Oh Yolanda Hadid, aren’t positive thoughts part of your Mind, Body, and Spirit wellness plan to defeat Lyme disease? I guess not where tell-all memoirs are concerned! In a preview for her new memoir, Believe Me: My Battle with the Invisible Disability of Lyme Disease, Yolanda calls out all the haters and skeptics who doubted her illness – most notably her ex-husband David Foster and her former Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills castmates by telling her story at 100% brain functioning.
Yolanda reveals how she truly believed Lyme Disease would kill her after “too many nights I found myself lying naked on the bathroom floor, the only relief being the cold tiles on my bare skin, wondering how much more pain I could take and how many more days, months, and years I could suffer.” And even worse, David wasn’t the supportive husband she pretended he was.
Recounting how her desperation for relief was so great, Yolanda was compelled to travel the world for alternative cures and begged doctors to take her debilitating condition seriously, she recounts how the illness affected her relationships. And she also puts first ex-husband Mohamed Hadid on blast.
Of marrying Mohamed and divorcing after 6 years of marriage, Yolanda writes: “He’s a good human being and provider for his children… But unfortunately for me, he’s not a faithful husband.”
Yolanda describes Mohamed’s infidelity as “a big blow to my ego;” explaining, “I thought I was a pretty good catch: financially independent…and loving my home life and roles as wife and mother.”
Following her divorce, Yolanda apparently had no desire to marry again, instead devoting her time to horseback riding and motherhood. Then enter David – the man she extolled as “My KING.” Apparently that miraculous amazing love was all a farce for reality TV!
According to Yolanda when she met David he was a disaster. She describes him as a “diamond in the rough” who “needed polishing” and recounts how she reformed his life – then he ditched her when the going got rough! “I put him on a healthy diet, helped him lose twenty-five pounds, redid his wardrobe, and never missed one of his doctors’ appointments.”
RELATED – Did David Doubt Yolanda’s Lyme Disease?
Yolanda first noticed her “debilitating brain fog” while she and David were building their Malibu home (featured on RHOBH). She initially blamed stress, and recalled, “My migraines become much more severe, lasting three to four days…I experienced severe hair loss but I fixed that with hair extensions.” Yolanda initially thought Botox injections were the culprit, which is why, of course, she was perfect for Real Housewives. HA. Beauty over brain functioning, right?! (I kid).
Of course, it wasn’t stress, or Botox – it was Lyme. Yolanda was finally diagnosed in 2012 by a Belgian doctor shortly after she and David tied the knot. Forget about in sickness and in health, though. Despite all her devotion to My King, he eventually informed Yolanda, “Your sick card is up.”
Before all that, Yolanda and David struggled together to diagnose and treat her illness. Yolanda realized something was really wrong when she started experiencing body cramps, insomnia, anxiety, exhaustion, and like like something was “eating my brain.”
Things got so bad, Yolanda pressed pause on plans to launch a Dutch reality show and planning her wedding after a visit David’s internist blamed her over-active lifestyle and stress. She next saw a neurologist who prescribed Adderall, which is traditionally used to treat ADD, and anti-depressants.
Things initially improved, and she managed to get through her wedding, but afterwards things spiraled again. Yolanda describes that year as, “a roller coaster of good and bad days.” It became difficult for her to leave the house, socialize, and keep up with her children’s lives. That was also the year her daughter Bella began experiencing similar symptoms and Yolanda realized something was seriously wrong.
Determined, Yolanda forged through her worsening health for her children and her king, and her candle, flower, and greeting card business. HUH?! Which is why when RHOBH came a’knockin on her Malibu door, Yolanda rallied for the opportunity. David encouraged her to do the show and approach it from a business perspective as a way for her to “remain financially independent” and build her brand. Her first sign there may be trouble in paradise!
Without bothering to watch previous seasons, and despite the fact that her children “weren’t thrilled at the idea of having cameras in the home,” and she was constantly ill, Yolanda decided to accept Bravo’s offer. “I’m stunned when I learn how argumentative they are and feel as if I’ve been thrown into the shark tank and forced to swim,” Yolanda reported of that first season.
As filming began for RHOBH, her symptoms worsened intolerably. She became more serious about getting a real diagnosis and fighting for a cure. David, she reports, was rarely by her side – often abandoning her alone at international doctor’s appointments as he focused on his own career. Well one doesn’t become an EGOT sitting on their piano bench, but not tickling the keys!
