Rachel Recchia is addressing a thorn in her side.
The Bachelorette alum clapped back at online chatter about her recent weight loss, shutting down rumors that she had “work done” on her face and sought plastic surgery to slim down.
Instead, Rachel noted that the change of appearance was the result of a lengthy health battle.
“I have been extremely sick since May,” she wrote on Instagram Stories Aug. 18. “I was in the hospital for a bad kidney infection that spread into my back muscles.”
According to the 28-year-old, she had been on antibiotics through a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) for over a month, making her feel “so tired and nauseous, which led to the weight loss everyone has been commenting on.”
“I am aware I look ‘sick’ because I was sick,” Rachel added. “Please be mindful.”
Indeed, Rachel was pictured with a PICC line on her right arm in some of her recent Instagram photos. On July 7, the Bachelor Nation star posted a photo of herself in a purple bikini with her bicep bandaged up, writing in the caption, “How I look while going through it.”