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Image Courtesy: Bella Hadid/ Instagram
Bella Hadid is opening up about the personal challenges she has faced while balancing her health and career.
In a recent interview with Vogue Italia alongside her sister Gigi Hadid, Bella spoke honestly about learning to create a healthier work-life balance and understanding when to step back. She admitted that saying no to opportunities was never easy for her.
The 29-year-old model shared that during treatment for Lyme disease, she had to turn down nearly every job for almost a year. That period was especially emotional for her because it made her feel disposable, as if she could easily be replaced.
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Image Courtesy: Bella Hadid/ Instagram
Bella Hadid's Lyme Disease Struggles
Bella has been living with Lyme disease since she was 16. The tick-borne illness causes severe joint pain, brain fog, anxiety and extreme fatigue. Her brother Anwar Hadid and mother Yolanda Hadid have also been diagnosed with the condition.
Despite the difficult year, Bella says she now feels more grounded. Spending time in Texas with her horses and her dog has helped her build what she calls a real life outside of modelling. Being able to step away and then return to work has made her career feel more meaningful and fulfilling.
Bella Hadid on Work and Health
She also reflected on how her old mindset about work was not sustainable. Through therapy, she has been learning to separate her self-worth from her professional success. For a long time, she felt she had no right to turn down a job. Now, she believes people understand who she is at her core, which allows her to choose projects that align with people she loves, trusts and respects. She says that is enough, and she is enough.
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Image Courtesy: Bella Hadid/ Instagram
Bella has been open with fans about her health journey over the years. In 2023, after completing an intense treatment program, she shared that trying to keep up with work while feeling sick and emotionally drained had taken a toll on her in ways she could not fully explain. She described how confusing it felt to struggle so deeply while also being surrounded by privilege, opportunity and love. At that time, she said she was finally feeling healthy again.
In September 2025, she once again updated followers by posting photos from a hospital bed and apologising for being absent, telling fans she loves them.
Yolanda later shared her own emotional message, praising Bella Hadid for fighting through another month of treatment and calling her a survivor and a warrior. She expressed hope for better days ahead and said the family would continue to fight the illness together.
