Lili Reinhart reveals chronic bladder condition, details 'hardest year of my life'

Lili Reinhart is opening up for the first time about her private health battle with a chronic bladder condition following a series of inconclusive diagnoses.

The Riverdale alum, 28, revealed in a Self interview that she was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis — a condition that involves an inflamed or irritated bladder wall, per John Hopkins Medicine — around October of last year. It came after a myriad of health struggles that ultimately came to a head over the summer in Germany, where she was filming her upcoming thriller American Sweatshop.

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"The third night I'm there, I developed symptoms of a UTI," recalled Reinhart. "I'm like, 'I've had UTIs before. I'm a woman. We all know how it feels.'" At the hospital, doctors performed a urinalysis and discovered a "slight infection," sending Reinhart home with antibiotics. But the urgency to pee did not subside, leading to two more hospital visits under the assumption it was a UTI.

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"The second I'm done peeing, I still feel like I have to pee, but my pee is showing up with no infection,” said Reinhart. When she returned to Los Angeles, she continued to seek out specialists, and it was in October 2024 that Reinhart finally received a proper diagnosis. "No tumors, no cysts, just a lot of inflammation," recalled Reinhart.

The actress is undergoing weekly bladder instillations, where a doctor inserts a medicine-filled catheter into her urethra to help relax pelvic and bladder muscles for symptoms treatment. "No one ever knows what that is when I talk about it," said Reinhart. "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.'"

The diagnosis for Reinhart, also a vocal mental health advocate, was preceded by other health issues in 2022, including unexplained gut issues and weight gain. She was tested for Celiac disease and Crohn's disease before landing on the interstitial cystitis diagnosis, and even developed an eating disorder and experienced hair loss during that time.

Related: Lili Reinhart reveals alopecia diagnosis in the midst of a 'depressive episode'

In an Instagram post shared Thursday about the diagnosis, Reinhart called 2024 "the hardest year of my life" and said she was emboldened to speak publicly due to her grandmother's death. "My grandmother was ignored by doctors for months when exhibiting clear symptoms of cancer — and it was only after her own strength and advocation for herself that she was given a blood test that diagnosed her," she wrote. "The most important thing I have taken away from this experience is the absolute need to advocate for your own health."

Reinhart reiterated to Self, "Listen to your body, and don't take no for an answer. Don't let a doctor tell you that nothing's wrong when you know that there is . . . my grandmother knew something was wrong. She said, 'Run tests.' I'm sure that a part of my advocacy for women must come from that. I'm so proud to be her granddaughter."

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