It’s difficult living with Lyme disease, but many of us find comfort in the stories of others, including some of our favorite celebrities who have a Lyme journey of their own.

Here are 14 known celebrities and celebrity couples who have battled or are currently battling Lyme Disease:

In June 2021, the Real Housewives of Orange County star revealed the couple’s diagnosis on her Instagram Story. “So, we tested positive for Lyme disease,” Dodd said while filming Leventhal sitting across the table from her. She went on to say that this is her first bout with the disease. “I’ve never had contact with a tick in my life,” she said.

Leventhal, however, told Dodd he’s had Lyme disease twice in the past.

He then took an antibiotic pill, adding that the medicine cured his other bouts with Lyme and stressing that he hopes it will work again.

Dodd didn’t say where she and Leventhal suspected they contracted Lyme.

After battling a “mystery” illness for months during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sutter announced in May 2021 that he had Lyme disease, worsened by mold exposure. Sutter explained that after going through a litany of testing and blood work over the last year, doctors determined that his body is susceptible to taking in mold toxins, which he is frequently exposed to as a firefighter.

“It seems to be that what happened is that my immune system was weakened through exposures to toxins and especially to mold,” he said on wife Trista Sutter’s podcast, Better Etc. “There are other people in the fire academy that probably had the same exposures who aren’t dealing with these exposures because their genetics are stronger, they’re able to get rid of the toxins easier.”

He also tested positive for COVID-19 and Epstein-Barr virus, a common illness that causes mononucleosis. “It’s been hard,” Trista said. “It’s a really difficult thing to see the person you love most in the world struggling. And he’s a big, strong guy, and oof – to see him get emotional and feel hopeless, in that all I could really do is advocate for him, so that’s what I did.”

The actress and comedian opened up about her diagnosis in a September 2020 Instagram post featuring a throwback photo with her “first-ever fishing pole”. “Anyone get LYME this summer? I got it and I’m on doxycycline,” she wrote. “I have maybe had it for years. Any advice? Can you have a glass of wine or 2 on it?”

“I know to stay out of the sun. I’m also taking these herbs from cape cod called lyme-2,” Schumer continued, asking followers to comment with their own experience with the tick-borne disease. “I also want to say that I feel good and am excited to get rid of it.”

The Real Housewives of New York City star was diagnosed with Lyme disease in March 2020. The diagnosis came after Singer started feeling sick around Valentine’s Day, according to E! News.

The reality star believes that she contracted the tick-borne illness while in the Hamptons. She was diagnosed early and told E! that she is “very lucky and very blessed.”

The superstar revealed in January 2020 that a July 2019 photo of him that sparked Internet speculation about his health (above) was taken at the height of his battle with Lyme.

“While a lot of people kept saying Justin Bieber looks like s***, on meth etc. they failed to realize I’ve been recently diagnosed with Lyme disease,” he wrote on Instagram. “It’s been a rough couple of years but getting the right treatment that will help treat this so far incurable disease and I will be back and better than ever.”

In her 2015 PEOPLE cover story, the singer revealed she had been battling Lyme disease for a year. “I had no idea a bug bite could do this,” said Lavigne, who believes she was bit by a tick in 2014. “I was bedridden for five months.”

In a 2019 PEOPLE story, Lavigne – whose foundation is working with various Lyme disease organizations to raise money and awareness for the cause – said she was feeling well.

“It gave me a purpose,” she added of her journey, “and made me find myself all over again.”

“When you go through something like that, you realize 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.”

As a legend in the country music world, Twain kept vocal struggles under the radar so as to not worry her fans. Her singing voice – which she’s had to regain and retune from the damaging effects of dysphonia, the result of Lyme disease – is improving. “I was very scared for a little while that I wouldn’t sing again, ever,” she told PEOPLE. “I went through that moment, but I found a way. I found a way to do it.”

Using her voice to sing now, requires lengthy warmups and physical therapy that’s “very, very difficult.” she says.

While Gibson finally achieved her dream of competing on season 25 of Dancing with the Stars, the singer admitted her Lyme Disease made the experience a challenging one. “I can’t be cavalier with my body,” she told PEOPLE. “I can’t just push myself without thinking what happens next. [Lyme Disease] can affect my stamina.”

But there’s a silver lining: after fighting the disease for four years, Gibson knows her physical strengths and weaknesses. “I’ve always been in tune with my body,” she said. “But the last few years have helped me learn where I can push my limits. I’m going to choose to think of that as an advantage!”

The former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star has spoken out about her diagnosis onstage, on social media, and in her 2017 book, Believe Me: My Battle with the Invisible Disability of Lyme Disease.

“This disease has brought me and many others to our knees, often wishing to die of utter hopelessness and exhaustion. Like I always say, you don’t get it until you get it,” she said at the Global Lyme Alliance Gala in 2016. “It’s hard for people to understand the invisible disability that owns our life especially behind the beautiful face that shines so bright on the covers of magazines.”

Yolanda Hadid’s kids; models Anwar and Bella, also suffer from the “invisible illness.” In her speech at the 2016 Global Lyme Alliance, Bella explained how her passion for horseback riding – and many aspects of her life – have been hindered because of her Lyme battle.

“It was the dream of my life and what I did every single day until I just stopped and realized I didn’t have the brainpower to ride horses anymore, so that was the end of that,” Bella explained. “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 socialize 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.”

“I was convinced that bugs were crawling in my body. I could feel them eating at my organs, my stomach and especially my brain,” Hilfiger wrote in her new book, Bite Me: How Lyme Disease Stole My Childhood, Made Me Crazy, and Almost Killed Me, speaking of first being diagnosed with Lyme disease after being bitten by a tick in 1992 at 7 years old.

“I wasn’t me anymore. I was a weakly projected image of myself on a wall, crying out for someone to help me and figure out what was wrong.”
————————————————————————————————-

It’s hard to believe that even with so many celebrities sharing their experience with Lyme disease, people still don’t believe it is real. We are so grateful for celebrities who continue to spread Lyme awareness and help to educate!

Source: https://people.com/health/celebs-who-have-lyme-disease/