Lifestyle Health Celebrity Health 'Bachelor' 's Kelley Flanagan Tearfully Shares She Has Lyme Disease: 'It's a Blessing and a Curse' The former contestant said she "always knew something was a little bit off" in her body By Julie Mazziotta Julie Mazziotta Julie Mazziotta is the Senior Sports Editor at PEOPLE, covering everything from the NFL to tennis to Simone Biles and Tom Brady. She was previously an Associate Editor for the Health vertical for six years, and prior to joining PEOPLE worked at Health Magazine. When not covering professional athletes, Julie spends her time as a (very) amateur athlete, training for marathons, long bike trips and hikes. People Editorial Guidelines Published on August 30, 2021 04:32PM EDT Kelley Flanagan. Photo: Kelley Flanagan/ instagram Kelley Flanagan is sharing "some not so good news" with her followers — she's tested positive for Lyme disease. The former Bachelor contestant, 29, posted a video on Instagram where she tearfully explains that she's struggling with the news about her health. "I'm not having the best day today," Flanagan said, before sharing that she tested positive for Lyme disease. The reality star said that she suspected that something was off because her body "is so much more sensitive and super reactive to a bunch of things." "Two of my brothers have Lyme disease and a lot of their symptoms sounded really similar to me," she said. "Cause I've just always had something off since I was young, and like, really really had to take care of myself." Flanagan said that she thinks "this is something that I've had maybe for a while," and she's partially relieved to have a diagnosis. "It's a blessing and a curse because now I can target why I feel off so often but also means several different lifestyle changes and extensive research on how to help/hopefully cure this!" she wrote in the caption. "I know this is going to be tough for me seeing what my brothers have gone through mentally and physically but I'm going to put so much of my time and energy into figuring this out and combatting this." From Debbie Gibson to Avril Lavigne: Celebrities Who've Gone Public About Battling Lyme Disease Flanagan, crying, said that her diagnosis is "not the end of the world, but it's definitely going to [lead to] a lot of changes." The reality star promised to take her followers "on this journey of me figuring it out." "I'm trying to stay positive," she said. RELATED VIDEO: Ryan Sutter Says He's 'Doing Ok' amid Lyme Disease Diagnosis: 'Finding Value in My Own Suffering' Flanagan is the second member of Bachelor Nation this year to share that they've been diagnosed with Lyme disease. In May, former Bachelorette winner Ryan Sutter revealed, after months of testing, that he had tested positive for Lyme disease that was triggered by high levels of mold in his body. Close