyme Disease: "I Felt a Lot of Guilt"
The RHOBH alum's model daughter does have Hashimoto’s disease and details that struggle.
Last month, Yolanda Hadid revealed she had suffered a relapse in her ongoing battle with Lyme disease. And now, her supermodel daughter, Gigi Hadid, is opening up more about watching her mom, as well as siblings Bella Hadid and Anwar Hadid, struggle with the disease over the years in light of the fact that she doesn't have it herself.
"Growing up, having three of my family members sick made me very independent. My mom couldn’t drive or get out of bed some days, so I took my brother to school with me, or I made lunch," Gigi told Elle about growing up with The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum. "But I also felt a lot of guilt for being the one person in the family who didn’t understand what they were going through. It’s hard when your whole family is in pain and you don’t know what to do."
(Above, Yolanda and Bella discuss how Lyme disease has affected their lives.)
While Gigi does not have Lyme disease, she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease several years back, which she tells Elle "means you have an underactive thyroid. Most people get Hashimoto’s when they are middle-aged. I got it very early. In high school, I had a lot of water retention. Even after extra workouts, I had bloat that wouldn’t go away. And I was always tired. That was tough."
She then explained how her mom's own knowledge of more holistic approaches has helped her manage the symptoms. "It’s about learning about your body. As a 17- and 18-year-old, I was prescribed a medication that many people start taking when they are 50, and it can lead to bad things if you take it for too long. So my mom looked into some holistic treatments. Also, in California, I went to see a doctor for CBD treatments," she said. "You can make a life for yourself in ways that won’t hurt your body."
When Yolanda's longtime pal, Erika Girardi, recently appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, she offered an update on the former model's health these days, noting that she is "struggling" (clip below) with it.
Still, Yolanda appears to be out there soaking up life — and, as she recently shared, feeling "freedom like I’ve never felt before."
