Brandi Glanville spent $70K treating facial disfigurement from suspected ‘parasite’
Doctors are stumped about what is plaguing Brandi Glanville.
In a Tuesday interview with ET, the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum said the face-altering condition she has been investigating for the past year feels like something “s–ing or having babies in my face.”
Glanville said the mystery ailment has left her with recurring facial swelling, speech problems, missing teeth and a reluctance to go out in public.
Brandi Glanville was hospitalized Sunday after collapsing at her home and is now recovering. The reality TV star was found by her son who called 911 for help.
“I’ve been on meds this whole year. I don’t socialize. I don’t go out,” Glanville told ET, estimating that her total medical costs — including medications, doctor visits, MRIs, X-rays, and CT scans — have surpassed $70,000. She said that at one point, she was on IV antibiotics that helped her facial swelling but were too expensive to maintain.
The “Brandi Glanville Unfiltered” host added that she’s consulted “every doctor under the sun,” from immunologists to rheumatologists to infectious disease doctors. While none have supplied a definitive explanation, some have suggested her issues could stem from a “new parasite.”
Glanville told ET she could have contracted the parasite while filming in Morocco for “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip” in January 2023. On set, she said, “We had food sitting out for hours on end, and some of it was meat.”
Glanville’s face swelling and speech struggles began six months later, she said, “and we’re still here, trying to figure it out.”
Bravo did not reply immediately Thursday to The Times’ request for comment.
The “Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip” in question, which would have been the spinoff series’ fourth, never aired. While Bravo did not confirm why they axed the season, People reported at the time of filming that cast members Glanville and Caroline Manzo left the set early after an alleged incident.
Manzo later filed a lawsuit accusing Glanville of harassment during last year’s filming, according to court documents reviewed by The Times.
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Glanville said that her medical issues, combined with the lawsuit from Manzo, have prevented her from taking on new work in recent years.
“Generally, I’m the first call [for Bravo gigs],” she said. “But now I have, like, a scarlet letter and the medical stuff so even if I could go to work, my face would be doing gymnastics.”
Medical interventions have been noninvasive so far, Glanville said, but surgery could be next. The reality star joked that contrary to popular belief, she has not yet had plastic surgery on her face.
“I can’t afford it if I wanted it,” she said.
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