Many celebrities have spoken out about their Lyme disease diagnoses over the years, and because the disease is easy to misdiagnose, many had to fight to be believed.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Lyme disease is transmitted by ticks and caused by four species of bacteria in the United States, Europe and Asia. In fact, it’s the most common tick-borne illness in those regions. Early symptoms include a rash in a bulls-eye pattern, fever, chills, fatigue, body aches, headache, neck stiffness and swollen lymph nodes. If the disease goes untreated, symptoms expand to severe joint pain and neurological problems such as meningitis and Bell’s palsy.
Danielle Jonas, Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake and more are among the stars who have been diagnosed with the illness. Scroll down to see what they’ve said about their Lyme disease battles:
Danielle Jonas
Kevin Jonas’ wife, Danielle Jonas, revealed her diagnosis in an October 2025 interview with Parents.
“They tried to tell me it was anxiety. Finally, I had a biopsy that showed I actually had Lyme disease,” she said. “I also had eczema on my scalp, which was likely from the inflammation [caused by Lyme disease]. The hair loss was very traumatic. I got to a point where I wanted to wear a wig.”
Danielle shared that she has since gotten her Lyme disease under control. Though she still experiences symptoms, they are more manageable.
Justin Timberlake
The singer revealed in July 2025 that he was diagnosed with Lyme disease during his Forget Tomorrow World Tour.
“I’ve been battling some health issues, and was diagnosed with Lyme disease — which I don’t say so you feel bad for me –– but to shed some light on what I’ve been up against behind the scenes,” he wrote via Instagram. “If you’ve experienced this disease or know someone who has — then you’re aware: living with this can be relentlessly debilitating, both mentally and physically. When I first got the diagnosis I was shocked for sure. But, at least I could understand why I would be onstage and in a massive amount of nerve pain or, just feeling crazy fatigue or sickness.”
Timberlake ultimately decided to continue his tour and performed while battling the condition.
Alexis Ohanian
The Reddit cofounder, who is married to tennis star Serena Williams, confirmed his diagnosis in July 2024.
“Doing a full battery of health scans, tests, etc, and found out I have Lyme disease. Wild,” he wrote via X. “No symptoms, thankfully, but gonna treat. Good cholesterol is too low. Bad cholesterol is just OK. Gotta work on that. On the plus side: 822 ng/dL total + 162 ng/dL free testosterone.”
Fletcher
In September 2023, the singer revealed that she was diagnosed with Lyme disease and ultimately postponed her tour due to her condition. “Lyme has affected me in a variety of ways and while it has not only taken a tremendous toll on my physical body, it has also caused concern for my voice as well,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “This has worn on my soul in a way that’s hard to even put words to as singing is the thing I love most in this world and my voice is my vessel for expression.”
Riley Keough
“I have Lyme disease, and the sickest I’ve ever been was probably the year we filmed Daisy Jones,” the actress — who is the daughter of Danny Keough and the late Lisa Marie Presley — told The Wrap in her June 2023 cover story of starring on Daisy Jones & the Six. “I was feeling totally overwhelmed. [The disease] makes basic things like getting out of bed and going on a walk challenging.”
Kelley Flanagan
The Bachelor alum revealed her Lyme disease diagnosis in August 2021. “I’m not having the best day today,” she said in an emotional Instagram video. “I’m pretty honest with you guys about what’s going in my life. … I just got the results back and I tested positive for Lyme. … It’s not the end of the world, but it’s definitely gonna be a lot of changes, and I guess I’m just gonna incorporate you guys in it.”
The attorney noted that she had also been diagnosed with “several other co-infections” at the same time. “It’s a blessing and a curse because now I can target why I feel off so often but also means several different lifestyle changes and extensive research on how to help/hopefully cure this,” she wrote. “I know this is going to be tough for me seeing what my brothers [who have Lyme] have gone through mentally and physically but I’m going to put so much of my time and energy into figuring this out and combatting this. Love all of you and let’s take on this new journey.”
Kelly Dodd and Rick Leventhal
The Real Housewives of Orange County star announced that she and her husband, Rick Leventhal, tested positive for Lyme disease in June 2021.
