Halsey’s family members are hopeful for her continued recovery after she was diagnosed with lupus and a rare lymphoproliferative disorder.
“I’m best friends with her little brother, we were together last night, and he was telling me that [her announcement was gonna come out today,” Brianna Chickenfry, who is friends with Halsey’s sibling, said on the Thursday, June 6, episode of “The Viall Files” podcast. “She was really sick and I guess she’s been fighting it silently.”
The 24-year-old social media personality (real name Brianna LaPaglia) further detailed how Halsey’s brother reacted to the singer’s diagnosis. Halsey, 29, has two younger brothers, Sevian and Dante, but Chickenfry did not confirm whom she was speaking with about the health battle.
“He was just talking about how incredible it was to watch her go through it and also make this insane album,” Chickenfry said. “She’s a one-of-a-kind [person]. … She loves her art and she’s so passionate.”
When podcast host Nick Viall asked if Halsey’s relatives were “optimistic” about her recovery, Chickenfry responded affirmatively.
“We’re good,” she said. “I think they’re excited for the future and I think she was waiting to be ready to share it.”
On Tuesday, June 4, Halsey revealed via Instagram that she was “lucky to be alive” after a private health battle. The journey inspired her new single, “The End.”
“Every couple of years now, a doctor says I’m sick / Pulls out a brand new bag of tricks / and then they lay it on me,” Halsey sings. “And at first, it was my brain / then a skeleton in pain / And I don’t like to complain, but I’m saying sorry.”
She continues, “When I met you, I said I would never die / But the joke was always mine ’cause I’m racing against time / And I know it’s not the end of the world, but could you pick me up at 8? / ‘Cause my treatment starts today.”
Halsey, who uses both she/her and they/them pronouns, did not disclose her diagnosis until the next day.
“In 2022, I was first diagnosed with Lupus SLE and then a rare T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder,” she wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, June 5. “Both of which are currently being managed or in remission; and both of which I will likely have for the duration of my life.”
The “Closer” singer, who shares 3-year-old son Ender with ex Alev Aydin, added: “After a rocky start, I slowly got everything under control with the help of amazing doctors. After 2 years, I’m feeling better and I’m more grateful than ever to have music to turn to.”