Doctors continually puzzled to find an answer – diagnosing everything from Mono to Chronic Fatigue Symptom. Yolanda says David didn’t understand why she couldn’t accept the CFS diagnosis, and began to withdraw.
She was vindicated by finally receiving the Chronic Lyme diagnosis. After undergoing 90 days of antibiotics, Yolanda eagerly anticipated resuming life as Gigi launched her modeling career.
Yolanda always knew, despite an interest in criminology, that Gigi would be a model. “Gigi was the one who really liked the many photo shoots that Yolanda set up for the children,” reports The Daily Mail. “Obsessively dressing and styling them to photograph on different locations.” So Yo was a momager before that was even a thing?
Unfortunately despite the aggressive treatment Yolanda’s symptoms returned. She then visited Susanne Somers’ doctor for another hopeful cure based around colonics. “I can tell you that as much as I hate having a tube up my a**, I’m pretty sure that these colonics are one of my lifesavers,” Yolanda shared. At this time Bella and Anwar were also diagnosed with Lyme by the same Belgian doctor and began their treatments. And poor Gigi was alone on an island.
Dealing with her health also made RHOBH more challenging. Despite her castmates becoming annoyed with her increasingly erratic and complicated schedule due to illness, Yolanda decided to do another season, she claims, for the money. “Without cameras rolling, I clearly feel the lack of compassion of this group of women — although it may seem more glamorous and interesting, is no different from a job at a bank.” Because of this she was hesitant to share personal issues – including her marital troubles – for fear they would use it against her on the show.
And Yolanda and David were having major issues! One such incident happened when she flew to NYC during their anniversary because Gigi was ill. David responded by giving her the silent treatment for two days. In fact while she was still there, David also traveled to NYC for work yet ignored her. Without resolving that issue, David agreed to travel to Switzerland so she could receive a treatment that involved wrapping her head in foil and having a thermometer constantly up her butt while an IV was in her arm. Romantico! Unsurprisingly David opted not join her for a trip to Bali for another unconventional therapy which included doing mushrooms and riding elephants. I need to get this sick. Yolanda accuses David of not answering calls and texts while she was in Indonesia fighting for her life among the elephants.
Nor did David participate when she traveled to Tijuana for controversial stem cell therapy. Instead Yolanda desperately re-signed a contract for her third season of RHOBH predicting that with her marriage in trouble she would need the income to continued treatments. Added to the stress of her marriage and health, Yolanda was also dealing with Bella’s DUI, an effect of Lyme. Bella, thankfully, got her act together thanks to Yolanda’s strict parenting (better late than never!) and embarked upon a modeling career of her own.
Meanwhile, a terribly ill Yolanda worked with holistic practitioners in Australia, California, and Mexico, a shaman in Peru, and undergoing explant surgery and much more. She also made the decision to do her fourth and final season of RHOBH, even though she knew her “marriage was slipping” and she didn’t have the energy to participate in Housewives drama. Right away she recognized that it was a mistake. The only good thing about doing the show was Bravo filming her medical procedures to bring awareness. Instead of her castmates being supportive they were more scornful than ever.
“I am starting to feel the very toxic energy that has entered my atmosphere, mainly from being on the Housewives and probably my children’s visibility in the world,” Yolanda’s memoir relayed. She recalls Kyle Richards’ anger at her for not fully participating. “‘I kind of expected the women to have my back while filming in the same way I’ve protected them throughout difficult times in their personal lives on the show,” Yolanda griped. “I have a lot of factual information in the vault that could discredit them and their lives, but I’ve chosen to work with integrity and point out their strengths instead of their weaknesses.'” That vault again!
RELATED – Was Yolanda Fired From RHOBH Over Lyme?
Apparently David wasn’t scared of what Yolanda had in the vault either – during filming he moved out of their home and into a hotel with some harsh words Yolanda says she doesn’t care to repeat (but won’t ever forget! Brain fog be damned!). Instead of discussing how to mend their marriage, she received an official separation notice from his attorney.
And after being accused of Munchhausen and faking Lyme for attention or to hide her marital issues, Yolanda realized it was also time to call it quits on Housewives. She decided, instead, to focus on helping Bella and Anwar get well and writing her memoir to encourage others battling chronic illness not to give up. She’s now in remission.
Book quotes provided by The Daily Mail.
TELL US – WAS DAVID A JERK TO YOLANDA?
[Photo Credit: Instgram]
