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Privacy NoticeCoronation Street’s Chesney and Gemma Brown are in for a shock when they finally get to the bottom of their son Joseph’s mysterious illness and he is diagnosed with Lyme disease, contracted from a tick bite whilst camping. A bacterial infection that is caused by the bite of an infected tick and presents with rash and flu like symptoms, Lyme disease has remained in the medical spotlight in recent years as numerous celebrities have come forward and opened up about their diagnosis stories and ongoing battles. Here OK! look at 10 celebrities who’ve been affected by Lyme disease and have spoken out about their experiences. Bella Hadid
Thankfully the model is now Healthy
(Image: Getty)
Runway Model Bella Hadid went public with her diagnosis in 2016, telling the Evening Standard: “It was a dark time … I was exhausted all the time. It affected my memory so I suddenly wouldn’t remember how to drive to Santa Monica from Malibu where I lived. I couldn’t ride [horses]. I was just too sick. And I had to sell my horse because I couldn’t take care of it.” Explaining how her passion for horseback riding among other aspects of her life had become challenging due to the disease, the reality star opened up about her experiences in her speech at the 2016 Global Lyme Alliance. “I know what it feels like to not want to get out of bed from bone pains and exhaustion and days on end of not wanting to socialise or be around people because the anxiety and brain fog just isn’t worth it. After years of this, you begin to get used to living with the sickness, instead of getting cured and moving on with your life.” Thankfully in 2023 the model announced she was ‘finally healthy’ after a 15 year long battle.
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Amy Schumer
Amy penned a light hearted post about the disease back in 2020
(Image: Getty Images)
Comedian and actress Amy Schumer shared her Lyme disease diagnosis on Instagram with a light hearted post back in 2020, admitting she may have had it ‘for years’. “Anyone get LYME this summer? I got it and I’m on doxycycline,” the star posted to her millions of followers accompanied by a throwback photo of her with her first ever fishing pole. “I have maybe had it for years. Any advice? Can you have a glass of wine or 2 on it?” she wrote. “I know to stay out of the sun. I’m also taking these herbs from cape cod called lyme-2.” She went on to ask followers to comment with their own experience with the tick-borne disease, before adding: “I also want to say that I feel good and am excited to get rid of it.” Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne spent five months in bed following her diagnosis
(Image: 2022 NBCUniversal Media, LLC)
The singer revealed her ongoing battle with Lyme disease in her 2015 People cover story, sharing that she had been suffering with it for a year. “I had no idea a bug bite could do this,” she admitted. “I was bedridden for five months.” In 2018 Lavigne released her album Head Above Water, which was inspired by her battle with the disease. “When you go through something like that, you realise how fulfilling simple things are – things I could do anymore, like being able to get up in the morning and go to the kitchen and grab a cup of coffee,” she added. “It taught me patience; it taught me being more present. That was a beautiful lesson.” Kelly Osbourne
Kelly waited a decade for her diagnosis
(Image: Getty Images)
Reality star and talk show host Kelly Osbourne was bitten by a tick at dad Ozzy’s outdoor birthday party back in 2004. It was a decade before Kelly received an official diagnosis after years of struggling with symptoms such as seizures, a sore throat and abdominal pain. In her 2016 memoir, she wrote: “I’ve learned to advocate for myself when it comes to my health, and I trust my intuition.” Justin Bieber
Wife Hailey took to twitter to defend him
(Image: Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
Justin shared on Instagram that he had been battling the disease back in January 2020 after worrying photos were released leading fans to speculate about his health. Promising followers that he would speak about his diagnosis with Lyme in his Youtube documentary series, his wife Hailey Bieber took to Twitter to support him. “For those who are trying to downplay the severity of Lyme disease, please do your research and listen to the stories of people who have suffered with it for years. Making fun of and belittling a disease you don’t understand is never the way, all it takes is educating yourself,” she penned. Ben Stiller
Thankfully Ben is now symptom free
Ben was diagnosed in 2010 and told The Hollywood Reporter: “I got it in Nantucket, Mass., a couple of years ago. My knee became inflamed and they couldn’t figure out what it was, then they found out it was Lyme.” “I’m symptom-free now, but … it’s a really tough thing,” he added. Riley Keough
Actress Riley opens up about starting a family whilst suffering with Lyme disease
(Image: Getty Images)
Actress Riley revealed she had Lyme in her 2023 Vanity Fair cover story, describing her day to day battles with the disease and sharing how it led her to choosing surrogacy when starting a family with husband Ben. “I can carry children,” explained daughter of Lisa Marie Presley. “But it felt like the best choice for what I had going on physically with the autoimmune stuff.” Alec Baldwin
Alec feared he was ‘going to die’
(Image: Getty)
Speaking with People about his personal experience with Lyme disease, the actor said he was bitten by a Tick “more than 20 years ago” and that for “five summers after” he was “bedridden with sweats and high fever”. The SNL star admitted: “I really thought this is it, I’m not going to live. I was alone, I wasn’t married at the time, I was divorced from my first wife. I was lying in bed saying, ‘I’m going to die of Lyme disease’ in my bed and ‘I hope someone finds me and I’m not here for too long.’” Shania Twain
It took doctors seven years to diagnose Shania
(Image: ITV)
Country music star Shania opened up about her early 2000s Lyme diagnosis in her Netflix documentary Not Just A Girl, sharing how the disease actually impacted her vocals and ability to sing. “My symptoms were quite scary, because before I was diagnosed, I was on stage very dizzy, I was losing my balance, I was afraid I was going to fall off the stage. I was having these very, very millisecond blackouts, but regularly — every minute or every 30 seconds,” said Shania, who was bitten by an infected tick whilst horseback riding. During a 2020 Interview on ITV’s Loose Women, the singer told viewers how doctors had taken seven years to realise her symptoms were caused by Lyme disease. Yolanda Hadid
Yolanda wrote a memoir about her battle
(Image: Joe Pugliese/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
The Real Housewives of Beverley Hills star Yolanda admitted to struggling behind the scenes with Lyme disease after being diagnosed in 2015, not long before daughter Bella. Since then Yolanda has publicly advocated on behalf of others struggling as well as writing her memoir titled Believe Me: My Battle with the Invisible Disability of Lyme disease.Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnCoronation StreetHealthBella HadidAmy SchumerAvril LavigneKelly OsbourneJustin BieberBen StillerAlec BaldwinLoose WomenNetflixReal HousewivesDocumentary
