Former 'Bachelorette' star Ali Fedotowsky reveals she has shingles

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Former "Bachelorette" lead Ali Fedotowsky revealed she was diagnosed with shingles.

The reality TV star, 36, announced the health news via Instagram on Thursday. 

"Welp – I have shingles – at 36 years old," she said. At first, she admitted she tried to hide the ailment from her fans.

"I don’t really know why I wanted to hide it," Fedotowsky wrote. "I think it’s mostly because I didn’t want the added stress or pressure of the Internet while I was trying to rest and heal."

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The mom-of-two said she's speaking up about shingles now because she hopes "my story will help others detect it early. I didn’t even think it was possible to get it at my age."

According to Mayo Clinic, shingles is a "viral infection that causes a painful rash."

Ali Fedotowsky revealed she was diagnosed with shingles at just 36 years old.  (Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic via Getty)

"Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus — the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you've had chickenpox, the virus lies inactive in nerve tissue near your spinal cord and brain. Years later, the virus may reactivate as shingles. Shingles isn't a life-threatening condition, but it can be very painful," the website explained. 

Fedotowsky recalled, "I remember I kept itching my head and felt this electricity underneath my skin (my nerves acting up)."

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"I am soooo grateful that [my doctor] diagnosed me early and got me on the proper medication. So early that it was a day before I even had a tiny little pimple-like spot on my face which I wouldn’t have thought twice about & days before I had multiple spots that ended up causing swelling and blurred vision in my eye," she said.

Fedotowsky hasn't had the easiest of times recently. In January 2020, she revealed she had skin cancer. Then later in March 2020, she said she had COVID-19 symptoms even though she tested negative for the virus.

And in July last year, she suffered a miscarriage. "I feel sad for what could’ve been. Sad for the baby that was growing inside me. Sad because it’s sad," she mourned a the time.

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Fedotowsky appeared on "The Bachelorette" in 2010. While she didn't find love on the show, she later married Kevin Manno in 2015.

They share daughter Molly, 4, and son Riley, 2, together.