Bella Hadid reflects on Hollywood pressures during Lyme battle

After a year-long hiatus, Bella Hadid is officially back in the spotlight.

The supermodel recently opened up about the gruelling mental and physical toll of her Lyme disease treatment, sharing on Instagram that the severity of her condition forced her to decline every job opportunity for nearly a year. Now in recovery, she expressed deep gratitude for her return to the industry.

“I was emotional because you feel disposable,” the 29-year-old told her sister Gigi Hadid in an interview, noting she learned to be content with focusing on her health.

Bella was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2013 at 16 years old.

“How good I am doesn’t have to do with the jobs that I say yes to. For so long, saying no to a job was, like, who was I to say no to anything?”

Bella added, “I had to kind of release it and be like, ‘I think people know my heart and my personality and who I am enough now that I can release that and really do the jobs that are with and for the people that I love and trust and support and respect.”

Also read: Robert Downey Jr. is ‘godparent’ of Disney Adventure cruise ship

In addition to overcoming the insecurities sparked by her decade-long battle with Lyme disease, Bella credited her sister Gigi with teaching her the vital importance of setting professional and personal boundaries.

“It’s so important, not only advocating for yourself, but for your friends and people around you because that, for me, is such a huge part of the excitement and the energy that a work day brings to me, is being able to watch my friends be inspired.”

Hadid’s shift to a healthier work-life balance hasn’t just brought her peace; it has also unlocked exciting new professional chapters, including her acting debut in Ryan Murphy’s latest series, “The Beauty”.

“He made me go really outside of my comfort zone which made me have to release that control again,” she explained. “The control to look good or to do things perfectly.”

In addition, Hadid was able to harness her history of physical and emotional hardship to bring a deeper, more authentic resonance to her character’s journey.

“I was able to really manifest that in my body and put it into the art and to the work,” Bella shared. “That, for me, was really fulfilling to be able to express myself in that way.”