Yolanda Foster and Mohamed Hadid are setting the record straight.
In Tuesday’s episode of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Kyle Richards hosted a barbecue at her home. Yolanda, who was recovering after having her silicone breast implants removed weeks earlier, only stayed for a bit before heading home. Had she been able to stick it out, she could have corrected Lisa Vanderpump when she told Kyle and their fellow co-stars that her ex-husband, Mohamed, does not believe their children, Bella Hadid and Anwar Hadid, suffer from Lyme disease as she does. After Lisa made the revelation, she tried to change the topic, but Kyle pressed her to reveal more information. Both Yolanda and Mohamed defended their kids after the episode aired.
Mohamed, whom Lisa described as one of her “best friends,” issued a statement via Instagram. “I do not wish to make public my family’s private matters, but I would like to make it clear that I completely and unequivocally support my children and their mother. I can only imagine that my response to a question at dinner asking how my kids are doing with “fine” was misconstrued. I have too much respect for all 5 of my children to speak about them publicly in a restaurant or otherwise,” he wrote. “I will not speak further on something that should be put to rest now.”
Bella and Anwar’s stepsister, Vh1 reality star Sara Foster, was among those who liked Mohamed’s Instagram post.
Yolanda, meanwhile, shared a picture of herself with Bella receiving treatment in 2015. “Watching my brave babies stuffer in silence in order to support me in my journey has struck the deepest core of hopelessness inside of me, it is because of them that I continue to fight relentlessly,” she wrote in an Instagram caption. “I will not allow them to live a life of pain and suffering…I will prevail and walk to the end of the earth to find a cure for them and millions of others debilitated by this invisible disease!!!! We all deserve to live a healthy life, don’t you think?”
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Per usual, Yolanda continued to take the high road while reviewing the episode in her BravoTV.com blog. “Tonight’s show was disheartening,” she wrote. “Still, I am the subject of conversation amongst ‘friends.’ Looks like I got out of dodge right on time at that barbecue. The only thing I saw grilling was gossip…I have nothing to prove and know that my journey is public due to the job I’ve chosen as a Housewife, but I can’t accept something so delicate as my children’s health being talked about in such a way. I know I’m not the only mother who would speak to this…It’s one thing when your integrity is doubted, spoken of behind your back, but it strikes another cord when it’s your children.”
Bella and Anwar were diagnosed with Lyme disease in late 2013, and according to Yolanda, they “have been in extensive holistic treatment ever since. It’s very common for multiple family members to be affected by Lyme disease. The children and I lived on a horse ranch in Santa Barbara for 10 years and spent the majority of our time outside in nature.” After their diagnoses, Bella “had to give up her lifelong dream of having a professional riding career and a shot at the Olympics due to her severe symptoms and inability to ride,” Yolanda wrote. “This was the biggest heartbreak of her life and an extremely sensitive subject for her. She is resilient and focused on a new direction–she’s made a name for herself in the modeling industry while she struggles with symptoms of chronic Lyme every day.”
Anwar, meanwhile, “still does regular Ozone/UVI treatments and has had great success with LDI,” Yolanda wrote. “I am glad to say that he is doing much better and finished a football season with great scores and healthy energy.”
Bella and Anwar see the same doctor and “have made good progress this past year.”
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“With Mohamed’s support, I have managed my children’s healthcare on a daily basis since the day they were born. It is up to no one but us to make claims toward their health status,” Yolanda blogged. “Shame on those who think it’s OK to spread rumors and provoke doubt about something so heart wrenching.”
Yolanda defended her fellow Housewives, too, writing, “They haven’t walked this path or my journey, so I won’t judge them…”
“Every day we have a choice—the old saying of a glass half empty or half full…I can sit here and speak to my fellow Housewives who spend so much energy questioning my journey and each other, or I can look at my children, my friends, my family, and the endless blessings that surround me,” Yolanda wrote. “My life is raw, authentic, and focused on giving back to the journey God has given me; I want to leave this earth a better place with answers and education on Lyme and invisible chronic disease.”
(E! and Bravo are both members of the NBCUniversal family.)
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