Bake Off winner reveals shock health diagnosis after two years of hospital stays

NADIYA Hussain has revealed a shock health diagnosis after two years in and out of hospital.

Bake Off winner Nadiya, 39, shared an emotional video to Instagram yesterday announcing she has two autoimmune diseases.

The TV personality didn’t go into detail about what they were, but did warn fans to listen to their bodies and push for medical support when something feels wrong.

She also confessed that her lack of self-care had taken the toll on her, leading to the health issues.

Nadiya, who won the then-BBC show in 2015, said: “I cannot express enough the importance of taking care of yourself.

“I am the kind of person who burns the candle at both ends, takes care of everyone else’s needs but my own.

“I don’t take time out for myself. I don’t really know what that means or what that feels like. Not really.

“And when I do take time for myself, I feel incredibly guilty.

“And usually when I take doing things outside of the house or away from my family, it’s always because I’m doing something else but it’s nothing to do with my relaxation or my well-being.

“It’s always about just doing other things, running errands, helping, whatever I can do.

“And that might be outside the house and then I feel really guilty about that.

“So, yeah, my alone time, me time, keep my mind and body healthy time is very, very minimal. And that is really bad.

“And that’s something that I’ve been really thinking about this year, especially because I turned 40 and I’m kind of, I’m very aware that when you turn 40, you have to do that MOT at the doctors and they check everything out.

“But recently, mostly this year, but over the course of two years, I’ve been quite unwell. I’ve just been getting quite sick.

“And over the course of the two years, I’ve been diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases, which I’m not going to go into now.

“I will go into in the future when I know more about it and when I have a better handle on it and when I understand it a little bit better.

4

“But till then, like I cannot express, like I cannot express the importance of listening to your body, of taking care of yourself.

“And like I said, ‘I’m the worst at that. I’m not very good at it at all. I will only ever take care of myself when my body’s in shutdown.’

“And that’s not good for you. We need to take more care of ourselves.

“We need to take more time in our care and our well-being, mental and physical.

“So, yeah, I just wanted to come on here. And like it’s been a really kind of really tough year because of all the tests and trying to work stuff out and getting my head around things.

“But I feel like it’s really important to come out the other side and like really be grateful for and feel blessed that although, you know, it’d be great not to be sick, I’m here.

“And that’s really what matters is that I’m here and I need to do all the things that I can to positively impact myself mentally and physically. And that’s all I can really do.

“But I just think it’s really important that my takeaway from all of this, I always have, is listen to your body.

“And I really want to come on here and share that with you guys, because I think we don’t say that to each other enough.

“And I certainly don’t. I think mums don’t say it to each other. I think women mums just are not very good at it. And I know the mums that I know are not very good at it either.

“So take care of yourself. Listen to your body. Listen to your instincts and press push. If there’s something not right, press push. Make sure you get to the bottom of it.

“And I don’t think I would have got to the bottom of it if I hadn’t pressed and pushed because I could feel that there was something wrong.

“So press push and follow your instincts and know that what you’re feeling is not in your head. And you’re probably very well right.

What has Nadiya done since winning Bake Off?

Nadiya won The Great British Bake Off in 2015

• She said winning the baking competition show was ‘one of the best moments’ of her life.
• In 2016, the TV chef presented the two-part food travelogue, The Chronicles of Nadiya.
• She also published her first cookbook, Nadiya’s Kitchen.
• The following year she launched Nadiya’s British Food Adventure, an eight-part series for the BBC.
• She published a cookbook to go along with the series.
• Nadiya has continued to publish a variety of cookbooks, while also penning fiction books for adult and children.

“So just trust your own instincts and take care of yourselves.”

Earlier this year, Nadiya sparked concern from fans after posting a cryptic message saying “things have to end”.

The baker posted a picture of an empty mug back in February.

After drinking the tea, the inside of the mug was left stained at the bottom but appeared to make the shape of a broken heart. 

Alongside the photo, Nadiya wrote: “Sometimes. Some things have to end. In order to find love.

“That might be all the love you ever needed,” she concluded, adding the hashtags “#end” and “#beginning.”

However, Nadiya didn’t reveal any more details or context, so fans were left concerned about the emotional post. 

They flooded her post with messages and well wishes.

“This is so mysterious! We hope you’re well,” one fan said. 

“Hope you’re okay, Nadiya,” another concerned fan commented. 

A third fan pointed out that the broken heart could mean she’s separated from husband Abdul. 

“Sending love Nadiya. Endings are always hard,” a fourth fan added.

Other fans saw beauty in Nadiya’s post and said it might not be that deep. 

“I really think she’s just saying she finished the tea and found a heart,” one of Nadiya’s fans suggested. 

“Wow, I love this! If you hadn’t finished that cuppa you wouldn’t have found the hearts… beautiful analogy to life,” another agreed. 

4

4