“I’ve never had contact with a tick in my life,” Dodd explained to her husband in a video posted to her Instagram Stories at the time.
The Fox News reporter revealed he had previously battled the tick-borne illness twice and has found that pills have helped him overcome it.
Ryan Sutter
The Bachelorette season 1 winner revealed that Lyme disease was a major cause of his previously unidentified health issues during a May 2021 episode of wife Trista Sutter’s “Better Etc.” podcast. “I tested positive for Lyme disease. … It seems like something that I will always have. Now I know, and I can build back my immune system to fight it off,” he said. Prior to his diagnosis, Trista had shared via Instagram in November 2020 that her husband was suffering from mysterious symptoms. After learning Ryan did not have cancer, they continued searching for a diagnosis so they could “fight for him to be cured instead of fighting for an answer.”
Amy Schumer
In September 2020, the Inside Amy Schumer alum asked her Instagram followers for advice after receiving her Lyme disease diagnosis. “Anyone get LYME this summer? I got hit and I’m on doxycycline. 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,” she captioned a childhood photo. “Please comment or text me on my number in my bio. I also want to say that I feel good and am excited to get rid of it.”
Shania Twain
The “Forever and for Always” singer contracted the tick-borne illness in 2003, which contributed to her dysphonia, a disorder of the vocal cords. As a result, Twain underwent multiple open-throat surgeries after she lost her voice for several years. “It was devastating,” Twain said in an interview on Sunday Today with Willie Geist in March 2020. “I was very, very sad about it to the point where I just — I felt I had no other choice but to accept it — and that I would never sing again.”
Ramona Singer
The Real Housewives of New York City star announced her Lyme disease diagnosis in March 2020.
Justin Bieber
The singer revealed via Instagram in January 2020 he was recently diagnosed with the condition. “It’s been a rough couple years but getting the right treatment that will help treat this so far incurable disease and I will be back and better than ever,” he wrote.
Kelly Osbourne
The British reality star opened up about her diagnosis with stage III neurological Lyme disease in her April 2017 memoir, There Is No F–king Secret: Letters From a Badass Bitch. “I was relieved to finally know what was going on, but I was also scared s–tless,” she wrote.
Yolanda, Bella and Anwar Hadid
Yolanda, an alum of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, found out she had the disease in 2012. And she said in a speech at the Global Lyme Alliance Gala in October 2015 that her children Bella and Anwar had also been diagnosed with Lyme around the same time.
Avril Lavigne
The pop-punk singer got candid about her diagnosis in an April 2015 appearance on Good Morning America. “I went from doctor to doctor for about eight months until I found somebody that had the knowledge of Lyme disease and the experience of treating it,” she recounted.
Amber Marchese
The Real Housewives of New Jersey alum was diagnosed with the disease in June 2016 after a friend told her to get checked out. “She shared with me her struggles with Lyme disease, and we shared many of the same symptoms,” she told Entertainment Tonight.
Debbie Gibson
The ’80s pop singer revealed her Lyme disease diagnosis in April 2014 after enduring harsh criticism about her appearance. “NEVER JUDGE… ANYONE!” she wrote in a blog post at the time. “You never know what someone is going through.”
Jamie-Lynn Sigler
The Sopranos alum disclosed in January 2016 that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 15 years prior and Lyme disease the year before that.
Daryl Hall
The Hall & Oates singer detailed his experience with the disease in a July 2016 HuffPost interview, saying he went to “probably about three” doctors who all missed the Lyme diagnosis.
Ben Stiller
“I got it in Nantucket, Massachusetts, a couple of years ago,” the Zoolander star told The Hollywood Reporter in 2011. “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 Lyme doesn’t ever leave your system. It’s a really tough thing.”
Ally Hilfiger
The Rich Girls alum wrote a memoir about her battle with the debilitating symptoms, 2016’s Bite Me: How Lyme Disease Stole My Childhood, Made Me Crazy, and Almost Killed Me. That May, she told Health magazine about her surprising reaction to her diagnosis. “It kind of felt like I won the lottery,” she said. “Which is so interesting! I finally felt validated for everything that my body was telling me.”
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