The Traitors and Dancing on Ice star's life with disease that affects thousands of Brits
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TV star Mollie Pearce, known for her appearance in the second season of The Traitors and currently starring in Dancing on Ice, has opened up about her life living with a chronic health condition. Mollie bravely shared her battle with ulcerative colitis, a long-term bowel condition affecting 300,000 people across the UK. Having been was diagnosed at the age of 11 when she noticed blood in her stool, initially mistaking it for menstruation., Mollie revealed that her father also suffers from the same health issue, which made her parents alert to the warning signs.
According to the NHS, ulcerative colitis causes inflammation in the colon and rectum, potentially leading to the development of ulcers that can bleed and produce pus. Speaking to the Times, Mollie said: "We had to go back and forth with the doctors, and they tried to tell us that it was an infection.".
But it turned out to be something more serious. Once Mollie started treatment, managing her condition proved challenging. She had to take prednisolone, a medication that caused side effects, reports Surrey Live. Mollie confessed that she had to start high school with a "puffy moon face" and endure being "all hairy and starving all the time".
She further revealed: "Just locking the door after leaving the house would trigger something in me". She courageously admitted that it got so bad that she "couldn't walk to school", even though it was only "five minutes away". Mollie, a disability model born with a limb difference, underwent surgery for ulcerative colitis and now lives with a stoma bag she affectionately calls Sid. Recalling her newfound freedom post-surgery, she shared with the BBC: "The first time I went out with my dad to a McDonald's drive-thru [after having the stoma], I remember not feeling panicked about needing the toilet. It was magic!".
