Lili Reinhart reveals chronic bladder condition after ‘hardest year of my life’
Riverdale star Lili Reinhart has admitted she’s had the “hardest year” of her life after a series of health struggles led to a bladder condition diagnosis.
The 28-year-old was filming for her forthcoming thriller, American Sweatshop, in Germany last summer when the symptoms for interstitial cystitis first emerged.
“The third night I’m there, I developed symptoms of a UTI,” Reinhart told Self. “I’m like, ‘I’ve had UTIs before. I’m a woman. We all know how it feels.’” After a urinalysis, a “slight infection” was detected and the actor was sent home with antibiotics. However, she was forced to make two more hospital visits after she still felt the urgency to pee.
“The second I’m done peeing, I still feel like I have to pee, but my pee is showing up with no infection,” she explained. After returning to LA, she sought out specialists before finally being diagnosed with interstitial cystitis, a condition causing an irritated and inflamed bladder, in October 2024. “No tumors, no cysts, just a lot of inflammation,” recalled Reinhart.
In an Instagram post on Thursday (23 January) she wrote: “Being diagnosed with interstitial cystitis while simultaneously searching for answers about a mysterious autoimmunity/inflammatory disease made 2024 the hardest year of my life.”
She explained she had been “inspired” to talk about the issue after her grandmother “was ignored by doctors for months when exhibiting clear symptoms of cancer”.
“It was only after her own strength and advocating for herself that she was given a blood test that diagnosed her,” wrote the star. “And by then, the cancer had spread.”
She continued: “The most important thing I have taken away from this experience is the absolute need to advocate for your own health. Do not let a doctor gaslight you or diminish your pain. I hope the men & women out there struggling to find answers feel even the slightest bit seen by my experience.”
The diagnosis comes after a series of health struggles, in which she was tested for Celiac and Crohn’s Disease. In 2022, she suffered from hair loss and an eating disorder. In 2024, she was diagnosed with alopecia.
As part of her treatment for the condition, she revealed she undergoes weekly bladder instillations. The procedure involves a doctor inserting a catheter filled with medication into her urethra to help relax pelvic and bladder muscles.
“No one ever knows what that is when I talk about it,” she said. “But my urogyno is telling me so many women have this, and that’s why I think it’s as important as it is to just be like, ‘Hey, I’m dealing with it too.’”
