Gigi Hadid Explains What People Don't Understand About Losing Weight Due to Illness

If you’ve ever lost weight due to illness, you might have experienced the disconnect between preferring your “old” body, while dealing with comments from people who assume you’re “trying” to lose weight. Gigi Hadid recently revealed that despite being a supermodel, she’s also encountered these challenges after losing weight due to her own chronic illness.

In a conversation with Blake Lively published in Harper’s Bazaar Wednesday, Hadid explained that people are quick to say they “used to love Gigi’s body, and now she just gave in,” because she has lost some weight since she first began modeling, and these comments “can still hurt.” But as Hadid said, she’s not skinny because she “gave in to the industry” — her chronic autoimmune illness, Hashimoto’s disease, is actually what led to the changes in her body.

“When I had a more athletic figure, I was proud of my body because I was an amazing volleyball player and horseback rider. But after discovering that I have Hashimoto’s [an autoimmune disease], I needed to eat healthy and work out,” Hadid said. “It was weird as a teenager, dealing with this when all of my friends could eat McDonald’s and it wouldn’t affect them.”

She said she actually would rather have her more athletic body she used to have, though she appreciates her body now, too.

“If I could choose, I would have my ass back and I would have the tits I had a few years ago. But, honestly, we can’t look back with regret. I loved my body then, and I love my body now,” she said. “Whoever is reading this, I want you to realize that three years from now you will look back at a picture from this time period and be like: ‘Wow, I was so hot. Why did I feel so bad about myself because of some stupid thing someone said?’”

Hadid revealed in December 2016 that she has Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disease which causes inflammation of the thyroid. She spoke out against body-shamers earlier this year with a series of tweets explaining that after she was diagnosed, medication and a “holistic medical trial” changed her body.

“I may be ‘too skinny’ for u, honestly this skinny isn’t what I want to be, but I feel healthier internally and am still learning and growing with my body everyday, as everyone is,” she said. “I will not further explain the way my body looks, just as anyone, with a body type that doesnt suit ur ‘beauty’ expectation, shouldnt have to.”