The star of “The Bachelor” season 28, Joey Graziadei, revealed he was diagnosed with Gilbert syndrome several years ago. According to Mayo Clinic, it’s a common liver condition that is often harmless. But, Graziadei explained in an Instagram post, the condition does explain something about his appearance — those yellow eyes.
“Hi everyone, I hope you are having a beautiful day,” Graziadei said in the post. “I wanted to jump on here really quick and talk about something that I’m seeing a lot of comments about, which is Joey’s yellow eyes.”
Back in high school, “The Bachelor” star found himself feeling sick for more than a week, leading to a doctor’s visit. Graziadei’s bloodwork revealed something was wrong with his liver. A liver ultrasound and several doctor visits later, hepatitis — an inflammation of the liver that can lead to significant organ damage — was ruled out. Instead, he was diagnosed with an inherited genetic condition.
“At the end of the day, I am told that I am healthy,” he added. “It’s something that does affect the whites of my eyes. It makes them have those jaundice levels, which is why they look a little bit more yellow. It’s something I want to pay attention to more going into this year. I want to get my health right and make sure that I’m all good. But I at least wanted to give some background and let you know that, to my knowledge, I am healthy. It’s just something that I have to pay attention (to) ... It is worse when I have stress or lack of sleep, which happens on a TV show.”
Gilbert syndrome is sometimes discovered on accident during routine checkups, mostly when blood tests show raised bilirubin levels. The condition requires no treatments.
Those affected by it may experience an occasional yellowish tinge on their skin and in the whites of their eyes, which is caused by raised bilirubin levels in the blood. Increases in bilirubin levels can be caused by eating a low-calorie diet to being sick with the flu.
“Gilbert syndrome is caused by a modified gene you inherit from your parents,” the Mayo Clinic reported. “This gene usually controls an enzyme that helps break down bilirubin in your liver. When you have an ineffective gene, your blood contains excess amounts of bilirubin because your body doesn’t produce enough of the enzyme.”
“The Bachelor” airs 8 p.m. Mondays on ABC.
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